A major new study has found that nitrogen pollution is costing each person in Europe approximately £130-£650 (€150-€740) a year, according to the UK's Soil Association.
The first European Nitrogen Assessment (ENA) was due to be launched at a conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, this week.
The study, carried out by 200 experts from 21 countries and 89 organisations, estimated that the annual cost of the damage caused by nitrogen use across Europe was £60bn-£280bn (€70bn-320bn), more than double the extra income gained from using nitrogen fertilisers in European agriculture.
Isobel Tomlinson, policy and campaigns officer at the Soil Association, commented: 'Organic farmers are not allowed to use artificial fertilisers so they avoid many of the environmental problems caused by the vast quantities of synthetic nitrogen used to produce food in non-organic systems, that this report highlights.
“By growing legume crops such as beans and clover that fix nitrogen naturally, organic agriculture avoids the greenhouse gas emissions from both the manufacture and use of artificial nitrogen. Further, organic agriculture uses nitrogen more efficiently and has lower nitrogen surpluses, meaning that less nitrate is leached out of the soil where it can cause damage to the wider environment.'
