A Smaller Footprint for Organic?
A German study which converted emissions from food production into car-trip equivalents found that organic equates to a lower number on the clock for almost every type of food production covered (IOeW 2008).
Organic production of 1 kg of winter wheat crop was the equivalent of driving 1.5km whereas conventional was 3.4km. A kilogram of pork produced organically was equivalent to 17.4km with conventional at 25.8km. Production 1kg of cheese from 10L of milk took organic 65.5km and conventional 71.4km.
When it came to diet choices, organic was also a ‘low-km' winner. The study found that an overall ‘eat everything' diet including meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables took a conventional eater 4758 km from their starting point, with organic travelling 381km less at 4377 km. Where food choices were further reduced to a car-trip covering 281km, 6.8% of the conventional drive, and 348km lower than a conventional vegetarian diet.
The only area an organic approach didn't come out in front was meat production from feedlots - organic was the equivalent of driving 113.4km, compared to 70.6km for conventional.
Dr Andrew Monk, Biological Farmers of Australia Standards Chair, said it was important to remember that figures were not always relevant to Australia because production methods varied. He said that conscious consumers would fare best by focusing on the whole "package", not just on CO2 emissions, eg issues like growth hormones, excessive feed requirements and animal welfare in meat production.
Quentin Wright, organic meat producer from the NSW Northern Tablelands, said that where operations were organic, business depended on doing things the right way by the environment. Under organic management, tests have found his soil has higher carbon levels than neighbouring lands.
"We stopped using chemical fertiliser and changed our grazing system to cell grazing - a form of rotational grazing - 14 years ago. Recent soil tests comparing soil from the neighbouring National Park forest and our grazing land showed our Soil Organic Carbon level was 66% higher than that in the forest. This suggests to me we have a production system in place that not only benefits from nil use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, but sequesters soil carbon as well, and goes some way to balancing our footprint", said Mr Wright.
Food Australia
Volume 60 Number 12 - December 2008