Researchers into organic methods have enjoyed a corresponding
upsurge of interest in their work.Once relegated to the fringes of agricultural
colleges and research stations,people who study composting
and soil-organism biodiversity, for example, are now being taken
seriously (see pages 792–798). Even the most intensive farmers are
conscious of the need for farming methods that will be sustainable
in the long term, and the research emphasis has shifted from maximizing
yield to finding sustainable techniques. It is a moment to be
savoured by proponents of organic agriculture and soil conservation,
and presents an opportunity that must not be squandered.
Public discussions of organic farming, particularly in the news
media, tend to be sharply polarized. Advocates insist that conventional
farming exhausts the land and is unsustainable. Critics question
the wisdom of farming with manure, and suggest that switching
to less efficient methods is unethical when so many people in the
world are hungry