What is Organic Agriculture?
"Organic agriculture is holistic production management systems which promote and enhance agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity...
Organic production systems are based on specific and precise standards of production which aim at achieving optimal agro-ecosystems which are socially, ecologically and economically sustainable. Terms such as "biological" and "ecological" are also used in an effort to describe the organic system more clearly. Requirements for organically produced foods differ from those for other agricultural products in that production procedures are an intrinsic part of the identification and labeling of, and claim for, such products."
From the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods, 1999.
Organic Farm in the Republic of Korea
Photo by courtesy of FAO