Dec
1
Agribusiness Chief Slams Organics
Green, Inc. - New York Times - Kate GalbraithTags: Obstructionists, Shame, Sustainability
Filed Under Articles
Michael Mack, the chief executive of Syngenta, doesn’t think organic food is such a good idea. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Syngenta is in the business of making pesticides and developing “crop protection” technologies. Read the article here.
Excerpt:
“Organic food is not only not better for the planet,” he said, in an interview at The New York Times building on Tuesday. “It is categorically worse.”
The problem, Mr. Mack said, is that organic farming takes up about 30 percent more land, on average, than nonorganic farming for the same yield (though this varies by crop, of course). If the world wants to feed its fast-growing population on existing cropland — and Mr. Mack is clear that he does not want forests chopped down to clear more land for biofuel production, let alone food — then productivity becomes a key factor, he said.
“If the whole planet were to suddenly switch to organic farming tomorrow, it would be an ecological disaster,” he said.
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