In my third year of Undergrad I took a course on the global struggle for food and food security and have since been really interested in organic vs. Conventional farming. We studied that topic alone for about 6 lectures and even had guest lectures from some local organic farmers. When I saw a study that compared organic farming and land sparing with respect to optimal yields and butterflies I couldn’t resist blogging about it. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love butterflies. And ... it’s a natural field study to boot!
As biology students I am sure we all know about the advantages and disadvantages to organic and conventional farming. Organic farming often yields fewer products but is generally better for the environment and uses no fertilizers or pesticides. Conventional farming uses large amounts of these pesticides but has yields that can realistically address the global struggle for food--something organic farming cannot do.
