Organic farming supports higher biodiversity. Research involving the Colorado potato beetle shows that this increased diversity can deliver a better ecosystem service in the form of more effective pest control.
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Turnbull, L., Hector, A. How to get even with pests. Nature 466, 36–37 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/466036a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/466036a
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Matt Chew
It seems unlikely that farmers see themselves as enemies of the potatoes they harvest or the ones they eat. This is more than a semantic quibble. The conceptual model of predator-as-enemy is flawed (cf. Chew and Laubichler 2003, Science 301:52-53). Per the figure caption, potato farmers consider potato beetles to be their enemies. But the beetles are unaware of farmers as competitors, enemies or benefactors. They are likely unaware of potato plants except as a recognizably edible substance. Beetle predators and pathogens have a likewise restricted awareness of beetles, and none at all of farmers. That is hardly a game of enemies and allies. Relying on what Charles Elton liked to call "counter-pests" means accepting the lower conversion efficiency inherent in adding trophic complexity. Some production must be devoted to sustaining the beetles that sustain the beetle predators and pathogens. Ecology is not warfare, and trying to promote, understand or apply it as such guarantees poor predictions, unrealistic expectations and unsatisfactory outcomes.