ABSTRACT
The importance of responsible stewardship in managing soil is a central tenet of organic farming. Organic farmers believe that practices that stimulate biology and overall quality of soil enhance production of healthy and nutritious crops. Few involved in agriculture would argue this point. Nevertheless, disagreement exists among agriculturists about the relative importance that should be placed on organic farming for meeting global food needs in the twenty-rst century. Organic farming proponents insist that careful management of on-farm ecological processes creates soil capable of supplying adequate amounts of nutritious food for a growing world population, with reduced need for off-farm inputs. Critics contend that organic farming can degrade soils and will contribute to the underproduction of food crops that are no more nutritious than foods grown using synthetic agrichemicals (i.e., conventional farming), if adopted on a large scale. This chapter was not written to settle the debate but to provide a historical context for the belief that organic methods promote soil quality, to compare organic and conventional farming systems regarding impacts on soil quality and crop production, and to summarize comparisons in food quality between the two farming
12.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 241 12.2 Historical Context of Organic Farming: Soil Health Connection ........................................242
