Organic food ‘is not always the greenest’ (From Oxford Mail)

Organic food ‘is not always the greenest’

9:10am Wednesday 5th September 2012 in News

RESEARCH by Oxford University scientists has revealed organic farming is not always better for the environment than conventional methods.

Scientists looked at 71 studies comparing organic and conventional farms in Europe which found that while generally good for wildlife, it did not necessarily have lower overall environmental impacts.

Organic milk, cereals and pork all generated higher greenhouse gas emissions than their conventionally farmed counterparts, while organic beef and olives had lower emissions.

Dr Hanna Tuomisto, who led the research at the university’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, said: “Many people think that organic farming has intrinsically lower environmental impacts than conventional farming but the published literature tells us this is not the case.

“People need to realise that an “organic” label is not a straightforward guarantee of the most environmentally-friendly product.”