Beverly D. McIntyre, Hans R. Herren, Judi Wakhungu and Robert T. Watson, ed. International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development: Synthesis Report. Washington DC: Island Press. 2009.
IAASTD (International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development). Executive Summary of the Synthesis Report. Washington DC: Island Press. 2009.
- “Scientific evidence is telling us that we need much more investment in truly sustainable growing methods, locally-based knowledge, women farmers and farmer organizations, land access, and local markets.”
- “In 2008, a major international study found that agroecology, not GM seeds, shows more immediate promise for ending hunger. The groundbreaking International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (known as the IAASTD), sponsored by the World Bank and five United Nations agencies, calls for a transformation of the world’s food and farming systems. It was conducted by over 400 scientists and development experts from more than 80 countries, and its results have been endorsed by 58 countries.”
C. Badgley, J.K. Moghtader, E. Quintero, E. Zakem, M.J. Chappell, K.R. Avilés Vázquez, A. Samulon, and I. Perfecto. “Organic Agriculture and the Global Food Supply.” Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 22 (2), 2007. (pp: 86–108)
- “A 2007 study by the University of Michigan, comparing data from almost 100 studies of conventional and sustainable agriculture, concluded that a worldwide switch to organics could actually increase global food production by as much as 50%—enough to feed a population of 9 billion people without any additional land.”
Doug Gurian-Sherman. Failure to Yield. Union of Concerned Scientists. UCS Publications. Cambridge, MA. 2009.
- “The report finds that most of the major yield increases in the last 20 years were due to conventional breeding—that is, crossing different varieties of one species together, while genetic modification involves injecting genes from one species into another.”
Eric Holt-Giménez. “Measuring Farmers' Agroecological Resistance after Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua: a Case Study in Participatory, Sustainable Land Management Impact Monitoring.” Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 93, 2002. (pp. 87–105).
- “After Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America in the late 1990s, researchers found that farmers using sustainable methods lost less money and less soil in the disaster, and were able to recover faster than their conventionally farming neighbors.”
IPCC. 2007. Climate Change 2007 Synthesis Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
- “Both the USDA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have also noted the ability of organic methods to store carbon in the soil, which decreases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
J.N. Pretty, J. I. L. Morison and R.E. Hine. “Reducing Food Poverty by Increasing Agricultural Sustainability in Developing Countries.” Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 2003. (pp. 87–105).
- “And this research is not new: a 2003 peer-reviewed analysis of 208 projects (with almost 9 million farmers) in over 50 developing countries found a 93% increase in food production when farmers switched to sustainable methods.”
J.R. Teasdale, C.B. Coffman, and R.W. Mangum. “Potential long-term benefits of no-tillage and organic cropping systems for grain production and soil improvement.” Agronomy Journal. 99, 2007. (pp. 1297-1305).
- “Both the USDA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have also noted the ability of organic methods to store carbon in the soil, which decreases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
Jules Pretty, Rachel Hine, and Sophia Twarog. Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa. UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity-building Task Force on Trade. New York and Geneva: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development/United Nations Environment Programme. 2008.
- “It found that, ‘organic agriculture can be more conducive to food security in Africa than most conventional production systems, and... it is more likely to be sustainable in the long term.’ The study found that the conversion from traditional low chemical input farming to full organic practices did not result in loss of productivity—in fact, as the organic farms became more established, they out-produced traditional farms and matched the productivity of conventional farms that rely on fertilizers and other chemical inputs.”
Tim LaSalle and Paul Hepperly. “Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming.” Rodale Institute. 2008.
UNEP. 2009. The Environmental Food Crisis. United Nations Environment Program.
- “It predicts further food crises due to environmental collapse and recommends strong support for sustainable agriculture on small family farms.”
