Feeding theWorld – The Contribution of IFOAM Principles - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 82

practices. As such, the AGree program reflects a “more of the same” focus on
increasing food production in the North to feed the South. Such approaches ignore
the social and economic implications that negatively affect food security in the
South through increased dependency on the North. Similar observations were made
on the “Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food” (Barr 2003 ; Winter and Lobley
2009 ).
Thus, the extent to which the high-input paradigm contributes to feeding the
world continues to be speculative at best, especially when the negative ecological,
economic, health and social implications (external costs) of this kind of food
production are not considered in any calculation within food security (Pretty et al.
2000 ; Tegtmeier and Duffy 2004 , p. 322).

5.2.2 Organic Paradigm

There is evidencethat the current paradigm of growth is full of conflicts and negative
impacts, e.g., on climate, biodiversity, food security, water or access to land for the
poor (Miller and Rose 1997 ; Barham 2002 ; Padel 2002 ; Lunneryd 2003 ; Renard
2003 ; Barnett et al. 2005 ). Such a negative system might look towards a comprehen-
sive change in agriculture and food production. In contrast to current paradigm of
growth, organic has the potential to add to a changed system. Organic as an alterna-
tive is legitimized through its diverse qualities of health, quality, ecological benefits,
improved animal welfare, and more climate friendly qualities (Tanner 2000 ).
The organic, or low-input agrofood paradigm (Freyer 2007 ) focuses on small-
scale farms, incorporates socio-cultural concerns, and is driven by ethical, eco-
logical and social justice foundations (Blowfield 1999 ). This approach commonly
includes attention to food security (Halberg et al. 2006a ), 2 food sovereignty (e.g.,
Padel et al. 2007 , p. 17; Pimbert 2009 ), and to regionalized food systems and food
access (see Starke 2011 ). 3 It takes a systemic approach to how to feed the world,
not restricted to the sole focus of increased production.
A wide range of empirical evidence demonstrates that organic and equivalent
low-input agricultural systems can contribute significantly to overcoming the
agro-ecological negative impacts of the high-input agriculture. There is scientific
evidence that organic farming:

￿ Maintains the soils (e.g., Atkinson et al. 1995 ; Mäder et al. 2002 );

￿ Sustains and increases biodiversity (e.g., McNeely and Scherr 2003 ;Holeetal.

2005 );

￿ Reduces energy and water consumption (e.g., Stolze et al. 2000 ; Lotter et al.

2003 ;Ziesemer 2007 ; Posner et al. 2008 ; Seufert et al. 2012 );

2 Food security: Defined at the 1996 World Food Summit, food security: “[ ::: ] exists when all
people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious
food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (Food Ethic
Council 2012 ).