Organic farming is widely recognized as an alternative to conventional or chemical farming. It is a system of farming that is both restorative and sustainable. Organic farming is the "art" of partnership with rather than control over nature. It is a management system that enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity to produce healthy plants and animals and foster human and environmental health. It prohibits the use of synthetic chemicals, genetically modified organisms, and ionizing radiation.

An increasing number of farmers want to farm more organically for many reasons including their own health and safety as well as environmental protection. A 15-year farming system trial funded by the Rodale Institute in cooperation with USDA's Agricultural Research Service documented key advantages of organic farming.

	Organic practices could significantly reduce greenhouse gases by keeping nitrogen and carbon in the soil.
	Organic farm management can reduce groundwater contamination.
	Comparable yields can be obtained without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides (Nature,

"Legume-Based Systems Have Reduced Losses of Nitrogen and Carbon," Drinkwater, L.E., M.W. Wagoner & M. Sarrantonio, 1998). Research at Michigan State University's Kellogg Biological Station is also finding significantly lower nitrogen leaching to groundwater from plots using compost as a source of fertilizer, a practice regularly used in organic agriculture.

Claims are also made about the superior nutritional value of organically produced crops.

A literature review conducted by Virginia Worthington, a Washington, DC based clinical nutritionist and board member of the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, shows an overall trend in higher nutrient content in organically produced crops, possibly due to lower water content. Her 1998 review report on the "Effect of Agricultural Methods on Nutritional Quality: A Comparison of Organic With Conventional Crops" found higher levels of vitamin C and lower levels of nitrates in organically grown crops. Worthington concluded that protein quality may be better in organically grown crops as well. Literature evidence from farm animals and controlled animal studies strongly suggests that organically grown crops are superior to conventionally grown crops for promoting growth and reproduction.

Others have reached more mixed conclusions. Joan Dye Gussow, professor emeritus of nutrition and education at Teachers College Columbia, in an article entitled, "But Is It More Nutritious" May/June 1997 issue of Eating Well Magazine, noted that, "there's plenty of anecdotal evidence but little hard proof that organically grown produce is reliably more nutritious." Continues Gussow, "being healthful is different from being more nutritious." After poring over the cumulative evidence from 70 years' worth of studies, Gussow believes the sum total strongly suggests that food grown organically is likely to have a variety of qualities that should, over time make it more healthful. "For example, organic foods usually have few, if any, chemical residues and lower levels of nitrate nitrogen. These facts in and of themselves, while not a statement about nutritional values, make organic foods healthier. And even if the organic process doesn't make the food more nutritious, many organic farmers use older, more nutritious varieties. Additionally, because organic farmers protect the soil and avoid toxic chemicals, their practices have a less deleterious impact on the environment ­ making them, one could say, more wholesome."