Series: The Synthetic-Organic Debate

To address the environmental challenges of nitrogen pollution, many advocate for a universal switch to organic farming, which eliminates the use of synthetic fertilizer. But talking about “organic” as a monolithic category doesn’t make very much sense: organic encapsulates both animal manure and green manure (cover crops), which have very different impacts. While green manure is, overall, carbon-negative, animal manure disproportionately contributes to nitrogen pollution. Instead of one-dimensional debates, we should focus on broader ways to reduce nitrogen pollution from all types of fertilizer.

Essay

To Cut Nitrogen Pollution, Move Past the Synthetic-Organic Debate, Dan Blaustein-Rejto, Kenton de Kirby, and Linus Blomqvist

Response

Farmers Need Policy Incentives, Not Just Technological Ones, To Reduce Nitrogen, Steve Suppan

Video

The Hidden Footprint of Organic Farming