[Eco] Organic milk and meat worse for the environment?

[Rebecca Stallings]

Whoa!  Here's an interesting finding:

The Way to a Manchester's Stomach
New study says some organic food no better for the environment

In case you weren't confused enough about your grocery shopping, a 
government-sponsored study in the U.K. has added a possible twist. It 
suggests that some organic foods may not be better for the environment 
than their conventional counterparts. While the 200-page study by the 
Manchester Business School found that many organic products do have 
lower impacts than their pesticide-laden brethren, it points out that 
the act of producing others can actually have a bigger impact. Organic 
milk, for instance, requires 80 percent more land and creates 20 percent 
more carbon dioxide than conventional milk; organic chickens, because 
they're raised longer than those crammed into crummy conventional coops, 
require 25 percent more energy. Britain's top organic group, the Soil 
Association, acknowledged that in some cases organic farming can be less 
energy-efficient, but said that factors not considered in the study more 
than make up for that. Like, say, eating food that's not laced with 
neurotoxins.

The above summary is from Daily Grist.  Read more about it at 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/20/norganic20.xml
		---'Becca