Low-impact food production is one of the most important challenges of the moment. Yet according to some, organic farming is still too limited a resource, and insufficiently efficient in terms of yields, to guarantee a sustainable diet for all. The question that researchers and scientists have asked themselves is whether it represents an agricultural system capable of meeting food needs on a large scale, or not — and today there is an answer. A study by the Cnrs, the National center for scientific research, carried out in collaboration with researchers from three European universities (the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna), from the Jrc, the Joint Research Centre, and from Ispra, the Istituto superiore per la protezione e la ricerca ambientale, has concluded that by 2050 organic farming could succeed in feeding the entire European population, estimated at 600 million people by that date.

Revolutionising European agriculture is possible

Entitled Reshaping the European agro-food system and closing its nitrogen cycle: the potential of combining dietary change, agroecology, and circularity, this study identifies very ambitious objectives as concretely achievable — for example, being able to meet the food needs of the whole of Europe through organic crops. These would also be capable of reducing water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

The first step: less animal protein on the plate

This analysis places three fundamental points at its centre as the basis for bringing about an agricultural revolution under the banner of agroecology. The main lever is a change in eating habits, and in particular the need to reduce meat consumption, which would make it possible to limit intensive livestock farming and eliminate feed imports. Today, 55 per cent of the European diet is based on animal-source proteins (meat, dairy, eggs and fish), which is double the consumption level recommended by the Fao and the Who. This would be a positive change both for human health and for environmental sustainability. The impact of meat consumption is, in fact, very high. "The primary goal of this dietary shift is health," says Gilles Billen, one of the study's authors, who adds: "It is well known that excessive consumption of meat and dairy is often associated with cardiovascular problems and colorectal cancer. Naturally, limiting the consumption of animal proteins also has many environmental benefits. It reduces water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from intensive livestock farming."

Preserving biodiversity requires crop rotation

The second fundamental intervention is the introduction of crop rotation, which makes it possible to do without synthetic nitrogen fertilisers and pesticides. "The farmer will grow alfalfa on a plot of land — a legume that fixes nitrogen — for two years. Then on that same plot they will grow cereals that will feed on the nitrogen released into the soil by the alfalfa. Then they will plant another type of legume, and so on," the researcher explains. He adds: "Legumes, such as alfalfa or clover, are plants that colonise the soil very rapidly and prevent weeds from establishing themselves."

Returning to the right balance between animals and fields

The third lever needed to make organic farming a widespread practice is returning to a balanced relationship between crop cultivation and livestock farming. Today, the excessive separation between agricultural land and animals is making the soil increasingly poor in organic matter. "When we were able to use industrial nitrogen fertilisers, we no longer needed livestock to fertilise arable land," the expert explains, adding: "We over-specialised regions between crop cultivation and livestock farming. This is why areas such as Île-de-France are dominated by cereal growing, while others that are less fertile, such as Brittany, have specialised in livestock farming. The consequence is that some soils are impoverished due to the absence of livestock, while others are penalised economically by the lack of crops."

The scenario outlined in the Cnrs study demonstrates that by adopting these three fundamental principles it is possible to strengthen Europe's autonomy and feed the population projected for 2050, while continuing to export cereals to countries that need them for human consumption — all whilst limiting water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

Organic farming helps contain the decline of bees

Returning to complementarity between animals and crops would therefore make it possible to protect soil biodiversity and, moreover, contain the decline of bees, which would once again benefit from a more balanced diet capable of strengthening their immune system. According to another study by Cnrs, by Inrae and by the University of La Rochelle, the vitality and honey production of colonies improved with the presence of organically managed plots around the hives, reaching +20 per cent surviving bees and +53 per cent honey produced.

Without pesticides, insects and microbes preserve the soil

A French study conducted by the Centre d'études biologiques de Chizé, part of Cnrs, suggests that organic farming also significantly improves the health of birds. The use of pesticides, on the other hand, induces an increase in physiological stress in birds, duller colouring in males (an indicator of poor health) and greater corpulence in females (a signal of endocrine disruption).

Finally, the report by the Institut technique de l'agriculture biologique on the benefits of organic farming highlights that in the absence of chemical pesticide use, a large number of invertebrates — such as earthworms, ground beetles and other microbes — would return to populate the soil, further contributing to biodiversity.