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2018/12/30
Dr Jungho Suh | Staff Directory
Dr Jungho Suh | Staff Directory
Suh J (2018), ‘Agriculture and sustainable communities: Reflections from a comparative case study’, Community Development 49(1): 34–49.
Suh J (2015), ‘Community-based organic agriculture in the Philippines’, Outlook on Agriculture 44(4): 291–296.
Suh J (2015), ‘Communitarian cooperative organic rice farming in Hongdong District, South Korea’, Journal of Rural Studies 37: 29–37.
Suh J (2015), 'An institutional and policy framework to foster integrated rice–duck farming in Asian developing countries’,International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 13(4): 294–307.
Suh J (2014), ‘Theory and reality of integrated rice-duck farming in Asian developing countries: a systematic review and SWOT analysis’, Agricultural Systems 125: 74–81.
Suh J (2014), ‘The role of the forestry industry for the success of community forestry: a comparative input-output analysis across India and the Philippines’, Southern Forests 76(1): 29–36.
Suh J (2014), ‘Towards sustainable agricultural stewardship: evolution and future directions of the permaculture concept’, Environmental Values 23(1): 75–98.
Suh J (2013), ‘Does Buddhism have much to offer in terms of reduction in global CO2 emissions? a panel data analysis’, Society and Economy 35(2): 209–225.
Suh J (2012), ‘The past and future of community-based forest management in the Philippines’, Philippine Studies: Historical & Ethnographic Viewpoints 60(4): 489–511.
Suh J, Lwanga R, Harrison SR and Herbohn JL (2011), ‘Visitors’ attitudes towards and willingness-to-pay for hypothetical hoop pine plantations on the pastoral Southern Atherton Tablelands, Australia’, Small-scale Forestry 10(3): 319–338.
Robinson J, Clouston B, Suh J and Chaloupka M (2008), ‘Are citizens’ juries a useful tool for assessing environmental value?’, Environmental Conservation 35(4): 351–360.
Bonham J and Suh J (2008), ‘Pedalling the city: intra-urban differences in cycling for the journey-to-work’, Road and Transport Research 17(4): 25–40.
Suh J and Harrison S (2006), 'Pure altruism, consumer behavior and choice modeling', Asian Economic Journal 20(2): 173–190.
Emtage N, Suh J, Cedamon E, Harrison S and Herbohn J (2006), ‘Promoting smallholder forestry as a poverty alleviation measure in the Philippines: a study focused on Leyte Province', Indian Development Review 4(2): 385–405.
Suh J and Emtage N (2005), ‘Identification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the community-based forest management program', Annals of Tropical Research 27(1): 55–66.
Emtage N and Suh J (2005), ‘Variations in socioeconomic characteristics, farming assets and livelihood systems of Leyte rural households', Annals of Tropical Research 27(1): 35–54.
Cedamon ED, Emtage N, Suh J, Herbohn JL, Harrison SR and Mangaoang EO (2005), ‘Present tree planting and management activities in four rural communities in Leyte Province, the Philippines’, Annals of Tropical Research 27(1): 19–34.
Emtage N and Suh J (2004), ‘Socio-economic factors affecting smallholder tree planting and management intentions in Leyte Province, Philippines’, Small-scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy 3(2): 257–270.
Suh J (2004), ‘Regulatory failure in the management of South Korea’s national parks’, Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law 8(1–2): 133–151.
Harrison SR and Suh J (2004), ‘Progress and prospects of community forestry in developing and developed countries’, Small-scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy 3(3): 287–302.
Xu J, Zhao Y and Suh J (2004), ‘Community forestry for poverty alleviation in China with reference to Huoshan County, Anhui Province’, Small-scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy 3(3): 385–400.
(Book chapters, conference papers, discussion papers)
Suh J (2015), ‘Economics of everyday cycling and cycling facilities’, in J Bonham and M Johnson (eds.), Cycling Futures, the University of Adelaide Press, Adelaide, pp. 107–130.
Suh J and Harrison SR (2005), ‘Management objectives and economic value of national parks: preservation, conservation and development’, Discussion Paper No. 337, School of Economics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 19 pp.
Harrison SR, Herbohn JL, Smorfitt DB and Suh J (2005), ‘Economic issues and lessons arising from the community rainforest reforestation program’, in PD Erskine, D Lamb and M Bristow (eds.), Reforestation in the Tropics and Subtropics of Australia Using Rainforest Tree Species, RIRDC Publication No. 05/087, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, pp. 245–261.
Harrison SR, Herbohn JL, Killin D, Suh J and Smorfitt DB (2004), ‘Timber marketing in a revitalised north Queensland forest industry: overview of major issues’, in J Suh, DB Smorfitt, SR Harrison and JL Herbohn (eds.), Marketing of Farm-grown Timber in Tropical North Queensland, Research Monograph, Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, Cairns, pp. 1–7.
Suh J, Killin D and Harrison SR (2004), ‘The Role of grower co-operatives in the marketing of farm-grown timber in north Queensland’, in J Suh, DB Smorfitt, SR Harrison and JL Herbohn (eds.), Marketing of Farm-grown Timber in Tropical North Queensland, Research Monograph, Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, Cairns, pp. 89–102.
Practical Permaculture: for Home Landscapes, Your Community, and the Whole Earth - Kindle edition by Jessi Bloom, Dave Boehnlein, Paul Kearsley. Crafts, Hobbies & Home Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Practical Permaculture: for Home Landscapes, Your Community, and the Whole Earth - by Jessi Bloom, Dave Boehnlein, Paul Kearsley.
Kindle edition
“Practical Permaculture is powerful, visceral, readable, and inspiring. It shows us how we can and should live.” —Joel Salatin, farmer and author
Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein, two dynamic leaders in the permaculture community, offer authoritative, in-depth, hands-on advice that shares a holistic approach to sustainable living. Permaculture is a growing trend, but still a daunting concept to many. New to permaculture principles and techniques? The guesswork will be eliminated by paging through this invaluable resource. Already an expert? This guide will surely make an important addition to your sustainable agriculture reference shelf.
Kindle edition
“Practical Permaculture is powerful, visceral, readable, and inspiring. It shows us how we can and should live.” —Joel Salatin, farmer and author
Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein, two dynamic leaders in the permaculture community, offer authoritative, in-depth, hands-on advice that shares a holistic approach to sustainable living. Permaculture is a growing trend, but still a daunting concept to many. New to permaculture principles and techniques? The guesswork will be eliminated by paging through this invaluable resource. Already an expert? This guide will surely make an important addition to your sustainable agriculture reference shelf.
Product description
Review
"With astonishing thoroughness and admirable dedication, Bloom and Boehnlein meticulously outline every aspect of permaculture, providing inspiring examples and impeccable advice for analysis, design, implementation, and plant selection." --Booklist
"Gardeners will relish the pragmatic text and illustrations in this handbook from two of permaculture's well-known leaders, Bloom (Free Range Chicken Gardens) and Boehnlein (education director, Bullock's Permaculture Homestead, WA)." --Library Journal
"Fills a niche for readers who want to integrate this down-to-earth but too-often-mystifying nature-inspired design system into their lives." --Publishers Weekly
"Practical Permaculture says it all right there in the title. The photos and diagrams are gorgeous and relevant. The text is easy to read, and the authors are seasoned in their craft. It is the clearest and most practical Permaculture book I have yet seen for helping the aspiring Permie." --PermacultureRising.com
"If anyone can make permaculture intelligible and appealing to home gardeners, it's award winning ecological landscape designer Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein. . . . if you're interested in achieving closed-loop sustainability while keeping garden aesthetics in mind, Practical Permaculture can serve as a detailed roadmap." --Garden Design
"In Practical Permaculture Northwest authors Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein take this 1970's term into today with real-life examples of people growing food, harvesting rain, and bringing their homes and gardens into symbiosis with the surrounding natural resources." --Sunset
"Clearly written and laid out. . . . This is a permaculture primer that is fresh and vibrant. Bring it on!" --Permaculture Magazine
"This comprehensive resource will help you make the shifts you're ready for this year, and for a decade." --The Denver Post
"Farmers who have heard the term, "permaculture" and are curious as to just what it means, will benefit from reading Practical Permaculture. Bloom and Boehnlein offer vivid ways to diversify the number of crops growing in a given area." --Acres USA
"Gardeners will relish the pragmatic text and illustrations in this handbook from two of permaculture's well-known leaders, Bloom (Free Range Chicken Gardens) and Boehnlein (education director, Bullock's Permaculture Homestead, WA)." --Library Journal
"Fills a niche for readers who want to integrate this down-to-earth but too-often-mystifying nature-inspired design system into their lives." --Publishers Weekly
"Practical Permaculture says it all right there in the title. The photos and diagrams are gorgeous and relevant. The text is easy to read, and the authors are seasoned in their craft. It is the clearest and most practical Permaculture book I have yet seen for helping the aspiring Permie." --PermacultureRising.com
"If anyone can make permaculture intelligible and appealing to home gardeners, it's award winning ecological landscape designer Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein. . . . if you're interested in achieving closed-loop sustainability while keeping garden aesthetics in mind, Practical Permaculture can serve as a detailed roadmap." --Garden Design
"In Practical Permaculture Northwest authors Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein take this 1970's term into today with real-life examples of people growing food, harvesting rain, and bringing their homes and gardens into symbiosis with the surrounding natural resources." --Sunset
"Clearly written and laid out. . . . This is a permaculture primer that is fresh and vibrant. Bring it on!" --Permaculture Magazine
"This comprehensive resource will help you make the shifts you're ready for this year, and for a decade." --The Denver Post
"Farmers who have heard the term, "permaculture" and are curious as to just what it means, will benefit from reading Practical Permaculture. Bloom and Boehnlein offer vivid ways to diversify the number of crops growing in a given area." --Acres USA
Product Description
“Practical Permaculture is powerful, visceral, readable, and inspiring. It shows us how we can and should live.” —Joel Salatin, farmer and author
Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein, two dynamic leaders in the permaculture community, offer authoritative, in-depth, hands-on advice that shares a holistic approach to sustainable living. Permaculture is a growing trend, but still a daunting concept to many. New to permaculture principles and techniques? The guesswork will be eliminated by paging through this invaluable resource. Already an expert? This guide will surely make an important addition to your sustainable agriculture reference shelf.
Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein, two dynamic leaders in the permaculture community, offer authoritative, in-depth, hands-on advice that shares a holistic approach to sustainable living. Permaculture is a growing trend, but still a daunting concept to many. New to permaculture principles and techniques? The guesswork will be eliminated by paging through this invaluable resource. Already an expert? This guide will surely make an important addition to your sustainable agriculture reference shelf.
==========
Product details
- Format: Kindle Edition
- File Size: 89470 KB
- Print Length: 337 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1604694432
- Publisher: Timber Press (4 February 2016)
- Sold by: Amazon Australia Services, Inc.
==========
Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com
Amazon.com: 68 reviews
Local
Pragmatic permaculture guidance in a beautiful book
11 June 2015 - Published on Amazon.com
Verified Purchase
51 people found this helpful.
Arthur Daigle
A good beginner book on permaculture
5 May 2016 - Published on Amazon.com
Verified Purchase
31 people found this helpful.
Kimera
or technical manuals that often suggest the need for a great deal of land contouring and environmental engineering in order ...
25 February 2015 - Published on Amazon.com
Verified Purchase
Permaculture is a fascinating agricultural practice that seeks to recreate the effortless efficiency and balance of natural ecosystems with human-designed systems aimed at food production. The texts in this growing genre tend to fall into two broad categories:
well-intentioned but slightly loopy tomes that are equal parts landscape planning and New Age philosophy,
or technical manuals that often suggest the need for a great deal of land contouring and environmental engineering in order to build your utopian homestead.
Practical Permaculture strikes an excellent balance between the two by clearly introducing basic concepts and providing excellent examples but not suggesting a multitude of projects that are beyond the reach of the average gardener or homeowner.
Beautifully laid out and illustrated, it makes permaculture accessible to the average person who merely wants to lessen their impact on the natural world and experience the excitement of creating a beautifully diverse polyculture rather than a sterile suburban lawn.
If you have any interest in permaculture this book is a great place to start and, if we're lucky, change the world one plant guild at a time. (Read it and you'll understand the reference.)
58 people found this helpful.
(PDF) BOOK REVIEW: Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects
(PDF) BOOK REVIEW: Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects
BOOK REVIEW: Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects
Article (PDF Available) · December 2007 with 22 Reads
(PDF) BOOK REVIEW: Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277233936_BOOK_REVIEW_Global_Development_of_Organic_Agriculture_Challenges_and_Prospects
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John Paull
University of Tasmania
BOOK REVIEWGlobal Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and ProspectsEdited by N. Halberg, H. F. Alroe, M.T. Knudsen and E.S. Kristensen. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK. <www.cabi.org>. May 2006. 380 pages, £55, ISBN 1 84593 078 9.
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Journal of Organic Systems – Vol.2 No.2, 2007, 57-5857 ISSN 1177-4258
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“ … the organic standards and control systems themselves can be a barrier that hinders the potential growth and spread of organic farming” (p. 77).
Global Development of Organic Agriculture is valuable for its both explicit and implicit championing of the diversity of organic agriculture systems - and in particular, its acknowledgment of the legitimacy and value of both certified and non-certified organics. In this, it serves as a useful foil to the fortress organics mentality that sees non-certified organics as some kind of impostor or threat to “the brand”. This book takes as a starting premise the legitimacy and value of both strands of organics, and proceeds from there.One of the remarkable, as well as exemplary, things about this new publication from the Danish Research Centre for Organic Food and Farming (DARCOF) is that five of the twelve chapters are available for free download <www.ecowiki.org/GlobalPerspective>. Brief summaries of a further two chapters are available at <www.orgprints.org>.
Despite the ambitious title, this book presents a Eurocentric view of the topic. Global Development of Organic Agriculture is the fruit of what the editors call a “knowledge synthesis” (p. xi) workshop by DARCOF (the acronym is generated from the Danish). Two of the chapters are written by congregations of six authors; in total there are 33 contributing authors, half are from Denmark, most are from continental Europe, none are from Asia, Oceania or the Pacific.
The editors report that Global Development of Organic Agriculture was “initiated by five key questions”:1. “Can organic production contribute to global food security? How?2. Can organic production in developing countries contribute to a sustainable development? How?3. Can organic certification protect natural resources, improve work conditions, etc.? How?4. Can a fair global trade with organic products be realized? How?5. Can organic research in high-income countries benefit organic agriculture in low-income countries? How?” (p. xii).
Chapter 1 reports that Oceania accounts for 42% of the global area under organic management; and that Australia leads the world with 11,300,000 organic hectares (p. 27) - that is nearly four times the area reported by number 2, Argentina, and twelve times the area of USA organics (the authors use Willer & Yussefi, 2005 data, available at <www.soel.de>).
Other than this fleeting mention, Oceania, Australia and New Zealand are noticeable by their absence, and do not figure in the index - in contrast, Bhutan receives three index-entries. This chapter includes interesting case studies of the beef trade/deforestation nexus in Brazil, and of GM soy crops in Argentina and the concomitant rapid rise of herbicide usage - with Fig 1.8 showing the increases of GM soy hectares closely tracked by glyphosate usage increases from 1996 to 2004.
Chapter 3, a web-available chapter, Organic agriculture and ecological justice: ethics and practice could instructively be read by those in Australia currently proposing mandatory certification. Alroe et al. write that: “… non-certified food systems may be more in line with the organic values and principles than certified systems, because the latter face direct pressures of market
competition and globalization that threaten to move organic food systems towards conventional systems, or in ways that are similar to conventional systems, and away from its original values and principles” (p. 102).
In Chapter 6: Certified and non-certified organic farming in the developing world, Parrott et al. present two informative SWOT analyses of organic farming, one from “a small farmerʼs perspective” and the second from “an institutional perspective” (p. 173, 174). They suggest that uncertified organic farms, especially in the developing world, lead to under-reporting of organic statistics, a kind of iceberg effect.The final chapter observes that: “The two strands of OA, certified and non-certified, offer different opportunities and prospects, which should be dealt with consciously by the organic farming movement” (p. 364). The rather cumbersome acronym NC-OA (non-certified organic agriculture) is proposed, “as a concept specifically suited for promoting and protection of organic agricultural production, which is marketed locally without premium prices” (p. 358) - confounding localness and price.Cosmologists will be tickled to read of “worldsʼ … ” (p. 330), geographers to learn that “Ukraine and China are the major certified organic producers in Asia” (p. 28), and grammarians may choke on the cringeworthy: “possibility for premia prices” (p. 173).
Some readers will be irritated by chapters chopping and changing between OA (organic agriculture) and OF (organic farming) without apparent distinction. This “knowledge synthesis” tome is further synthesized for readers in Chapter 12: Synthesis: Perspectives for organic agriculture in a global context - and there is a recommendation in the Preface (p. xi) to begin with the Chapter 12: Synthesis (which is available on the www).
Global Development of Organic Agriculture is a worthy contribution to the organics literature. However the tone is timid rather than bold, and the conclusions (p. 363-365) tentative and insipid, rather than vibrant and challenging. For example, a “challenge” is: “The major challenge in livestock production systems is to think the organic principles into a wide range of of diverse systems with very different conditions” (p. 364). A “prospect” (called “promise” in the www version) is: “Non-certified OA methods should be developed to accommodate the specific agro-ecological conditions including soil types” (p. 364). Absent is a full-frontal account of such biting challenges, to both local and global organics, as GMOs, nanotechnology, cashed-up chemical companies, green-revolution technocrats, corruptible bureaucrats, the consumer-inadequate (sometimes misleading and deceptive) food labelling, the migration of standards to government, the erosion-of-concept (e.g. USDAʼs organic = 95% organic rule and the EU 0.9% GM rule), and the corporatisation of the supply chain, just to mention a few. And this vis a vis the hopes and desires of Mr. & Mrs. Ug Boot the world over, who are trying, and sometimes desperately, and in the shadow of malfeasance by omission and commission, to feed their children, with preferably and demonstrably wholesome food and beverages.Five interesting questions have been raised to precipitate discussion and debate - to be addressed and explored rather than be definitively answered - and in this regard the book is successful. Global Development of Organic Agriculture, despite having an out-of-Europe feel, is an interesting and useful contribution to the literature of organic agriculture, and it is a worthy addition to any library with an agriculture, organics or world-development focus.
John Paull1 Journal of Organic Systems – Vol.2 No.2, 2007, 57-58
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“Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects”
Mrinila SINGH Masters Student
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation Hiroshima University, 1-5-1 Kagamiyama Higashi Hiroshima, 739-8529 singh_mrinila@hotmail.com
Keshav Lall MAHARJAN Professor
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation Hiroshima University, 1-5-1 Kagamiyama Higashi Hiroshima, 739-8529 mkeshav@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
The book titled ‘Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects’ is published by CABI Publishing in the year 2006. N. Halberg, H. F. Alroe, M. T. Knudsen and E. S. Kristensen are the editors of this book. This book is mainly the outcome of an international workshop: ‘Organic farming in a global perspective – globalization, sustainable development and ecological justice’ which was held in Copenhagen in 2004. On the basis of presentation by experts from USA, Sweden, Austria, The Netherlands and Denmark; and the discussions and group work which followed; Danish experts along with other international experts synthesized the knowledge on organic agriculture from a global perspective in this book.
As the title of the book implies, the purpose of reading it was to understand the global scenario of organic agriculture: how the practices are similar or differs given the socio-economic, political and ecological variation; what are the opportunities and challenges brought by globalization; who are the beneficiaries and payer of such market development; and finally what are the constraints in the overall scenario of organic agriculture development.
The book, in my opinion, has been able to satisfy the expectation readers will have given its splendid title. It includes vast
aspects of organic agriculture system and emphasizes on how it is experiencing technological and structural changes in the face of globalization. Surely organic agriculture has been expanding in both developed and developing countries, owing much to the environmental and health concerns or simply to take benefit from the high-priced niche market. Even so it faces tremendous challenges which vary from high-income countries with modern farming techniques and growing preferences, to low-income countries characterized by smallholder farmers and resource-poor consumers. This book tries to highlight the issues surrounding organic agriculture in the modern world from the perspective of ‘sustainability, food security and fair trade’.
The book starts off with the global trend in agriculture and food system. In order to clarify its stance on the damage brought upon by industrialized food production system, it presents cases of soybean-soil depletion effect in Argentina and beef productiondeforestation relation in Brazil. The fact that the compensation rate for Argentina for the depleted soil nutrients as a result of increase in soybean production and fertilizer use with mineral fertilizers will be ‘around 1.1 million t of phosphorous fertilizers and an amount of 330 million American dollars to buy it in the international market’ (p.23) is quiet alarming. It is particularly interesting when it is simultaneously claimed that it exports around 3.5 million t of nutrients without actually reflecting the ecological cost in the market prices.
Numerous other examples from across the globe has been provided to shed light on the kind of problems countries have been
facing given their specific characteristics. A case in Uganda shows how two Ugandan companies benefited by consolidating in a fair trade arrangement with Danish/European market to process and export organic fruit. It also provides an insight on the
Journal of International Development and Cooperation, Vol.19, No.1, 2012, pp. 51-53
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complications which are pointed out as lack of adequate financing, management skills, consistency in workforce, logistics, difficulty in partnership and cooperation, and cultural differences. It can be of specific interest as it reflects on what kind of difficulties smallholder farmers in developing countries is likely to face when integrated into global market.
In case of recycling nutrients from urban wastes, the book provides couple of examples from various countries such as China, India, Botswana, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, Sweden and Norway where applied cost effective technologies along with the barriers are also explained. This will benefit other developing countries to replicate the technology or modify it according to their specific context and get the glimpse of the associated problems beforehand, which probably will help them to prepare better.
The book also argues about political ecology, ecological justice, ecological economics and free trade and relates with how
organic agriculture can contribute to each of these aspects. Ecological justice is a concept wherein social and ecological justices are given high priority than market liberalism and economic growth. The idea of shared responsibility for livelihoods and environments or commons-based government, as termed in this book, has been proposed to resist the pressure of globalization and associated structural and technological developments. Commodification of commons, externalization of environmental and social costs, and the growing distance of trade and ownership has been identified as three key challenges in the light of ecological justice. Ecological justice can be put into practice through organic agriculture by way of fair trade, following nearness principle, identifying organic production zone and produce to create awareness and bolster community, creating sustainability and justice through ecological footprint approaches and measures of socio-ecological performance that are built on principles of equity and sustainability through the creation of series of social institutions, and prioritizing non-certified organic agriculture as well to avoid imposing the burden of Western-style certification. Another concept of ecological economics (EE) has also been conceptualized in this book which is basically the interrelationship between the ecological, economic and social systems. These should be the basis for future policy tools but the authors claim to have done very little globally in harmonizing and sustaining these interrelations.
It also reflects on importance of certification to get access to price premium in an international market but also criticizes that such global uniform standards might not be designed to blend with different cultural and natural conditions in different regions, thus concluding that ‘organic standards and control systems themselves can be a barrier that hinders the potential growth and spread of organic farming’ (p.77). With this it moves on to emphasize on non-certified organic production for local consumption. At present long distance trade and large corporate retails‘ control dominates the global food market. ’Low price, demand for larger quantity, standardization, specialization and high production efficiency and productivity` has been the essence of globalization. But such system has a repercussion through pollution of surface and groundwater with nitrates and pesticides, increased emission, loss of biodiversity, soil degradation and declining animal well-being. Certainly it has benefited food security of industrialized countries and few developing countries like China; but has also increased agricultural system and population gap, especially when compared to developing countries like Africa. The local farming system of developing countries are unable to compete with subsidy backed, lower priced surplus food production from market such as Europe. Thus, organic farming (OF) offers a more sustainable practice in this regard. OF is in a growing trend where about 100 countries are already practicing it. Trade in organic food throughout the world has been increasing, especially from South to North where developing countries like Brazil, Egypt and Uganda are now exporting to Europe and North America. Even though this provides a good prospect for developing countries, OF is in a greater risk than ever before of being pushed towards a conventional farming model backed by specialization, capital intensification, export orientation rather than local, increased processing, packaging and long-distance transporting. This has jeopardized the very fundamental elements of OF. Besides if not for export-orientation, OF can also improve production of marginalized smallholders as an uncertified production for local consumption. Prioritizing this aspect of organic system will, to some extent, lessen the environmental burden through less transportation, thus keeping up with the core feature of organic farming. Thus, the book prioritizes both certified and non-certified organic farming which holds its own priority in different section of the market.
It has also shed light on dynamic growth of organic sector both formal and informal, by specifically emphasizing on the unknown
extent of the latter to realize that organic share is far more greater than presently realized. Thus the authors call for prioritizing on knowledge synthesis over identifying new research programs with active involvement from the South. This will help to generate information from those who already have prior knowledge of local networks, practices and priorities to address the most pressing issues for organic research in developing countries and disseminate the information who need it the most, i.e. resource-poor farmers.
Another aspect of organic farming, as mentioned in the book, is its potential to contribute to sustainable development by recycling domestic and household waste through the integration of urban settlements with rural communities. Although there are
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some limitations to ecological sanitation system, it also demonstrates already proven technologies that can be adopted or improved in a new management system along with associated risks. It also discusses the pragmatic solution to revive the soil fertility in subSaharan Africa (SSA) through OF along with other approaches like high external input agriculture (HEIA), low external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA), or integrated soil fertility management (ISFM). Applying one solution to all will not bring same results throughout the diverse circumstances of SSA and so it has been suggested to adopt HEIA and certified organic system in areas that have favorable agro-climatic conditions and market access and follow LEISA or ISFM approaches in areas having lower potential or poor access. Moreover the best solution would be the one through which farmers can make profit, accept risk, feasible to specific context, and economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.
The book also discusses about organic approach to livestock production systems with particular focus on veterinary treatment
and disease control. Animals should be allowed to perform in their natural behavior and it has argued on the use of indigenous breeds, role of vaccination, traditional medicine and alternatives to biomedical treatment and other methods to manage disease. Conversely it also mentions that the development of OF must not threaten local and regional disease control programmes especially when diseases are zoonotic in nature, highly infectious and have huge economic significance. The major challenges in terms of disease control are endemic diseases, large flocks/herds and how they use land under the given conditions and other economic, political, cultural, historical, climatic and vegetation factors. This is backed by the cases in Uganda and Bhutan where organic system (mainly default or traditional system) of livestock production are implemented but are also challenged with outbreak/ transmission of disease because of the natural setting or free movement of animals.
One of the most pressing issues of the potential of OF to contribute to food security has been discussed as well. It argued that the relative yield of OF will depend on socio-economic and agro-ecological factors, and the characteristics of farming system before conversion. As indicated by the food policy model IMPACT, approximately 50% conversion of Europe/North America (E/ NA) agricultural land will result in 35% lower yields after conversion, 50% higher yield growth rate compared to conventional crop yield and will have 6-10% impact on world prices of non-meat agricultural commodities. But in case of SSA the result seems quite positive where the same percent of land conversion will have increased self-sufficiency and decreased net food import to the region if non-certified OF is supported by capacity building and research programs. With this point the book concludes by emphasizing on importance of research for organic food and farming, especially in the South which is severely under-researched compared to the North where organic farming policies, practices and institutions are comprehensively studied. It calls for studying the social conditions under which organic farming is evolving in the South and how national or regional policies and regulations are contributing to it. It also highlights how the course of movement in the South is highly driven by Northern institutions which might not actually reflect the Southern realities and thus needs to be seriously reformed. It is worth noting at this point that out of 33 contributing authors, about half are from Denmark and most of the others from continental Europe, with none from Asia, Oceania or Pacific (Paull, 2007). This implies that the book itself lacks representative authors from various parts of the world, thus limiting their opinions to some extent as well. However, it also provides brief information on international organizations working for promotion of this sector which will probably help readers to refer to for deepening their knowledge.
Organic farming though has different set of principles from the mainstream farming, is not completely free from the chaos of
globalization. This book gives us insight on various aspects of organic agriculture throughout the world. It provides a fine picture of the ground-reality of OF from developed as well as developing countries. It has tried to provide pragmatic answers to the given problem by assessing the situation therein and called for a more extensive study in other areas. Moreover it makes the reader realize that there is no one-solution-fits-all to the vast areas which are characterized by their unique natural, social, environmental and political setting. In this regard research has been given a high priority which should be context-specific for making the approach sustainable in every way possible.
Paul (2007) has also provided the links through which five of the twelve chapters can be accessed and brief summaries of further two chapters which are respectively listed below: • www.ecowiki.org/GlobalPerspective • www.orgprints.org
Work Cited
Paull, J. (2007). Book Review-Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects. Journal of Organic Systems, 2(2), 57-58.
BOOK REVIEW: Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects
Article (PDF Available) · December 2007 with 22 Reads
(PDF) BOOK REVIEW: Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277233936_BOOK_REVIEW_Global_Development_of_Organic_Agriculture_Challenges_and_Prospects
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John Paull
University of Tasmania
BOOK REVIEWGlobal Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and ProspectsEdited by N. Halberg, H. F. Alroe, M.T. Knudsen and E.S. Kristensen. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK. <www.cabi.org>. May 2006. 380 pages, £55, ISBN 1 84593 078 9.
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Journal of Organic Systems – Vol.2 No.2, 2007, 57-5857 ISSN 1177-4258
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“ … the organic standards and control systems themselves can be a barrier that hinders the potential growth and spread of organic farming” (p. 77).
Global Development of Organic Agriculture is valuable for its both explicit and implicit championing of the diversity of organic agriculture systems - and in particular, its acknowledgment of the legitimacy and value of both certified and non-certified organics. In this, it serves as a useful foil to the fortress organics mentality that sees non-certified organics as some kind of impostor or threat to “the brand”. This book takes as a starting premise the legitimacy and value of both strands of organics, and proceeds from there.One of the remarkable, as well as exemplary, things about this new publication from the Danish Research Centre for Organic Food and Farming (DARCOF) is that five of the twelve chapters are available for free download <www.ecowiki.org/GlobalPerspective>. Brief summaries of a further two chapters are available at <www.orgprints.org>.
Despite the ambitious title, this book presents a Eurocentric view of the topic. Global Development of Organic Agriculture is the fruit of what the editors call a “knowledge synthesis” (p. xi) workshop by DARCOF (the acronym is generated from the Danish). Two of the chapters are written by congregations of six authors; in total there are 33 contributing authors, half are from Denmark, most are from continental Europe, none are from Asia, Oceania or the Pacific.
The editors report that Global Development of Organic Agriculture was “initiated by five key questions”:1. “Can organic production contribute to global food security? How?2. Can organic production in developing countries contribute to a sustainable development? How?3. Can organic certification protect natural resources, improve work conditions, etc.? How?4. Can a fair global trade with organic products be realized? How?5. Can organic research in high-income countries benefit organic agriculture in low-income countries? How?” (p. xii).
Chapter 1 reports that Oceania accounts for 42% of the global area under organic management; and that Australia leads the world with 11,300,000 organic hectares (p. 27) - that is nearly four times the area reported by number 2, Argentina, and twelve times the area of USA organics (the authors use Willer & Yussefi, 2005 data, available at <www.soel.de>).
Other than this fleeting mention, Oceania, Australia and New Zealand are noticeable by their absence, and do not figure in the index - in contrast, Bhutan receives three index-entries. This chapter includes interesting case studies of the beef trade/deforestation nexus in Brazil, and of GM soy crops in Argentina and the concomitant rapid rise of herbicide usage - with Fig 1.8 showing the increases of GM soy hectares closely tracked by glyphosate usage increases from 1996 to 2004.
Chapter 3, a web-available chapter, Organic agriculture and ecological justice: ethics and practice could instructively be read by those in Australia currently proposing mandatory certification. Alroe et al. write that: “… non-certified food systems may be more in line with the organic values and principles than certified systems, because the latter face direct pressures of market
competition and globalization that threaten to move organic food systems towards conventional systems, or in ways that are similar to conventional systems, and away from its original values and principles” (p. 102).
In Chapter 6: Certified and non-certified organic farming in the developing world, Parrott et al. present two informative SWOT analyses of organic farming, one from “a small farmerʼs perspective” and the second from “an institutional perspective” (p. 173, 174). They suggest that uncertified organic farms, especially in the developing world, lead to under-reporting of organic statistics, a kind of iceberg effect.The final chapter observes that: “The two strands of OA, certified and non-certified, offer different opportunities and prospects, which should be dealt with consciously by the organic farming movement” (p. 364). The rather cumbersome acronym NC-OA (non-certified organic agriculture) is proposed, “as a concept specifically suited for promoting and protection of organic agricultural production, which is marketed locally without premium prices” (p. 358) - confounding localness and price.Cosmologists will be tickled to read of “worldsʼ … ” (p. 330), geographers to learn that “Ukraine and China are the major certified organic producers in Asia” (p. 28), and grammarians may choke on the cringeworthy: “possibility for premia prices” (p. 173).
Some readers will be irritated by chapters chopping and changing between OA (organic agriculture) and OF (organic farming) without apparent distinction. This “knowledge synthesis” tome is further synthesized for readers in Chapter 12: Synthesis: Perspectives for organic agriculture in a global context - and there is a recommendation in the Preface (p. xi) to begin with the Chapter 12: Synthesis (which is available on the www).
Global Development of Organic Agriculture is a worthy contribution to the organics literature. However the tone is timid rather than bold, and the conclusions (p. 363-365) tentative and insipid, rather than vibrant and challenging. For example, a “challenge” is: “The major challenge in livestock production systems is to think the organic principles into a wide range of of diverse systems with very different conditions” (p. 364). A “prospect” (called “promise” in the www version) is: “Non-certified OA methods should be developed to accommodate the specific agro-ecological conditions including soil types” (p. 364). Absent is a full-frontal account of such biting challenges, to both local and global organics, as GMOs, nanotechnology, cashed-up chemical companies, green-revolution technocrats, corruptible bureaucrats, the consumer-inadequate (sometimes misleading and deceptive) food labelling, the migration of standards to government, the erosion-of-concept (e.g. USDAʼs organic = 95% organic rule and the EU 0.9% GM rule), and the corporatisation of the supply chain, just to mention a few. And this vis a vis the hopes and desires of Mr. & Mrs. Ug Boot the world over, who are trying, and sometimes desperately, and in the shadow of malfeasance by omission and commission, to feed their children, with preferably and demonstrably wholesome food and beverages.Five interesting questions have been raised to precipitate discussion and debate - to be addressed and explored rather than be definitively answered - and in this regard the book is successful. Global Development of Organic Agriculture, despite having an out-of-Europe feel, is an interesting and useful contribution to the literature of organic agriculture, and it is a worthy addition to any library with an agriculture, organics or world-development focus.
John Paull1 Journal of Organic Systems – Vol.2 No.2, 2007, 57-58
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“Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects”
Mrinila SINGH Masters Student
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation Hiroshima University, 1-5-1 Kagamiyama Higashi Hiroshima, 739-8529 singh_mrinila@hotmail.com
Keshav Lall MAHARJAN Professor
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation Hiroshima University, 1-5-1 Kagamiyama Higashi Hiroshima, 739-8529 mkeshav@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
The book titled ‘Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects’ is published by CABI Publishing in the year 2006. N. Halberg, H. F. Alroe, M. T. Knudsen and E. S. Kristensen are the editors of this book. This book is mainly the outcome of an international workshop: ‘Organic farming in a global perspective – globalization, sustainable development and ecological justice’ which was held in Copenhagen in 2004. On the basis of presentation by experts from USA, Sweden, Austria, The Netherlands and Denmark; and the discussions and group work which followed; Danish experts along with other international experts synthesized the knowledge on organic agriculture from a global perspective in this book.
As the title of the book implies, the purpose of reading it was to understand the global scenario of organic agriculture: how the practices are similar or differs given the socio-economic, political and ecological variation; what are the opportunities and challenges brought by globalization; who are the beneficiaries and payer of such market development; and finally what are the constraints in the overall scenario of organic agriculture development.
The book, in my opinion, has been able to satisfy the expectation readers will have given its splendid title. It includes vast
aspects of organic agriculture system and emphasizes on how it is experiencing technological and structural changes in the face of globalization. Surely organic agriculture has been expanding in both developed and developing countries, owing much to the environmental and health concerns or simply to take benefit from the high-priced niche market. Even so it faces tremendous challenges which vary from high-income countries with modern farming techniques and growing preferences, to low-income countries characterized by smallholder farmers and resource-poor consumers. This book tries to highlight the issues surrounding organic agriculture in the modern world from the perspective of ‘sustainability, food security and fair trade’.
The book starts off with the global trend in agriculture and food system. In order to clarify its stance on the damage brought upon by industrialized food production system, it presents cases of soybean-soil depletion effect in Argentina and beef productiondeforestation relation in Brazil. The fact that the compensation rate for Argentina for the depleted soil nutrients as a result of increase in soybean production and fertilizer use with mineral fertilizers will be ‘around 1.1 million t of phosphorous fertilizers and an amount of 330 million American dollars to buy it in the international market’ (p.23) is quiet alarming. It is particularly interesting when it is simultaneously claimed that it exports around 3.5 million t of nutrients without actually reflecting the ecological cost in the market prices.
Numerous other examples from across the globe has been provided to shed light on the kind of problems countries have been
facing given their specific characteristics. A case in Uganda shows how two Ugandan companies benefited by consolidating in a fair trade arrangement with Danish/European market to process and export organic fruit. It also provides an insight on the
Journal of International Development and Cooperation, Vol.19, No.1, 2012, pp. 51-53
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complications which are pointed out as lack of adequate financing, management skills, consistency in workforce, logistics, difficulty in partnership and cooperation, and cultural differences. It can be of specific interest as it reflects on what kind of difficulties smallholder farmers in developing countries is likely to face when integrated into global market.
In case of recycling nutrients from urban wastes, the book provides couple of examples from various countries such as China, India, Botswana, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, Sweden and Norway where applied cost effective technologies along with the barriers are also explained. This will benefit other developing countries to replicate the technology or modify it according to their specific context and get the glimpse of the associated problems beforehand, which probably will help them to prepare better.
The book also argues about political ecology, ecological justice, ecological economics and free trade and relates with how
organic agriculture can contribute to each of these aspects. Ecological justice is a concept wherein social and ecological justices are given high priority than market liberalism and economic growth. The idea of shared responsibility for livelihoods and environments or commons-based government, as termed in this book, has been proposed to resist the pressure of globalization and associated structural and technological developments. Commodification of commons, externalization of environmental and social costs, and the growing distance of trade and ownership has been identified as three key challenges in the light of ecological justice. Ecological justice can be put into practice through organic agriculture by way of fair trade, following nearness principle, identifying organic production zone and produce to create awareness and bolster community, creating sustainability and justice through ecological footprint approaches and measures of socio-ecological performance that are built on principles of equity and sustainability through the creation of series of social institutions, and prioritizing non-certified organic agriculture as well to avoid imposing the burden of Western-style certification. Another concept of ecological economics (EE) has also been conceptualized in this book which is basically the interrelationship between the ecological, economic and social systems. These should be the basis for future policy tools but the authors claim to have done very little globally in harmonizing and sustaining these interrelations.
It also reflects on importance of certification to get access to price premium in an international market but also criticizes that such global uniform standards might not be designed to blend with different cultural and natural conditions in different regions, thus concluding that ‘organic standards and control systems themselves can be a barrier that hinders the potential growth and spread of organic farming’ (p.77). With this it moves on to emphasize on non-certified organic production for local consumption. At present long distance trade and large corporate retails‘ control dominates the global food market. ’Low price, demand for larger quantity, standardization, specialization and high production efficiency and productivity` has been the essence of globalization. But such system has a repercussion through pollution of surface and groundwater with nitrates and pesticides, increased emission, loss of biodiversity, soil degradation and declining animal well-being. Certainly it has benefited food security of industrialized countries and few developing countries like China; but has also increased agricultural system and population gap, especially when compared to developing countries like Africa. The local farming system of developing countries are unable to compete with subsidy backed, lower priced surplus food production from market such as Europe. Thus, organic farming (OF) offers a more sustainable practice in this regard. OF is in a growing trend where about 100 countries are already practicing it. Trade in organic food throughout the world has been increasing, especially from South to North where developing countries like Brazil, Egypt and Uganda are now exporting to Europe and North America. Even though this provides a good prospect for developing countries, OF is in a greater risk than ever before of being pushed towards a conventional farming model backed by specialization, capital intensification, export orientation rather than local, increased processing, packaging and long-distance transporting. This has jeopardized the very fundamental elements of OF. Besides if not for export-orientation, OF can also improve production of marginalized smallholders as an uncertified production for local consumption. Prioritizing this aspect of organic system will, to some extent, lessen the environmental burden through less transportation, thus keeping up with the core feature of organic farming. Thus, the book prioritizes both certified and non-certified organic farming which holds its own priority in different section of the market.
It has also shed light on dynamic growth of organic sector both formal and informal, by specifically emphasizing on the unknown
extent of the latter to realize that organic share is far more greater than presently realized. Thus the authors call for prioritizing on knowledge synthesis over identifying new research programs with active involvement from the South. This will help to generate information from those who already have prior knowledge of local networks, practices and priorities to address the most pressing issues for organic research in developing countries and disseminate the information who need it the most, i.e. resource-poor farmers.
Another aspect of organic farming, as mentioned in the book, is its potential to contribute to sustainable development by recycling domestic and household waste through the integration of urban settlements with rural communities. Although there are
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some limitations to ecological sanitation system, it also demonstrates already proven technologies that can be adopted or improved in a new management system along with associated risks. It also discusses the pragmatic solution to revive the soil fertility in subSaharan Africa (SSA) through OF along with other approaches like high external input agriculture (HEIA), low external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA), or integrated soil fertility management (ISFM). Applying one solution to all will not bring same results throughout the diverse circumstances of SSA and so it has been suggested to adopt HEIA and certified organic system in areas that have favorable agro-climatic conditions and market access and follow LEISA or ISFM approaches in areas having lower potential or poor access. Moreover the best solution would be the one through which farmers can make profit, accept risk, feasible to specific context, and economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.
The book also discusses about organic approach to livestock production systems with particular focus on veterinary treatment
and disease control. Animals should be allowed to perform in their natural behavior and it has argued on the use of indigenous breeds, role of vaccination, traditional medicine and alternatives to biomedical treatment and other methods to manage disease. Conversely it also mentions that the development of OF must not threaten local and regional disease control programmes especially when diseases are zoonotic in nature, highly infectious and have huge economic significance. The major challenges in terms of disease control are endemic diseases, large flocks/herds and how they use land under the given conditions and other economic, political, cultural, historical, climatic and vegetation factors. This is backed by the cases in Uganda and Bhutan where organic system (mainly default or traditional system) of livestock production are implemented but are also challenged with outbreak/ transmission of disease because of the natural setting or free movement of animals.
One of the most pressing issues of the potential of OF to contribute to food security has been discussed as well. It argued that the relative yield of OF will depend on socio-economic and agro-ecological factors, and the characteristics of farming system before conversion. As indicated by the food policy model IMPACT, approximately 50% conversion of Europe/North America (E/ NA) agricultural land will result in 35% lower yields after conversion, 50% higher yield growth rate compared to conventional crop yield and will have 6-10% impact on world prices of non-meat agricultural commodities. But in case of SSA the result seems quite positive where the same percent of land conversion will have increased self-sufficiency and decreased net food import to the region if non-certified OF is supported by capacity building and research programs. With this point the book concludes by emphasizing on importance of research for organic food and farming, especially in the South which is severely under-researched compared to the North where organic farming policies, practices and institutions are comprehensively studied. It calls for studying the social conditions under which organic farming is evolving in the South and how national or regional policies and regulations are contributing to it. It also highlights how the course of movement in the South is highly driven by Northern institutions which might not actually reflect the Southern realities and thus needs to be seriously reformed. It is worth noting at this point that out of 33 contributing authors, about half are from Denmark and most of the others from continental Europe, with none from Asia, Oceania or Pacific (Paull, 2007). This implies that the book itself lacks representative authors from various parts of the world, thus limiting their opinions to some extent as well. However, it also provides brief information on international organizations working for promotion of this sector which will probably help readers to refer to for deepening their knowledge.
Organic farming though has different set of principles from the mainstream farming, is not completely free from the chaos of
globalization. This book gives us insight on various aspects of organic agriculture throughout the world. It provides a fine picture of the ground-reality of OF from developed as well as developing countries. It has tried to provide pragmatic answers to the given problem by assessing the situation therein and called for a more extensive study in other areas. Moreover it makes the reader realize that there is no one-solution-fits-all to the vast areas which are characterized by their unique natural, social, environmental and political setting. In this regard research has been given a high priority which should be context-specific for making the approach sustainable in every way possible.
Paul (2007) has also provided the links through which five of the twelve chapters can be accessed and brief summaries of further two chapters which are respectively listed below: • www.ecowiki.org/GlobalPerspective • www.orgprints.org
Work Cited
Paull, J. (2007). Book Review-Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects. Journal of Organic Systems, 2(2), 57-58.
The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture (Culture of the Land), Albert Howard - Amazon.com
The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture (Culture of the Land), Albert Howard - Amazon.com
During his years as a scientist working for the British government in India, Sir Albert Howard conceived of and refined the principles of organic agriculture. Howard's The Soil and Health became a seminal and inspirational text in the organic movement soon after its publication in 1945. The Soil and Health argues that industrial agriculture, emergent in Howard's era and dominant today, disrupts the delicate balance of nature and irrevocably robs the soil of its fertility. Howard's classic treatise links the burgeoning health crises facing crops, livestock, and humanity to this radical degradation of the Earth's soil. His message -- that we must respect and restore the health of the soil for the benefit of future generations -- still resonates among those who are concerned about the effects of chemically enhanced agriculture.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"This is one of the great classics of the organic farming movement. This legacy ought to be better remembered and understood." ―Wes Jackson, author of Becoming Native to This Place"
"Howard realized decades ago that chemical fertilizers and synthetic herbicides and pesticides deplete the soil, which leads to public health problems, including disease and environmental destruction. . . Thankfully, the University Press of Kentucky has recently reprinted Howard's 'The Soil and Health.' Originally published in 1945, the book largely inspired out modern-day organic movement. The time has come to re-think Howard's words, especially in light of recent research showing what's in organically grown food might matter as much as the missing synthetic pesticide and herbicide residues."―Melinda Hemmelgarn, Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune"
"A no-jargon, no-ostentation, no-fooling-around book that is as relevant as it was when it was first published in 1947. If some of us can take from it that the basic concepts or organic agriculture are timeless―simple and "organic"―then this reprint has done its job." ―Claus Sproll, Lilipoh"―
From the Publisher
WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY WENDELL BERRY
See all Editorial Reviews
Product details
File Size: 5840 KB
Print Length: 352 pages
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (September 29, 2010)
Publication Date: September 29, 2010
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Top Reviews
J. Christensen
5.0 out of 5 starsResearch is CyclicalMay 16, 2016
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I remember many years ago in college that I was surprised by how much research is cyclical. Previous research is challenged by one generation and then rediscovered by the next generation. Much of what is written in this book is now being rediscovered as the latest organic farming and gardening methods. There is different technology today, but the new things being discovered differ very little from what is written in this book which is based upon hands on research that was done many decades ago.
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Jennie Brabec
5.0 out of 5 starsThis book does not have $ value---it is PRICELESS, beyond any priceJuly 12, 2010
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[[ASIN:0813191718 The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture (Culture of the Land)]
Robert Rodale dedicated the September,1948 issue of ORGANIC GARDENING as a memorial to Albert Howard . I made this note from that issue, "The purpose of this book is threefold:to record my own observations and reflections, which have accumulated during some forty-five years, on the occurance and prevention of disease, to establish the thesis that most disease can be traced to am impoverished soil, which leads to imperfectly synthesized protein in the green leaf and finally to the breakdown of those protective arrangements which Nature has designed for us." Howard's preface.
Also from my notes, "The quality of our food and health decreases each year. In 1995the USA ranked 17th in life expectancy, in 10000 we ranked 24th. Countries are not ranked 17th in life expectancy on the internet at WHO Statistical Information System. Dr. Christopher Murray, MD,PhD of Who has this to say,"Basically you die earlier and spend more time sidabled if you are an American rather than a member of most other developed countries"
A God bless you to Wendell Barry for your introduction. I am still haunted by your UNSETTLING OF AMERICA;CULTURE AND AGRICULTURE which I read many years ago.
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Abraham
5.0 out of 5 starsBest Hidden Secret from AgronomistsAugust 12, 2012
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Sir Howard is truthfully the beginer of the organic movement if there is such a thing, most important is his critical analysis of the begining of the industrial agriculture and it's impact on our health. It is quite sad that this kind of literature is not compulsive for agronomy degrees, even for biologist, but we deserve to educate ourselves holistically on the impact of our decisions and of those that direct politics in the food chain.
It's outmost surprising that so early there was someone with a clear eye of the root of many health problems: the health of out soils.
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Binyamin Klempner
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is an essential book that all serious farmers and ...March 21, 2015
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This is an essential book that all serious farmers and gardeners should read and have on their shelves. According to Wendel Berry, it is the book that has shaped his philosophy on agriculture more than any other.
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veteran
5.0 out of 5 starsare you what you eat?May 17, 2013
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this is an excellent book on the benefits of organic gardening. examples of the issues that accompany exhausting your soil as well as examples of issues that accompany using artificial fertilizers on your soil. pretty fast read. anyone interested in gardening/farming, health, world ecology in general should read this book.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsA 'must read' for anyone concerned with organic consumerism and ...October 27, 2014
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A 'must read' for anyone concerned with organic consumerism and their health. Sir Albert was a British agricultural scientist working in the early twentieth century and is considered the father of organic farming and composting. He conducted experiments that clearly show the health and economic advantages of organic farming.
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Helen Lyons
5.0 out of 5 starsFive StarsApril 28, 2016
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Excellent!
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Siri Erickson-Brown
5.0 out of 5 starsWhy does soil matter? Read this firstMarch 2, 2009
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Jared Diamond and others have written about how civilizations have destroyed themselves by exploiting their soils. Sir Albert Howard said the same thing, but he said it 100 years ago. Howard was the father of the modern organic, holistic farming movement. This book is incredibly readable and will change how you think about food, soil, and the fate of civilization.
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