Abstract
The current agrofood system is one of the most re-
sponsible for the ecosystem degradation, in partic-
ular, the biodiversity loss. Moreover, it has proved
to be unable to addres hunger and malnutrition.
Biodiversity in the food systems is absolutely cru-
cial for both a sustainable food production and food
security. Diets based on different food species pro-
mote health by addressing the problem of micronu-
trient and vitamin deficiencies. Therefore, it seems
that the transition towards sustainable forms of
agriculture cannot be deferred further.
The organic food production is seen having the po-
tential to contribute substantially to the global food
supply and reduce the environmental impact of the
conventional agriculture.
This paper summarizes the evidence present in the
scientific literature on these subjects and offers in-
sights into the links between organic food produc-
tion, sustainability, biodiversity and healthy diets.
Introduction
The current globalized food system is one of the most
responsible for the ecosystem degradation. Agricul-
ture alone contributes about 1 3 percent to the global
human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, but this
rate increases ranging from 17 to 32 percent if the
indirect emissions (fertilizers production and distri-
bution, farm operations, land conversion to agricul-
ture) are included (Bellarby et all., 2008). Therefore,
the so-called “industrial agriculture” based on the
adoption of large-scale farming systems, on the
massive use of fertilizers, that needs high energy in-
puts to have high yields and to maintain a constant
level of production, is widely considered no longer
sustainable. Overall, if one takes into account that it
failed to address hunger and malnutrition.
Currently, it is widely accepted that facing the dual
challenge of achieving food security and reducing
the environmental impact of food production, it is
necessary to take steps of transition towards sus-
tainable forms of agriculture (Hoffmann, 2011).
Organic farming and sustainability
Interest in organic production has grown appreciably
over the last few decades in the world (Willer and
Kilcher, 2011). According to EC Reg. No. 834/2007,
organic production is defined as: “...an overall sys-
tem of farm management and food production that
combines the best environmental practices, a high
level of biodiversity, the preservation of natural re-
sources, the application of high animal welfare stan-
dards and a production method in line with the
preferences of certain consumers for products pro-
duced using natural substances and processes”.
Organic management practices exclude such con-
ventional inputs as synthetic pesticides and fertiliz-
ers, instead putting the emphasis on building up the
soil with compost additions and animal and green
manures, controlling pests naturally, rotating crops
and diversifying crops and livestock.
Organic agriculture is generally considered as hav-
ing a lower environmental impact than conventional
agriculture. According to Hoffmann (2011), a con-
version to organic agriculture could significantly re-
duce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
(reduction of the use of industrial nitrogen-fertilizer
and of the soil-based N2O emissions). However, an
examination of the scientific literature demon-
strates that the lower environmental impact of or-
ganic agriculture is true for many foods but not for
all, and not for all the classes of environmental im-
pact. (Fosteret all., 2006). An energy analysis car-
ried out at the Rodale Institute showed a 33 percent
reduction in fossil-fuel use for organic farming sys-
tems in comparison with the equivalent conven-
tional ones (Pimentel, 2005). Fewer energy input
requirements have been observed for the organic
production of wheat, beef, sheep and pork meat, oil
seed rape, milk (Foster et all., 2006; Williamset al.,
2006); whereas the energy inputs were higher for
organic poultry meat and eggs. No difference was
observed, instead, between organic and conven-
tional potato production (Fosteret all., 2006).
In terms of land use, organic production generally255