
EU plans to plant 3B trees and expand organic farming - onetimemanytime
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2244115-eu-plans-to-plant-3-billion-trees-and-massively-expand-organic-farming/
======
fsflover
I wonder why organic farming is so popular. Wikipedia says:

1\. "Researchers at Oxford University analyzed 71 peer-reviewed studies and
observed that organic products are sometimes worse for the environment."

2\. "According to a 2012 meta-analysis of 71 studies, nitrogen leaching,
nitrous oxide emissions, ammonia emissions, eutrophication potential and
acidification potential were higher for organic products"

3\. "The Oxford meta-analysis of 71 studies found that organic farming
requires 84% more land for an equivalent amount of harvest"

4\. "there is insufficient evidence to make claims that organic food is safer
or healthier than conventional food"

The list goes on:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_farming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_farming)

~~~
Scarblac
A problem is that insecticides and artificial fertilizer (two main things not
allowed in organic farming) cause ecological problems in the region where the
farm is located, _even if_ organic farming would need more farm land in total
and would thus destroy nature elsewhere.

Many crops are better grown in greenhouses, where pests can be kept out or
controlled without pesticides, and plants can be grown in stone wool and given
exactly the nutrients they need. That should count as organic, but
unfortunately doesn't.

~~~
docgonzo
Organic farming uses pesticides as well. Are they safe for the environment? We
don't know because they're organic and therefore must be safe. See links
within: [https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/organic-
pestic...](https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/organic-pesticides/)

------
buboard
> _“The biodiversity strategy is essential for boosting our resilience and
> preventing the emergence and spread of future diseases such as zoonoses.
> Because by destroying nature at an unprecedented rate, and now with around 1
> million species at risk of extinction within only decades, we literally
> threaten our own life, our health and our well-being,” he told a press
> conference._

This doesnt even make logical sense. As a EU resident i wasn't ever informed
of an EU Green Deal etc. Either this isn't happening, or it's being vastly
exaggerated. (and in any case organic farming is not about natural
biodiversity, it's a frankenstein/zombie policy). If anything i 'd think this
is the time to get serious about biotechnology

~~~
onetimemanytime
>> _As a EU resident i wasn 't ever informed of an EU Green Deal etc. Either
this isn't happening, or it's being vastly exaggerated._

I understand your anger for not being informed or asked. But a lot of
countries are trying to reforest and clean the air.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reforestation#Implementation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reforestation#Implementation)

~~~
buboard
AFAIK, nature is pretty very good at reforesting itself if you leave the land
alone. But if you expand organic farming, which doesnt scale, you 're making
it worse

------
SllX
Just dived in[1], but apparently this isn't so much a plan as a plan to have a
plan. In particular it mentions a EU Forest Strategy to be proposed in 2021.
You know, it sounds "nice", but here's the pet peeve I have whenever I hear
about reforestation efforts nowadays: there's no talk about making sure the
trees in the forest are themselves, y'know, biodiverse. It's easy to plant a
lot of trees if they're all the same species, clones, etc. but the problem is
you end up with a forest that isn't so resilient to either natural disaster
nor disease. Entire crops of trees have been wiped out before because the, to
put it mildly, economical approach to getting things done quickly meant just
planting a lot of the same species of tree.

Well, I guess we'll see next year what their EU Forest Strategy is, I hope
they take biodiversity in the flora as seriously as biodiversity in the fauna.

[1] [https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication-
ann...](https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication-annex-eu-
biodiversity-strategy-2030_en.pdf)

