VOA标准英语2012--Blended Organic-Conventional Farming Could Feed World

 

Blended Organic-Conventional Farming Could Feed World

In rural Maryland, an hour-and-a-half drive from Washington, Bill Mason is tilling his fields to plant organic maize¹ and soybeans.

About two-thirds of his 340 hectares are organic, but not all of them. And that bothers some people.

“There are some die-hard organics," Mason says. "They think every organic farmer should not be planting any conventional.”

As both an organic and conventional farmer, Mason sits right in the middle of a long-running debate over how best to feed the world.

Organic vs. conventional

Demand for organic food - produced without artificial fertilizers or pesticides² - is growing worldwide, but some experts doubt a growing world population can be fed if farmers don't use these chemicals. 

An April study in Nature found organic farming is 25 percent less productive on average than conventional farming. But while some say we cannot feed the world with organic agriculture, others say we cannot feed the world without it.

Critics of conventional farming say excessive fertilizer use pollutes waterways, kills fish and contributes to climate change. Customers will pay a premium³ for food produced without pesticides and fertilizers.

But Mason says his organic crops typically do not produce as much. “We are finding that our corn yields are about three-quarters of the yield of a normal conventional crop."

Ecological⁴ consequences

With those lower yields, feeding the world organically could require clearing more land for farms. 

“We’ll have to get more land into cultivation⁵ to do it that way," says Columbia University soil scientist Pedro Sanchez, "with horrible, negative ecological consequences.”

Experts say deforestation to make way for agriculture is already contributing to climate change and a loss of biodiversity.

And farmers will have nine billion mouths to feed by mid-century, which puts agriculture in a difficult position.

“Right now, we can’t feed 9 billion people with the ways we’re farming, whether it’s conventional or organic,” says U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher Michel Cavigelli.

Working both sides

So experts are working on both sides of the equation. Cavigelli is working to improve the productivity of organic farms using natural fertilizers like chicken manure⁶. The trouble, he says, is that often it does not provide enough nutrients⁷.

“We need to improve all systems. And so, what’s the best way to do that, both to feed the world’s population but also to do it in the way where we’re not destroying the planet?”

Many of the African farmers Pedro Sanchez has worked with have used synthetic⁸ fertilizers to triple their yields, making a huge difference in their food security.

Blended solution

“But as a scientist, I don’t like that as the solution," Sanchez says. "And I will not preach it as the solution. I want to integrate that with organically-produced nutrients.”

Organic nutrients, such as fertilizing⁹ cover crops, have worked out for Bill Mason and his conventional-farming neighbors are taking notice.

“I think there’s ideas that we’re using that are carrying over to the conventional world,” Mason says.

So the ideal solution to feeding a world of nine billion might not necessarily be a choice between organic or conventional farming, but rather a blend of both. 

1 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

2 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

4 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

5 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

6 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

7 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

9 fertilizing   

v.施肥( fertilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Sometimes the preliminary step must be taken of reducing weed population before fertilizing. 有时候，在施肥之前，必须采取减少杂草密度的预备性步骤。 来自辞典例句
• The self fertilizing garden can also be planted in raised beds. 自我施肥的菜园也可以在苗圃床中种植。 来自互联网