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organic practices protect ground water supplies and avoid runoff of chemicals that can cause "dead zones" in
larger bodies of water.
Comparisons in Europe, for instance, have shown nitrate-leaching rates on organic farms are 40 – 57 per-
cent lower per hectare (roughly 2,5 acres or 12,000 square yards) and carbon dioxide emissions are 40 – 60 per-
cent lower per hectare than conventional systems.
On the other hand, current conventional practices have led to some measurable problems, including a high
level of toxic metals in commercial fertilizers. An analysis of 29 fertilizers found that each contained 22 differ-
ent heavy metals. In 20 of the products, levels exceeded the limits set on wastes sent to public landfills, with
disturbing quantities of arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and dioxin, among others.
Furthermore, polluted runoff from farms and cities went largely unabated and actually increased over the
past 30 years according to a 2001 report from the Pew Oceans Commission. The report noted that many of the
nation's coastal environments exhibit symptoms of over-enrichment from these run-offs. Symptoms include
harmful algal blooms, loss of sea grasses and coral reefs, and serious oxygen depletion. Coastal regions, as a
result, have suffered reduced production of valuable fisheries and threats to biodiversity and ecosystems less
resilient to natural and human influences.
Because organic practices help safeguard the environment and protect habitats, organic production con-
serves and promotes species diversity. In the United Kingdom, a study comparing biodiversity in organic farm-
ing and conventional farming systems found that organic farms had five times as many wild plants in arable
(farmable) fields and 57 percent more species.
The organic farms also had 25 percent more birds at the field edge, 44 percent more in the field in autumn
and winter, and 2,2 times as many breeding skylarks and higher skylark breeding rates. In addition, they had 1,6
times as many of the invertebrate arthropods that make up bird food; three times as many non-pest butterflies
in the crop areas; one to five times as many spider numbers, and one to two times as many spider species. They
also showed a significant decrease in aphid numbers.
Buying organic products is also a way to support conservation of our land. Organic products, whether
foods or fiber, are produced through a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility in an eco-
logical way. There were approximately 1,3 million acres in certified organic production in the United States in
1997. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service estimates 2,6 million acres were in
production in 2001.
As far as feeding the world, the late Donella Meadows, who served as director of the Sustainability Insti-
tute, wrote: "We already grow enough food to feed everyone; the excess simply is not distributed where it is
needed. Industrial agriculture, far from being the salvation it promises, is actually undermining the resource
base-healthy soil, clean water, and diversity of plants and animals-needed to sustain the world's growing human
population in the long term. If anything can restore that resource base and at the same time eliminate hunger it
is organic methods."
Organic foods and products are making a healthy comeback from a by-gone era, but in more of the light of
what is healthy for Earth’s ecology and us. Moreover, the production and use of these products have become
the choice of a rapidly growing number of farmers and consumers today. It does prove that the connection be-
tween human health and our ecology are indelibly intertwined.
Words and Expressions:
a fiber – волокно, волосок, фибра, нить, древесное волокно
a residual – остаток, остаточный продукт
an organophosphate – органический фосфат
a residue – осадок, отстой
a remainder – остаток, остатки
harsh – жесткий, твердый, грубый, неприятный
to boost – поднимать, помогать подняться
to enhance – увеличивать, усиливать, улучшать
to restore – возвращать в прежнее состояние
infiltration – инфильтрация, просачивание, проникновение
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