UN Report Says Small-Scale Organic Farming Only Way to Feed the

World

Ima
ge: eatdrinkbetter.com
Nick Meyer | AltHealthWORKS

Even as the United States government continues to push for the use of more chemically-intensive
and corporate-dominated farming methods such as GMOs and monoculture-based crops, the
United Nations is once against sounding the alarm about the urgent need to return to (and
develop) a more sustainable, natural and organic system.
That was the key point of a new publication from the UN Commission on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) titledTrade and Environment Review 2013: Wake Up Before Its Too Late, which
included contributions from more than 60 experts around the world.

The cover of the report looks like that of a blockbuster documentary or Hollywood movie, and the
dramatic nature of the title cannot be understated: The time is now to switch back to our natural
farming roots.
The New UN Farming Report Wake Up Before Its Too Late.
The New UN Farming Report Wake Up Before Its Too Late. Click here to read it.
The findings on the report seem to echo those of a December 2010 UN Report in many ways,
one that essentially said organic and small-scale farming is the answer for feeding the world,
not GMOs and monocultures.
According to the new UN report, major changes are needed in our food, agriculture and trade
systems, with a shift toward local small-scale farmers and food systems recommended.
Diversity of farms, reducing the use of fertilizer and other changes are desperately needed
according to the report, which was highlighted in this article from the Institute for Agriculture and
Trade Policy.

It also said that global trade rules should be reformed in order to work toward these ends, which
is unfortunately the opposite of what mega-trade deals like the proposed Trans Pacific
Partnership (TPP) and the U.S.-EU Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are seeking to
accomplish.
The Institute noted that these pending deals are primarily designed to strengthen the hold of
multinational corporate and financial firms on the global economy rather than the reflect the
urgent need for a shift in agriculture described in the new report.
Even global security may be at stake according to the report, as food prices (and food price
speculating) continue to rise.
This implies a rapid and significant shift from conventional, monoculture-based and highexternal-input-dependent industrial production toward mosaics of sustainable, regenerative
production systems that also considerably improve the productivity of small-scale farmers, the
report concludes.
You can read more about the report from the Institute by visiting their website here.
Source: althealthworks.com
Tags: sustainable farming less fertilizers urban farming managing water water