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Rural
environment management permitting the maintenance of biodiversity
and natural habitats and minimising natural risks like
erosion, avalanches and fire. Its targets are to put 15%
of agricultural land under such management contracts.
The
UK has the most intensive farming in the world. Farms amalgamated
to make larger units, reducing the number of people working
the land. After the second world war half a million people
worked the land in the UK, now it is only about 150,000.
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Farmers
have become sandwiched between the main input and output companies.
On the input side, farmers use more mechanisation and chemical
inputs. These inputs include pesticides and fertilisers like
phosphates from Morocco and nitrates fixed from the air.
"Organic food" refers to food that is produced without artificial
fertilsers and pesticides. The term "organic" also now means
"GM free" and includes standards of welfare too.
How
to farm differently by farming organically, at http://www.soilassociation.org
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