{"id":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issue/organic-agriculture","schemaVersion":2,"name":"Organic and Regenerative Agriculture","category":"Food","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issue/organic-agriculture","json":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issue/organic-agriculture.json","ask":"","position":"The common myth that if we chose to transition our agricultural systems to organic and regenerative we’d be able to grow healthier food while reducing impacts on the environment is false and dangerous. Organic farming, which prohibits synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, typically produces far lower yields than conventional farming, requiring more land to produce the same amount of food and increasing pressure to convert forests and grasslands to farming. Organic farming can support greater biodiversity on farms, and practices often described as “regenerative”, such as cover crops, can improve soils and reduce some impact. However, these benefits are context-specific and often backfire by reducing productivity. Instead of transitioning whole-sale, conventional farming should adopt the most beneficial elements of organic and regenerative farming.","faq":[{"question":"Is organic food healthier?","answer":"Research does not show that organic food is inherently safer, healthier, or more nutritious than conventionally grown food. Organic and conventional foods can both be part of a healthy diet. What you eat matters far more for health than whether it carries an organic label."},{"question":"Why is organic food more expensive?","answer":"Organic food often costs more because organic farming can require more labor, has additional certification requirements, and often produces lower yields than conventional farming. Producing less food per acre can increase costs, which are reflected in higher prices for consumers."},{"question":"Does organic food have pesticides?","answer":"Yes. “Organic” does not mean pesticide-free. Organic food typically has lower pesticide residues, but organic farms are allowed to use many naturally derived pesticides as well as a limited number of synthetic ones."},{"question":"Can regenerative agriculture feed the world?","answer":"There is no universal definition of \"regenerative agriculture.” Some regenerative practices can improve soils and reduce environmental impacts, but any practices that lower yields can require more farmland. Sustainable food production should combine beneficial practices with modern, high-yield technologies."}],"experts":[{"name":"Dan Blaustein-Rejto","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/people/dan-blaustein-rejto"},{"name":"Ted Nordhaus","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/people/ted-nordhaus"}],"startHere":[{"title":"The High Costs of Organic Farming","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/journal/no-17-summer-2022/the-high-costs-of-organic-farming","date":"2022-07-26"},{"title":"Sri Lanka's Experiment with Organic Farming Fails Miserably","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/sri-lankas-experiment-with-organic-farming-fails-miserably","date":"2022-03-08"},{"title":"The Problems with a Large-Scale Shift to Organic Farming","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/the-problems-with-a-large-scale-shift-to-organic-farming","date":"2017-11-30"}],"latest":[{"title":"Surgeon General Pick Deepens Rift Between Trump Admin and Farmers","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/surgeon-general-pick-deepens-rift-between-trump-admin-and-farmers","date":"2026-02-23","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"MAHA: Making Agriculture Harder for All","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/maha-making-agriculture-harder-for-all","date":"2025-09-26","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"Mythbusting MAHA’s claims about food and farming","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/mythbusting-mahas-claims-about-food-and-farming","date":"2025-04-07","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"Can RFK Kneecap American Agriculture?","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/can-rfk-kneecap-american-agriculture","date":"2024-12-13","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"Cheap Food Is The Only Option","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/cheap-food-is-the-only-option","date":"2024-10-18","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"The West Needs to Come to Grips with African Fertilizer Needs","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/the-west-needs-to-come-to-grips-with-african-fertilizer-needs","date":"2024-04-29","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"The Limits of Soil Carbon Sequestration","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/carbon-farming","date":"2020-03-09","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"The Environmental Case for Synthetic Fertilizer","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/synthetic-fertilizer-infographic","date":"2019-05-06","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"To Cut Nitrogen Pollution, Move Past the Synthetic-Organic Debate","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/to-cut-nitrogen-pollution-move-past-the-synthetic-organic-debate","date":"2018-07-17","type":"Analysis"},{"title":"Series: The Synthetic-Organic Debate","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/series-the-synthetic-organic-debate","date":"2018-07-17","type":"Analysis"}],"policyHub":"https://thebreakthrough.org/policy?area=food","policyAreas":[],"policyRecords":[],"dateModified":"2026-11-12T08:26:15-08:00"}