Organic Farming’s Role In The Climate Fight

Organic Farms Could Help Fight Climate Change

Shaun Chavis, September 25, 2017 (HowStuffWorks)

“Agriculture is one of the more significant contributors to global warming. Nitrogen-based fertilizers and farm animals generate greenhouse gases, including methane and nitrous oxide. Conventional farming depletes soil of carbon, while planting and managing forests can help offset carbon emissions…[and] organic farming fights climate change by trapping temperature-raising carbon in soil, keeping it from contributing to the greenhouse effect [according to a new study]. Organic farming can also help offset carbon by storing it in soil…[Over 650 topsoil samples from organic farmers in 39 U.S. states were compared with] more than 725 conventional soil samples from the continental U.S. The results showed soil from organic farms is 26 percent better at retaining carbon — and retaining it for longer periods of time — than soil that's farmed with conventional methods and synthetic fertilizers…[It is because the] matter that organic farmers use, such as compost, green manure, animal matter and others — as well as the living things in healthy soil, such as microorganisms, earthworms and other components — gives soil humic acids…” click here for more

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