IPES-Food, a group of food, development and environmental academics and ex-NGO executives has called for an end to intensive farming. The group is led by Olivier De Schutter, the former UN Special Rappoteur on the right to food, called for a global shift in farming from intensive production to ‘ecologically oriented’ production which prioritizes environmental protection and minimizes chemical inputs.
In a report, “From Uniformity to Diversity,” IPES-Food argued such a shift would have little impact on the overall amount of food produced. It said that the current approach of large scale, pesticide- and fertilizer-dependent farms has to end, claiming such practices seriously harmed the environment, human health and the poor.