【明報專訊】According to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department(AFCD), organic farming is founded upon four major principles:

1. Compatibility with the environmental ecology; the compliance of the production of produce with the preservation of nature and sustainable development

2. Refraining from the use of chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides and genetically modified materials

3. Harmony with nature and the preservation of biodiversity

4. Controlling pests and building healthy and fertile soil in an organic manner

Lack of a legal definition

Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre Certification Ltd said that as Hong Kong laws did not offer a definition of ''organic'', it would be difficult for the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department to take law enforcement action even if it found fake organic vegetables. The centre suggested the government enact laws in this respect as soon as possible.

Intense farming threatens insects

A report published by international scholars in February 2019 shows that over 40 percent of insect species are dwindling, and the total population of all insects is diminishing at a rate of 2.5% per year. If such a trend continues, all insects will become extinct within 100 years. The food chain will be severely affected, and there will be a catastrophic collapse in nature.

Experts believe that to prevent the decrease in the number of insects, it is necessary to change the mode of food production by, for example, increasing the proportion of organic farmland.

Study: organic farming increases carbon emissions

A study published by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden in December 2018 shows that as chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not used in organic farming, it will take more land to maintain the production rate. This will in turn mean that more trees have to be lopped down, and carbon emissions will go up. The research team says that though organic farming can reduce the pollution of soil and water resources, it might worsen climate problems.

Organic farming and the Oriental Stork

The Oriental Stork (東方白鸛) used to be a common sight in the Japanese City of Toyooka (豐岡市). However, the use of pesticides has caused toxic chemicals to accumulate in the bodies of these birds. As a result, the eggs they produced had shells so thin that they could not hatch. The last Oriental Stork disappeared in the wild in 1971. Organic farming of rice was then adopted in a bid to enhance the environment, and five Oriental Stocks were released into the wild. The rice produced is now famous internationally and is sold in New York and Hong Kong.

Translated by Terence Yip

[通通識 第621期]