Balancing food, environmental and resource needs

Doran, John W.; Kirschenmann, Fred; Magdoff, Frederick

doi:10.1017/s1742170507001925

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Organic food has been analyzed from many perspectives and in many countries. It contributes to an emerging paradigm for food production which relies on biology, ecology and sociology rather than more one-dimensional chemical and physical management approaches 1 . Building upon over 20 years of research, there is now a substantial body of information on how to market organic products.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic food: What we know (and do not know) about consumers

Pearson

Henryks

Jones

2010

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

167

132

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This paper reports on the latest contributions to over 20 years of research on organic food consumers. There is a general consensus in the literature on the reasons why people buy organic food. However, there is also a gap between consumers' generally positive attitude toward organic food and their relatively low level of actual purchases. Product differentiation based on intangible features, such as credence attributes such as organic, in fast-moving consumer goods categories is enjoying rapid growth. However, there are many difficulties with research in this area, including the errors inherent in research that relies on consumer self-reporting methodologies. Further, in relation to organic food, there is a divergence between consumers' perception of its superior health features and scientific evidence. Fresh fruits and vegetables are of vital importance to the organic sector as they are the entry point for many customers and account for one-third of sales. Further, although there is a small proportion of dedicated organic food buyers, most sales come from the majority of buyers who switch between conventional and organic food purchases. This paper identifies the practical implications for generic organic food marketing campaigns, as well as for increasing sales of specific products. It concludes with suggested priorities for further research.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic food: What we know (and do not know) about consumers

Pearson

Henryks

Jones

2010

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

167

132

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A systems approach to agriculture which incorporates sustainable intensification, renewable resources, and biologically-intensive nutrient and pest management tools must be developed [1,2]. The new 'green' revolution is a 'brown' revolution based on highly efficient soil biological synergies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To support a growing global population in the near future, agricultural production needs to more than double under declining resources of land, fresh water, synthetic nutrients, and pesticides [1,2]. To accomplish this, sustainable intensification, or obtaining more output from the same land area while reducing the negative environmental impacts and increasing contributions to environmental services [3,4] must be applied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roles of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in Soil Macroaggregate Formation and Stabilization

Nichols¹,

Halvorson²

2013

TOASJ

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Many soil functions depend on the distribution of macro-(≥ 0.25 mm) and micro-(< 0.25 mm) aggregates and open space between aggregates (i.e. soil structure). Despite the importance of macroaggregates in soil, little is understood about how they form and become stable. We hypothesize that biological activities, chemical reactions, and physical forces which help to form macroaggregates differ from those involved in stabilization. Formation is a binding process where aggregate components are brought spatially closer together, 'bagged' or enmeshed by roots and fungal hyphae and 'glued' by labile SOM. Stabilization involves bonding processes between organic matter, clay minerals, cations, or plant or microbial biomolecules which increase internal cohesiveness. By separating aggregate formation from stabilization, the biological, chemical, and physical processes involved in maintaining long-term soil quality through stabilized soil structure will be more easily identified.

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“…Given the world's current population of more than 6 billion people, the challenge to meeting global food demand has never been greater, but it has to be balanced with environmental concerns (Doran, Kirschmann, and Magdoff 2007). In essence, production sustainability that is compatible with soil and environmental preservation is a priority for mankind (Lal 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient Dynamics in a Long‐Term Cereal‐Based Rotation Trial in a Mediterranean Environment: Nitrogen Forms

Ryan¹,

Masri²,

Pala³

et al. 2009

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis

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Mediterranean agriculture is mainly rainfed, with drought being the main crop production constraint, and is based on cereals, wheat (Triticum spp), and barley (Hordeum vulgare). Fallow was a traditional practice to conserve soil moisture, but because of land-use pressure it is giving way to cereal monoculture, which is unsustainable. The substudy reported here was part of a long-term rotation trial that sought to examine alternative crop rotation options, that is, durum wheat (T. durum var durum) in rotation with fallow, summercrop (melon, Citrullus vulgaris), wheat (continuous cropping), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), lentil (Lens culinaris), vetch (Vicia sativa), and medic (Medicago spp). Ancillary treatments involved nitrogen (N) applied to the cereal phase and variable stubble grazing intensity (stubble retention, medium grazing, and heavy grazing or complete stubble removal). This substudy, conducted in the final 3 years of the 14-year trial, involved sampling soil and plants within the cropped rotation plots and sampling soil within bare microplots in selected larger rotation plots. We measured N forms in soil samples at different depths and throughout the seasons. Despite variation within and between seasons, the rotation effect of enhanced N was significant and consistent, being highest for vetch and medic, intermediate for chickpea and lentil, and least for continuous cereal, summer crop, and fallow. Therefore, legume-based cereal rotations can enhance soil N and thus save on N fertilizer. In bare microplots, total N decreased, labile N was inconsistent, mineral N increased, and biomass N increased and remained stable during the cropping season and then sharply declined. The nutrient dynamic data complemented the 931 crop yield, water-use efficiency, and soil aggregation data from the trial to support the argument for using legumes in cereal rotations in place of fallow and continuous cereal cropping.

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Balancing food, environmental and resource needs

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

Organic food: What we know (and do not know) about consumers

Organic food: What we know (and do not know) about consumers

Roles of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in Soil Macroaggregate Formation and Stabilization

Nutrient Dynamics in a Long‐Term Cereal‐Based Rotation Trial in a Mediterranean Environment: Nitrogen Forms

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