The Many Advantages Of Going Organic Agriculture According To Retired UPLB Professor Teodoro “Ted” Mendoza, Long-Time Practitioner

Climate Change: As primate, Man needs Primate Change. Campmates: We must change our diet to organic foods. Shipmates: We are in one sinking ship, we must follow the Ship Captain’s organic orders. The whole world is Noah’s Ark, and The Flood is our own making!

I saw the above Facebook post on 29 March 2022, of the webinar of Vinzons’ Policy Center titled “Ensuring Affordable, Available, Sustainable Food Production And Supply. Before It’s Too Late!” also the title of the paper presented by one of the speakers, Teodoro Mendoza, retired Professor of the UP College of Agriculture & Food Sciences of UP Los Baños. Mr Mendoza is a long-time advocate of organic agriculture dedicated to nationally “reduce the carbon footprint and food energy bill.” The event was livestreamed 28 March 5-6 PM on the Vinzons Policy Center’s Facebook page.
(inset Facebook image:Mr Mendoza with wife Dette)

Organic agriculture (OA) is not new to me. I have been advocating OA since 1966, yes since 57 years ago – this advocacy should show in any article in the mid-60s student paper Aggie Green & Gold – so anything organic interests me greatly.

Mr Mendoza’s overall recommendation is: “We need to take a whole food system approach to food.” I get all the following from him (italics):

Great emphasis on supply and production. Under-emphasis on consumption and utilization.

Shift to plant-based diet or Planetary Health Diet – a diet good for Humans and Mother Earth. Eat brown rice, banana, root crops, corn, adlai, sorghum

Food systems: major driver of greenhouse gases emission
Food systems: 44-57% of greenhouse gases causing global warming and climate change across food value chain

“Organic Agriculture + Planetary Health Diet = Healthy living.

Before it’s too late:

1.     Regenerate soil fertility/productivity.

2.     Reforest critical watersheds in support of irrigation (2 ha forest/ha irrigated area)

3.     Restore mangrove forests to prevent storm surges. Mangroves are sanctuary breeding grounds for diverse fish species.

(1)   Eat organic: less meat, more complex carbs, fruits, veggies = less land area to feed one person.

(2)   Feed animals 44% of grains – 70% of aggie fields (1.45 B ha) for pasture & feed grains production

(3)   50% of once-forested lands (700 M ha) planted to trees to sequester CO², requiring less water, nutrients & oil to cultivate.

Organic agriculture will sequester back CO² in the soil, will require less water for irrigation, and result in less health bills due to illness from foods derived from chemical agriculture.

50-75% reduction of current global emissions – soil OM, biomass: effective carbon sinks.

90% reduction in cash costs – Family-based organic farms.

Zero energy footprint – Localized food grown means no packaging, no cold storage.

Zero medical footprint – Safe, nutritious & medicinal food.

Borrowing from Hippocrates, Mr Mendoza says: “With organic agriculture, food is our medicine & not medicine is our food. Organic Agriculture + Planetary Health Diet = Long Healthy Living.”

Against the Climate Crisis, I say: “We must do organic agriculture – or sink with the modern Noah’s Ark of our own making!”@517