[Organic agriculture and sustainable development]

Basing on the research and practice of organic agriculture at home and abroad, this paper discussed the objectives of developing green food and the principles that must be persisted in the practice in China. In the light of the arguments concerning with sustainable agriculture, we also discussed the significance of "alternative agriculture" in theory and practice. Compared with conventional high-intensity agriculture, the production approaches of organic alternatives can improve soil fertility and have fewer detrimental effects on the environment. It is unclear whether conventional agriculture can be sustained because of the shortcomings presented in this paper, and it has taken scientists approximately one century to research and practice organic farming as a representative of alternative agriculture. The development of green food in China has only gone through more than ten years, and there would be some practical and theoretical effects on the development of China's green food if we exploit an environment-friendly production pattern of organic agriculture which majors in keeping human health and maintaining sustainable agriculture.