From the Rodale Institute, www.rodaleinstitute.org, Kutztown PA A newly released Rodale Institute research paper, "The Organic Green Revolution" reviewing replicated research shows that the latest scientific approaches in organic agriculture offer affordable, immediately usable and universally accessible ways to improve yields and access to nutritional food in developing countries. The Rodale Institute paper cites a major 2008 study that assessed 20 results from 286 farms in 57 countries, finding that small farmers increased their crop yields by an average of 79 percent by using environmentally sustainable techniques, including organic farming and crop rotation. Organically managed soils have more physical soil structure, preventing erosion; they also have more permeability, for healthier microorganism growth, and more availability of nutrients that are vital for crop productivity. An Organic Green Revolution, using integrated farming practices such as cover crops, organic no-till and composting, not only substantially improves yields but it also protects and restores soil and environmental health. The term "Green Revolution" took hold in the 1960s to describe the combination of fertilizer, hybrid varieties and pesticides applied to single-crop fields to achieve maximum yield. Yet "the so-called Green Revolution was anything but green," says Dr. Tim LaSalle, co-author of the report and CEO of the Rodale Institute, a 60-year-old research and education nonprofit. "Initial production benefits have declined and societal costs increased. A paradigm shift, rather than incremental change, is therefore needed in the way we grow, buy and eat our food. The Organic Green Revolution provides that needed shift. "Yield data just by itself makes the case for a focused and persistent move to organic farming systems," explains LaSalle. "When we also consider that organic systems are building the health of the soil, sequestering CO2, cleaning up the waterways, and returning more economic yield to the farmer, the argument for an Organic Green Revolution becomes overwhelming. Since these methods build the soil it also increases drought and flood resistance as well as adaptability to climate change." According to the report, these soils sequester carbon in soil from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, making organic farming the most available strategy to fight global warming. The data and analyses compiled in the "Organic Green Revolution" report make a compelling case that organic agricultural practices are established, commercially successful and applicable at any scale of operation as shown by farmers across the United States – from family market farms to commercial operations of thousands of acres. Regenerative organic techniques can adapt to virtually any location, make best use of local inputs, and creatively transform carbon-based waste streams into valuable products. "The Organic Green Revolution" is online at www.rodaleinstitute.org/files/GreenRevUP.pdf ...read more