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The Carbon and Global Warming Potential Impacts of Organic Farming: Does It Have a Significant Role in an Energy Constrained World?

Author

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  • Derek H. Lynch

    (Department Plant and Animal Sciences, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada)

  • Rod MacRae

    (Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada)

  • Ralph C. Martin

    (Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada)

Abstract

About 130 studies were analyzed to compare farm-level energy use and global warming potential (GWP) of organic and conventional production sectors. Cross cutting issues such as tillage, compost, soil carbon sequestration and energy offsets were also reviewed. Finally, we contrasted E and GWP data from the wider food system. We concluded that the evidence strongly favours organic farming with respect to whole-farm energy use and energy efficiency both on a per hectare and per farm product basis, with the possible exception of poultry and fruit sectors. For GWP, evidence is insufficient except in a few sectors, with results per ha more consistently favouring organic farming than GWP per unit product. Tillage was consistently a negligible contributor to farm E use and additional tillage on organic farms does not appear to significantly deplete soil C. Energy offsets, biogas, energy crops and residues have a more limited role on organic farms compared to conventional ones, because of the nutrient and soil building uses of soil organic matter, and the high demand for organic foods in human markets. If farm E use represents 35% of total food chain E use, improvements shown of 20% or more in E efficiency through organic farm management would reduce food-chain E use by 7% or more. Among other food supply chain stages, wholesale/retail (including cooling and packaging) and processing often each contribute 30% or more to total food system E. Thus, additional improvements can be obtained with reduced processing, whole foods and food waste minimization.

Suggested Citation

  • Derek H. Lynch & Rod MacRae & Ralph C. Martin, 2011. "The Carbon and Global Warming Potential Impacts of Organic Farming: Does It Have a Significant Role in an Energy Constrained World?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-41, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:3:y:2011:i:2:p:322-362:d:11190
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    Cited by:

    1. Lynch, Derek H., 2015. "Nutrient Cycling and Soil Health in Organic Cropping Systems - Importance of Management Strategies and Soil Resilience," Sustainable Agriculture Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 4(3 Special).
    2. Rod MacRae & Michelle Szabo & Kalli Anderson & Fiona Louden & Sandi Trillo, 2012. "Empowering the Citizen-Consumer: Re-Regulating Consumer Information to Support the Transition to Sustainable and Health Promoting Food Systems in Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(9), pages 1-30, September.
    3. Bartłomiej Bajan & Aldona Mrówczyńska-Kamińska & Walenty Poczta, 2020. "Economic Energy Efficiency of Food Production Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, November.
    4. Sean Clark, 2020. "Organic Farming and Climate Change: The Need for Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-7, August.
    5. Bruce, Analena B. & Farmer, James R. & Giroux, Stacey & Dickinson, Stephanie & Chen, Xiwei & Donnell, Michael O. & Benjamin, Tamara J., 2022. "Opportunities and barriers to certified organic grain production on rented farmland in the U.S. Midwest state of Indiana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    6. Aimee N. Hafla & Jennifer W. MacAdam & Kathy J. Soder, 2013. "Sustainability of US Organic Beef and Dairy Production Systems: Soil, Plant and Cattle Interactions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-26, July.
    7. Jinyan Zhan & Haiming Yan & Bin Chen & Jiao Luo & Nana Shi, 2012. "Decomposition Analysis of the Mechanism Behind the Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Changes in Carbon Bio-Sequestration in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-13, February.
    8. Andreas Aigner & Robert Wilken & Sylvie Geisendorf, 2019. "The Effectiveness of Promotional Cues for Organic Products in the German Retail Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Bartłomiej Bajan & Joanna Łukasiewicz & Aldona Mrówczyńska-Kamińska, 2021. "Energy Consumption and Its Structures in Food Production Systems of the Visegrad Group Countries Compared with EU-15 Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-24, July.
    10. Caroline Brock & Douglas Jackson-Smith & Subbu Kumarappan & Steve Culman & Cathy Herms & Douglas Doohan, 2021. "Organic Corn Production Practices and Profitability in the Eastern U.S. Corn Belt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-18, August.
    11. Muller, Adrian & Olesen, Joergen & Smith, Laurence & Davis, Joan & Dytrtová, Karolína & Gattinger, Andreas & Lampkin, Nic & Niggli, Urs, 2012. "Reducing Global Warming and Adapting to Climate Change: The Potential of Organic Agriculture," Working Papers in Economics 526, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    12. Feliu López-i-Gelats & Jordi Bartolomé Filella, 2020. "Examining the role of organic production schemes in Mediterranean pastoralism," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5771-5792, August.
    13. Schramski, J.R. & Jacobsen, K.L. & Smith, T.W. & Williams, M.A. & Thompson, T.M., 2013. "Energy as a potential systems-level indicator of sustainability in organic agriculture: Case study model of a diversified, organic vegetable production system," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 267(C), pages 102-114.
    14. Siegmeier, Torsten & Blumenstein, Benjamin & Möller, Detlev, 2015. "Farm biogas production in organic agriculture: System implications," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 196-209.
    15. Gabriel Cucui & Constantin Aurelian Ionescu & Ioana Raluca Goldbach & Mihaela Denisa Coman & Elena Liliana Moiceanu Marin, 2018. "Quantifying the Economic Effects of Biogas Installations for Organic Waste from Agro-Industrial Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, July.
    16. Sarah Rotz, 2018. "Drawing lines in the cornfield: an analysis of discourse and identity relations across agri-food networks," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(2), pages 441-456, June.
    17. Lauren C. Ponisio & Paul R. Ehrlich, 2016. "Diversification, Yield and a New Agricultural Revolution: Problems and Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-15, November.
    18. Alfredo J. Escribano, 2018. "Organic Feed: A Bottleneck for the Development of the Livestock Sector and Its Transition to Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-18, July.

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