Can organic farming feed 7 billion people?

This blog post/article from Scientific American identifies the benefits and negatives of organic farming vs. conventional farming.

It is identified that organic farming produces lower yields ..."organic agriculture delivers just 5 percent less yield in rain-watered legume crops, such as alfalfa or beans, and in perennial crops, such as fruit trees. But when it comes to major cereal crops, such as corn or wheat, and vegetables, such as broccoli, conventional methods delivered more than 25 percent more yield."

Is it worth it to have lower yields if it comes with a better environment? Does organic farming improve the environment? What are your opinions?


"Conventional farming requires knowledge of how to manage what farmers know as inputs—synthetic fertilizer, chemical pesticides and the like—as well as fields laid out precisely via global-positioning systems. Organic farmers, on the other hand, must learn to manage an entire ecosystem geared to producing food—controlling pests through biological means, using the waste from animals to fertilize fields and even growing one crop amidst another." 


Are modern farmers, or those who will work in the agriculture industry prepared to move to a more organic approach?

Killing Nemo?

I often joke with my students how much of their scientific knowledge (right and wrong) is based in the Disney movies. This article from Scientific American identifies how salt water aquaria are actually contributing to the decline of coral reefs and the first that live there. Many people that maintain salt water tanks think of themselves as helping to save species from coral reefs, but much like the dentist from Finding Nemo, may actually be doing more harm than good.

What do you think? What can scientists do? What can you do?