AGRICULTURALRESOURCES ALLOCATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Abstract
This paper shows the direct linkage existing between the environmental sustainability and the diffusion of organic agriculture. The reason is that the environmental impact of organic agriculture is different and somehow less polluting than industrial (let us say, traditional) one. Moreover, the former delivers also healthier food, according to part of the literature. Thus, seeking for sustainability, the policy-maker may find easier to influence the allocation of natural resources in favour of the organic cultivation as an instrument to care Nature. In order to claim this rationale, a model of resource allocation is presented and the golden rule derived. The paper finally shows that organic agriculture generates a global positive externality, which implicitly measures the relevance of the balancing intervention on resources allocation.References
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*** IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) (2009). What is organic agriculture? Accessed on June 27, 2012 at: http://www.ifoam.org/growingorganic/definitions/doa/index.html
*** UNDP. (2000). Changing consumption and production patterns: Organic agriculture, Commission on Sustainable Development: 8th Session, 24 April 5 May 2000, New York.
[2] Barlett, P., Industrial Agriculture, in S. Plattner, ed. (1989). Economic Anthropology. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
[3] Badgley, C., Moghtader, J., Quintero, E., Zakem, E., Chappell, M.J., Avilés-Vázquez, K., Samulon, A., Perfecto, I. (2007): Organic agriculture and the global food supply, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 22(2): 86-108.
[4] Biondo, A.E. (2014). Organic Food and the Double Adverse Selection: Ignorance and Social Welfare, Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 38(2): 230–242.
[5] Boschma, M., Joaris, A. and Vidal, C. (2001). Agriculture and Environment. Concentration of livestock production. European Commission, Brussels.
[6] Cacho, O. (2001). An Analysis of Externalities in Agroforestry Systems in the Presence of Land Degradation, Ecological Economics, 39(1): 131-143.
[7] Campbell, H., Liepins, R. (2001). Naming organics: understanding organic standards in New Zealand as a discursive field, Sociologia Ruralis,4121-39.
[8] Coase, R.H. (1960). The problem of Social Cost, Journal of Law and Economics, 3: 1-44.
[9] Cobb, D., Dolman, P. and ORiordan, T. (1999). Interpretations of Sustainable Agriculture in the UK, Progress in Human Geography, 23(2): 209-235.
[10] Dabbert, S., Hring, A.M., Zanoli, R. (2004). Organic Farming. Policies and Prospects, Zed, London.
[11] Dangour, A.D., Dodhia, S.K., Hayter, A., Allen, E., Lock, K., Uauy, R. (2009): Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,90(3): 680-685, doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28041
[12] Dangour, A.D., K. Lock, A. Hayter, A. Aikenhead, E. Allen, E., Uauy, R. (2010): Nutrition-related health effects of organic foods: a systematic review, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 92: 203-210.
[13] Darrington H. (1999). Going Organic, Food Manufacture, 74 (4): 38-39.
[14] De Ponti, T., Rijk, B., Ittersum, M.K. (2012): The crop yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture, Agricultural Systems, 108: 1-9.
[15] Drinkwater, L.E., Wagoner, P. and Sarrantonio, M.(1998). Legume-based cropping systems have reduced carbon and nitrogen losses, Nature, 396: 262-265.
[16] Dupraz, P. (1997). La spcialisation des exploitations agricoles: changements techniques et prix des facteurs, Cahiers dconomie et Sociologie Rurales, 45: 93-122.
[17] Hartman, R.(1976). The harvesting decision when a standing forest has value, Economic Inquiry, 14(1): 52-58.
[18] Mäder, P., Fliessbach, A., Dubois, D., Gunst, L., Fried, P., Niggli, U. (2002).Soil fertility and biodiversity in organic farming, Science, 296: 1694-1697.
[19] Matson, P.A., Parton, W.J., Power, A.G. and Swift, M.J.(1997). Agricultural intensification and ecosystems properties, Science, 277: 504-509.
[20] Melfou, K. and Papanagioutou, E.(2003). Total factor productivity adjusted for a detrimental input, Agricultural Economics Review, 4(2): 5-18.
[21] Mishra, A.K., El-Osta, H.S., Steele, Ch.J.(1999). Factors affecting the profitability of limited resource and other small farms, Agricultural Finance Review, 59: 77-91.
[22] Pimentel, D., Hepperly, P., Hanson, J., Douds, D., and Seidel, R.(2005). Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems, Bioscience, 55(7): 573-582.
[23] Popp, M., and Rudstrom, M.(2000). Crop enterprise diversification and specialty crops, Agricultural Finance Review, 60: 85-98.
[24] Pretty, J.N., Brett, C., Gee, D., Hine, R.E., Mason, C.F., Morison, J.I.L., Rayment, M.D., van der Bijl, G. and Dobbs, T.(2001). Policy challenges and priorities for internalizing the externalities of modern agriculture, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 44(2): 263-283.
[25] Reavell H.(1999). The wholesome quest, World of Ingredients, 58: 60-61.
[26] Sanders, J., Stolze, M., Padel, S. (2011). Use and efficiency of public support measures addressing organic farming, Study report, Thünen Institute, Braunschweig.
[27] Seufert, V., Ramankutty, N., Foley, J.A. (2012). Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture, Nature, 485: 229 – 232, doi:10.1038/nature11069.
[28] Shepherd, M., Pearce, B., Cormack, B., Philipps, L., Cuttle, S., Bhogal, A., Costigan, P., and Unwin, R.(2003). An assessment of the environmental impacts of organic farming, ADAS Wolverhampton.
[29] Stolze, M., Piorr, A., Hring, A., Dabbert, S. (2000).The Environmental Impacts of Organic Farming in Europe, Organic Farming in Europe: Economics and Policy, 6, Stuttgart-Hohenheim: University of Hohenheim/Department of Farm Economics 410.
[30] Tilman, D.(1998). The greening of the green revolution, Nature, 396: 211-212.
*** OECD. (2003). Agriculture and Biodiversity. Developing Indicators for Policy Analysis, OECD Publications, Paris.
*** Commission of the European Communities (2004). European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming, Commission Staff Working Document – Annex to the Communication from the Commission {COM(2004)415 final}.
*** IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) (2009). What is organic agriculture? Accessed on June 27, 2012 at: http://www.ifoam.org/growingorganic/definitions/doa/index.html
*** UNDP. (2000). Changing consumption and production patterns: Organic agriculture, Commission on Sustainable Development: 8th Session, 24 April 5 May 2000, New York.
Published
2016-11-15
How to Cite
BIONDO, Alessio Emanuele; BONAVENTURA, Luigi.
AGRICULTURALRESOURCES ALLOCATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 2, p. 105-113, nov. 2016.
ISSN 2068-7729.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jemt/article/view/401>. Date accessed: 22 dec. 2024.
Section
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism
Keywords
sustainability; organic food; organic agriculture; externalities
Copyright© 2024 The Author(s). Published by ASERS Publishing 2024. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of CC-BY 4.0 license.