chemistry

Principles of Organic Agriculture

Principles of Organic Agriculture is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Principles of Organic Agriculture rather than just read about it. In short: The Principles of Organic Agriculture were established by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) in September 2005. They are aspirations for organic farming.

Key takeaways

Principles of Organic Agriculture belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Principles of Organic Agriculture to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Principles of Organic Agriculture from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Principles of Organic Agriculture were established by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) in September 2005. They are aspirations for organic farming. The Principles were approved by the General Assembly of IFOAM on September 25, 2005. The General Assembly of IFOAM approved the Principles of Organic Agriculture on September 28, 2005. The principles were developed during an intensive two-year participatory process. The aim of the principles is both to inspire the organic movement and to describe the purpose of organic agriculture to the wider world.

Background The first set of principles of organic agriculture to be published by any organic association was a set of ten principles published by the Australian Organic Farming and Gardening Society (1944–1955). The organic sector has grown significantly in recent years. Along with that growth have come opportunities and challenges. The IFOAM General Assembly concluded that there was a need to elaborate the basic values of organic agriculture. The principles are intended to "apply to agriculture in the broadest sense, including the way people tend soils, water, plants and animals in order to produce, prepare and distribute goods. They concern the way people interact with living landscapes, relate to one another and shape the legacy of future generations."[1]

The principles The four Principles of Organic Farming are:

Organic farming should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plants, animals and humans as one and indivisible. Organic farming should be based on the living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them. Organic agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to common environment and life processes. Organic farming should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well being of current and future generations and the environment.

See also Principles of Environmental Justice

References

External links

IFOAM Principles of Organic Agriculture IFOAM (2005) (pdf) Accessed: 2013-11-04

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Principles of Organic Agriculture

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Principles of Organic Agriculture claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Principles of Organic Agriculture before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Principles of Organic Agriculture ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Principles of Organic Agriculture

In research: Principles of Organic Agriculture appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Principles of Organic Agriculture in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Principles of Organic Agriculture is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Organic farming, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Principles of Organic Agriculture outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Principles of Organic Agriculture in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Principles of Organic Agriculture means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Principles of Organic Agriculture out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Principles of Organic Agriculture in simple terms?

The Principles of Organic Agriculture were established by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) in September 2005. They are aspirations for organic farming.

Why does Principles of Organic Agriculture matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Principles of Organic Agriculture?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Principles of Organic Agriculture.