Organic agriculture offers vast potential for addressing climate change
"the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization ("FAO") estimates that animal production alone accounts for eighteen percent of global GHG emissions." (the source cites: Henning Steinfeld et al,. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options 112 (2006), http://www.europarl.europa.eu/climatechange/doc/FAO%20report%20executive...)
"a recent study has demonstrated that soybeans grown at elevated CO2 levels had more than fifty percent more insect damage than soybeans grown in normal conditions." (the source cites: Evan H. DeLucia et al.. Brookhaven Nat'l Lab., Influence of Elevated Ozone and Carbon Dioxide on Insect Densities 13 (2005), http://www.pubs.bnl.gov/documents/307743.pdf
"The production of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides contributes more than 480 million tons of GHG emissions to the atmosphere each year." (the source cites: Jessica Bellarby et al., Greenpeace Int'l, Cool Farming: Climate Impacts of Agriculture and Mitigation Potential 5 (2008), http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/cool-far... "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") estimates that, once on our soils, synthetic fertilizers generate over 304 million pounds of GHG emissions." (the source cites: U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency [EPA], Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1999-2006 6-19 (2008))
"Overall, the global warming potential of organic animal production is about one third as much as intensive animal farming." (the source cites Guido Haas et al., Comparing Intensive, Extesnified and Organic Grassland Farming in Southern Germany by Process Life Cycle Assessment, 83. Agric. Ecosystems & Env't 43, 49 (2001))
Meredith Niles, Sustainable Soils: Reducing, Mitigating, and Adapting to Climate Change with Organic Agriculture , Global Food & Agriculture, Issue 1, (2008)