首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Organic agriculture is a relatively untapped resource for feeding the Earth’s population, especially in the face of climate chan
Organic agriculture is a relatively untapped resource for feeding the Earth’s population, especially in the face of climate chan
admin
2021-01-08
44
问题
Organic agriculture is a relatively untapped resource for feeding the Earth’s population, especially in the face of climate change and other global challenges. That’s the conclusion I reached in reviewing 40 years of science comparing the long-term prospects of organic and conventional farming.
The review study, "Organic Agriculture in the 21st Century," is featured as the cover story for the February issue of the journal Nature Plants. It is the first to compare organic and conventional agriculture across the main goals of sustainability identified by the National Academy of Sciences: productivity, economics, and environment.
Critics have long argued that organic agriculture is inefficient, requiring more land to yield the same amount of food. It’s true that organic farming produces lower yields, averaging 10 to 20 percent less than conventional. Advocates contend that the environmental advantages of organic agriculture far outweigh the lower yields, and that increasing research and breeding resources for organic systems would reduce the yield gap. Sometimes excluded from these arguments is the fact that we already produce enough food to more than feed the world’s 7.4 billion people but do not provide adequate access to all individuals.
In some cases, organic yields can be higher than conventional. For example, in severe drought conditions, which are expected to increase with climate change in many areas, organic farms can produce as good, if not better, yields because of the higher water-holding capacity of organically farmed soils.
What science does tell us is that mainstream conventional farming systems have provided growing supplies of food and other products but often at the expense of other sustainability goals.
Conventional agriculture may produce more food, but it often comes at a cost to the environment. Biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and severe impacts on ecosystem services have not only accompanied conventional farming systems but have often extended well beyond their field boundaries. With organic agriculture, environmental costs tend to be lower and the benefits greater.
Overall, organic farms tend to store more soil carbon, have better soil quality, and reduce soil erosion compared to their conventional counterparts. Organic agriculture also creates less soil and water pollution and lower greenhouse gas emissions. And it’s more energy-efficient because it doesn’t rely on synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
Organic agriculture is also associated with greater biodiversity of plants, animals, insects and microorganisms as well as genetic diversity. Biodiversity increases the services that nature provides and improves the ability of farming systems to adapt to changing conditions.
Despite lower yields, organic agriculture is more profitable for farmers because consumers are willing to pay more. Higher prices, called price premiums, can be justified as a way to compensate farmers for providing ecosystem services and avoiding environmental damage or external costs.
What do we learn from the conclusion of the author’s review study?
选项
A、More resources should be tapped for feeding the world’s population.
B、Organic farming may be exploited to solve the global food problem.
C、The long-term prospects of organic farming are yet to be explored.
D、Organic farming is at least as promising as conventional farming.
答案
B
解析
推理判断题。首段第二句提到,这是作者在综述了40年以来对比有机耕作和传统耕作长期前景的科学研究后得出的结论。该句主语That指代的是前一句的内容,也就是说作者的综述研究结论是:有机农业是一种相对未开发的地球人口粮食资源,特别是在面对气候变化和其他全球性挑战时。由此推断,有机农业可以被开发利用以解决全球人口的粮食问题,故答案为B)。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/XYP7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
A、Theycouldmovearoundthecountry.B、Theycouldfast-tracktheirbusiness.C、Theypaidattentiontotheirpurposes.D、Theygo
A、Theyfocusonthemselves.B、Theyareperfectionists.C、Theyareafraidofeverything.D、Theyaresensitivetopeople’sopinion
A、Theymayknownothingabouttheworld.B、Theymayhavelittleholidayspirit.C、Theymaybeextremelyinterestedintravelling
PeoplewhospendalotoftimesurfingtheInternetaremorelikelytoshowsignsofdepression,BritishscientistssaidonWedn
InthefirstyearorsoofWebbusiness,mostoftheactionhasrevolvedaroundeffortstotaptheconsumermarket.Morerecentl
InthefirstyearorsoofWebbusiness,mostoftheactionhasrevolvedaroundeffortstotaptheconsumermarket.Morerecentl
Anewstudyfindsthatevenmildstresscanaffectyourabilitytocontrolyouremotions.AteamofneuroscientistsatNewYork
A、Climatechange.B、SecurityofInternet.C、Migrantandrefugeecrisis.D、Currencyexchangerates.C
A、Physics.B、Mathematics.C、Environmentalscience.D、Lifescience.A
A、Itjustneedsthecouplestoearnalargesumofmoney.B、Itrequiresmuchhardworktodealwithmaritalissues.C、Itrequire
随机试题
尾状核末端连接
A、麻黄碱B、小檗碱C、苦参碱D、莨菪碱E、乌头碱与碱液接触易消旋化
A.应由药品生产企业醒目地印制在药品包装和药品使用说明书上B.应当配备市、县级药品监督管理部门考核合格的人员C.不得以任何形式直接向患者推荐、销售处方药D.请仔细阅读药品使用说明书并按说明使用或在药师指导下购买和使用E.凭医师处方销售、购买和使用
支付性筹资动机,是指为了满足经营业务活动的正常波动所形成的支付需要而产生的筹资动机,这种支付需要具有季节性、临时性的特点。()
丙公司为上市公司。丙公司根据相关法规的规定,在董事会下设立了审计委员会,成员由公司执行董事及公司监事组成。要求:判断丙公司审计委员会的组成是否恰当,并简要说明理由。
阅读下面材料,回答问题。这是一节公开课,内容是《北大荒的秋天》。当学到“北大荒的小河”这一段时,突然有一个学生站起来问:“老师,‘明镜一样的小河’能换成‘明净的小河’吗?”我愣了一下,这个问题多少让我觉得有些突然。我没有直接说不能。于是,我给了大
设f(x)在[0,1]连续,在(0,1)可导且f’(x)<0(x∈(0,1)),则()
直接存储器访问(DMA)是一种快速传递大量数据常用的技术。工作过程大致如下。①向CPU申请DMA传送。②获CPU允许后,DMA控制器接管(1)的控制权。③在DMA控制器的控制下,在存储器和(2)之间直接进行数据传送,在传送过程中不需
在程序执行过程中,Cache与主存的地址映像由(1)。
中国国家统计局每10年进行一次全国人口普查,以掌握全国人口的增长速度及规模。请按照下列要求完成对第五次、第六次人口普查数据的统计分析:在工作簿“Excel.xlsx”的工作表“统计数据”中的相应单元格内填入统计结果。
最新回复
(
0
)