Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Sustainability in global agriculture driven by organic farming

  • Comment
  • Published:

From Nature Sustainability

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Agricultural practices need to change to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. How to achieve the SDGs is heavily contested. Here we propose a policy framework that triggers the required transition. Organic agriculture, although not a silver bullet, is a useful component in such strategy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

References

  1. Willett, W. et al. Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Reganold, J. P. & Wachter, J. M. Nat. Plants 2, 15221 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Seufert, V. & Ramankutty, N. Sci. Adv. 3, e1602638 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Meemken, E.-M. & Qaim, M. Annu. Rev. Resour. Econ. 10, 39–63 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Searchinger, T. D. et al. Nature 564, 249–253 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Campbell, B. M. et al. Ecol. Soc. 22, 8 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Loos, J. et al. Front. Ecol. Environ. 12, 356–361 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. From Uniformity to Diversity: A Paradigm Shift from Industrial Agriculture to Diversified Agroecological Systems (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, 2016).

  9. Pretty, J. et al. Nat. Sustain. 1, 441–446 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Sanders, J., Stolze, M. & Padel, S. Use and Efficiency of Public Support Measures Addressing Organic Farming (Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, 2011).

  11. Sukhdev, P. Nature 558, 7 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Sandhu, H. S., Wratten, S. D., Cullen, R. & Case, B. Ecol. Econ. 64, 835–848 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. FAO’s Work on Agroecology: A Pathway to Achieving the SDGs (FAO, 2018).

  14. Arbenz, M., Gould, D. & Stopes, C. Org. Agr. 7, 199–207 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Desta, M. G. & McMaohn, J. A. J. World Trade 49, 699–734 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Foley, J. A. et al. Nature 478, 337–342 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Muller, A. et al. Nat. Commun. 8, 13931 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, Zurich, Switzerland

    Frank Eyhorn

  2. IFOAM — Organics International, Bonn, Germany

    Frank Eyhorn & Louise Luttikholt

  3. Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, Switzerland

    Adrian Muller

  4. Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Zurich ETHZ, Zurich, Switzerland

    Adrian Muller

  5. Washington State University, Pullman, USA

    John P. Reganold

  6. International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (iPES Food) https://www.ipes-food.org/

    Emile Frison

  7. Millennium Institute, Washington, DC, USA

    Hans R. Herren

  8. TMG Think Tank for Sustainability, Berlin, Germany

    Alexander Mueller & Nadia El-Hage Scialabba

  9. Thünen Institute, Braunschweig, Germany

    Jürn Sanders

  10. Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Verena Seufert

  11. University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

    Pete Smith

Authors
  1. Frank Eyhorn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adrian Muller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John P. Reganold
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Emile Frison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hans R. Herren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Louise Luttikholt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Alexander Mueller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Jürn Sanders
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Nadia El-Hage Scialabba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Verena Seufert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Pete Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Frank Eyhorn, Adrian Muller or John P. Reganold.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Frank Eyhorn serves as Vice-President of IFOAM — Organics International. The authors do not have any competing interests regarding the content of this article.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Eyhorn, F., Muller, A., Reganold, J.P. et al. Sustainability in global agriculture driven by organic farming. Nat Sustain 2, 253–255 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0266-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0266-6

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation