Miguel M.LS.Jan 52 minShould carbon be the next organic crop?The desirability of carbon-rich soil is a no-brainer for anybody engaged in agriculture and other land-based forms of food production....
Miguel M.LS.Dec 23, 20213 minWhat policymakers keep getting wrong about ending hungerEnding hunger for everyone in the world by the year 2030 is the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations. A goal...
Miguel M.LS.Dec 13, 20212 minFour principles of organic agriculture (4/4): CareThe principles of health, ecology and fairness are brought together into the fourth and final principle of organic agriculture: the...
Miguel M.LS.Nov 28, 20212 minLet’s take a moment to appreciate the importance of soil inoculants for an organic futureIt’s no secret that conventionally-cultivated soils tend to become, by themselves, poor. They’re often managed under exploitative...
Miguel M.LS.Nov 24, 20212 minFour principles of organic agriculture (3/4): FairnessUnfairness is unsustainable, and organic agriculture aims for sustainability: it must, consequently, be fair. Even if it is not a part of...
Miguel M.LS.Nov 11, 20212 minFour principles for organic agriculture (2/4): Ecology.Seen from the outside, agriculture may seem to be a magical process: things are planted in the soil, cared for during a season, and food...
Miguel M.LS.Nov 1, 20212 minFour principles for organic agriculture (1/4): Health.Organic agriculture is a different sort of business. It is, of course, still a business, where profitability and productivity matter (how...
Miguel M.LS.Oct 18, 20213 minThe five principles of water-friendly land stewardshipOut of all the water in the world, only 3.5% is freshwater, and around 70% of it is currently trapped in the form of permanent ice. This...
Miguel M.LS.Oct 11, 20212 minAn insight into the human values underlying organic agricultureIt would seem counterintuitive that emphasizing nature would foster deeply human values – at least, from the perspective of human beings...
Miguel M.LS.Oct 6, 20212 minOrganic agriculture could double the yields of the world’s poorest farmersWhen promoting policies that support and stimulate organic agriculture, one common criticism is heard: that organic agriculture lacks the...
Miguel M.LS.Sep 20, 20212 minEurope’s ambitious goal – converting 25% of its agricultural land to organic farming by 2030Last March, the European Commission (the organism in charge of designing the implementation of the EU’s policies) presented a 22-page...
Miguel M.LS.Sep 12, 20212 minThe end of green deserts? Organic agriculture boosts biodiversity by 30%, studies find.Everywhere around the world, but more so in the developing countries, vast deserts spring up from the ground and begin to cover formerly...
Miguel M.LS.Sep 5, 20212 minOrganic agriculture significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, according to 23 years of data.According to the most recent data on the subject, no less than a quarter of all the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from...
Miguel M.LS.Aug 28, 20212 minMeet the organization giving a voice to organic agriculture worldwideIt was the fall in Versailles when a group of international participants (five, in total) arrived at the first meeting of a “big national...
Miguel M.LS.Aug 22, 20212 minA look at the case of Sikkim, the world’s first fully organic stateIn the struggle to transition to a greener, healthier world, every single victory is a victory for the planet as a whole. Efforts of...
Miguel M.LS.Aug 1, 20212 minOrganic fertilizers lend a hand in the fight against overfertilizationEven though it sounds like everything but a problem for many farmers and gardeners who have to face the increasing nutrient depletion of...
Miguel M.LS.Jul 15, 20213 minUnderstanding the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N)One of the beautiful aspects of organic agriculture (and regenerative agriculture in particular) is that it’s not magic: it’s a...
Miguel M.LS.Jul 4, 20213 minUnderstanding externalities in agriculture, and their importance for organic producersWhenever a good is produced (let's say, an airplane, a coffee cup, or, for the agricultural sector, a pound of tomatoes or a single...
Miguel M.LS.Jun 20, 20214 minFive major perks of agricultural heritage systemsAgricultural heritage systems may sound like they belong to the past, or like they are very limited to specific cultural contexts and...
Miguel M.LS.May 30, 20213 minFive edible cover crops that provide food while building the soilThe advantages of using cover crops to protect the soil and produce green manure are known to be many: nutrient scavenging in poor soils,...