the sustainability of organic grain production on the canadian prairies—a review有机粮食生产的可持续性在加拿大prairies-a审查.pdfVIP

Sustainability 2010, 2, 1016-1034; doi:10.3390/su204 1016 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Review The Sustainability of Organic Grain Production on the Canadian Prairies—A Review Crystal Snyder and Dean Spaner * Department of Agricultural, Food Nutritional Science, 4-10 Agriculture/Forestry Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2P5, Canada; E-Mail: crystal.snyder@ualberta.ca * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: dean.spaner@ualberta.ca; Tel.: + 1-780-492-2328; Fax: + 1-780-492-4265. Received: 2 March 2010; in revised form: 29 March 2010 / Accepted: 12 April 2010 / Published: 14 April 2010 Abstract: Demand for organically produced food products is increasing rapidly in North America, driven by a perception that organic agriculture results in fewer negative environmental impacts and yields greater benefits for human health than conventional systems. Despite the increasing interest in organic grain production on the Canadian Prairies, a number of challenges remain to be addressed to ensure its long-term sustainability. In this review, we summarize Western Canadian research into organic crop production and evaluate its agronomic, environmental, and economic sustainability. Keywords: organic agriculture; conventional agriculture; sustainability; Canada; grain farming 1. Introduction Organic agriculture is described by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Moveme