Organic farming is an approach to farming in which synthetic chemical insecticides and herbicides and inorganic fertilisers are excluded. Underpinning organic farming is the idea that farming should rely on ecological processes, biodiversity, and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects (e.g. agrochemicals such as pesticides and synthetic fertilisers).

Organic certification is protected by law, and certification bodies (e.g. the Soil Association in the United Kingdom) specify the practices, methods of pest control, soil amendments, and so forth that are permissible if products are to achieve organic certification. In the UK, for example, food can only be labelled as 'organic' if production rules are met; at least 95% of the agricultural ingredients are organic; and the product, its labels and suppliers are certified by a Defra-approved organic control body.

A cow grazes out of focus in the distance with long grasses in the foreground
Essay
The promises of regenerative agriculture: How lessons from the past bring words of warning
A number of sustainable agriculture approaches, and their supporting narratives, have been put forward over the decades in attempts to weaken the stronghold of industrial agriculture in the food system. Recent interest has centred on regenerative agriculture, with some of its proponents seeing in its appeal to farmers and corporations an ability to unite disparate agricultural approaches in a manner that might facilitate increasing ambition. In this essay drawing from recent research, Anja Bless compares the genealogical histories of organic agriculture, sustainable intensification, conservation agriculture and agroecology with regenerative agriculture, finding elements within each that resist absorption under the regenerative umbrella.   About the author: Anja Bless is a PhD Candidate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney. Her PhD research is exploring the politics of regenerative agriculture, with Australia as the national case study. A component of this research project is exploring the origins of regenerative agriculture, in particular the social-ecological factors that have driven its rise in popularity and how it fits among existing sustainable agriculture narratives. Anja holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Government and International Relations and Sociology from the University of Sydney, and a Master of Environment (with Distinction) majoring in Sustainable Food Systems from the University of Melbourne.
Read
Image: Medium-sized market garden growing 5 ha for the local market, in Bouches-du-Rhône.
Essay
Beyond the label: assessing the spectrum of practices in French organic vegetable farming
Antonin Pépin is a PhD candidate at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAE) and at the Technical Centre for Fruits and Vegetables (CTIFL). His research focuses on environmental assessment of French organic vegetable farms using the Life Cycle Assessment method. He has an agronomist background and has worked for an environmental NGO and for an organic waste treatment industry. You can reach Antonin at antonin.pepin@ctifl.fr. Hayo van der Werf works at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAE). His research focuses on the multicriteria assessment of the environmental impacts of agri-food systems. He mainly uses the life cycle assessment methodology and is most interested in assessing of organic agriculture production systems.
Read
Image: Wild0ne, Carrot produce grocery, Pixabay, Pixabay Licence
Journal articles
Influence of farm size and structure on agroecological practices
This paper, co-authored by Table member Hayo van der Werf, examines the spectrum of agroecological activity on organic vegetable farms in France. It reports that farming practices are linked to farm structure. For example, smaller farms are more likely to use agroecological practices. The paper sets out a framework that distinguishes agroecological organic farming from “conventionalised” organic farming, the latter of which involves more reliance on external inputs and supply chains that are more linked to global market prices.
Read
Tomatoes wet with dew in a garden. Photo by Janko Ferlic via Unsplash.
Essay
Organic Agriculture for 10 Billion People
In this piece, Adrian Muller takes a look at the qualities and constraints around expanded organic farming systems. His commentary is based on the paper Strategies for feeding the world more sustainably with organic agriculture, published in Nature Communications earlier in November and summarised by the FCRN here. Adrian Muller is an FCRN member and senior researcher at FiBL (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) and ETH Zurich, Switzerland. 
Read