Study: Organic agriculture boosts local economies

It would serve the mission of a clean planet to feed the world with healthy, organic agriculture only. However, big food and agro companies often argue that organic agriculture is too expensive to feed 7 billion people. A new study shows that regional economic health in 225 U.S counties improves when farms transition to organic agriculture. “Organic hotspots” boost median household incomes by an average of $2,000 per year and reduce poverty levels by an average of 1.3 percentage points, according to the research. Organic agriculture, along with the accompanying business activities, was found to have a greater beneficial economic effect than conventional, chemically-intensive agriculture and had an even more positive impact than some major anti-poverty programs.    READ MORE