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Agriculture provides the most essential service to mankind, as production of crops in sufficient amounts is necessary for food security and livelihood. This chapter examines the question of whether organic agriculture can produce enough food to meet future demand. This question relates to a moral imperative and any evaluation must therefore be based on objective scientific facts excluding ideological bias, political correctness, economic incentives or environmental opinions. The chapter begins by defining the conditions necessary for a stringent evaluation of crop yields and explains potential pitfalls. Yield data from national statistics, organic and conventional long-term experiments and comparative studies are then compiled and evaluated, followed by a discussion of the main factors behind low-yielding production. In a global perspective, the scientific literature shows that organic yields are between 25 and 50% lower than conventional yields, depending on whether the organic system has access to animal manure. The amount of manure available on organic farms is usually not sufficient to produce similar crop yields as in conventional systems and therefore green manures are commonly used. However, organic crop yields reported for rotations with green manure require correction for years without crop export from the field, which reduces average yield over the crop rotation. When organic yields are similar to those in conventional production, nutrient input through manure is usually higher than nutrient addition in conventional agriculture, but such high inputs are usually only possible through transfer of large amounts of manure from conventional to organic production. The main factors limiting organic yields are lower nutrient availability, poorer weed control and limited possibilities to improve the nutrient status of infertile soils. It is thus very likely that the rules that actually define organic agriculture, i.e. exclusive use of manures and untreated minerals, greatly limit the potential to increase yields. Our analysis of some yield-related statements repeatedly used by advocates of organic agriculture reached the following conclusions: Organic manure is a severely limited resource, unavailable in quantities sufficient for sustaining high crop yields; legumes are not a free and environmentally sound N source that can replace inorganic fertilisers throughout; and low native soil fertility cannot be overcome with local inputs and untreated minerals alone. Agricultural methods severely limiting crop yields are counter-productive. Lower organic yields require compensation through expansion of cropland – the alternative is famine. Combining expected population growth and projected land demand reveals that low-yielding agriculture is an unrealistic option for production of sufficient crops in the future. In addition, accelerated conversion of natural ecosystems into cropland would cause significant loss of natural habitats. Further improvement of conventional agriculture based on innovations, enhanced efficiency and improved agronomic practices seems to be the only way to produce sufficient food supply for a growing world population while minimising the negative environmental impact.

Military preparedness and war have so far been regarded as the domain of male authors in Swedish literature, especially at the time of the Second World War. But what happens if we turn our attention to the female authors of the 1940s? Kristin Järvstad's study shows how their texts as well focus to a large extent on subjects related to military preparedness and war. A variety of topics can be found in the novels by the female writers, ranging from stories about female air guards who protect the Swedish border to female pacifists who find it necessary to kill for the sake of peace. The soldier figure in these texts also takes a radical stand when he as a deserter lays down his arms to protest against the war. In addition, one of the most charged subjects of the time linked to gender is treated from a unique perspective: the women who consort with the occupying enemy are pictured without the condemning attitude that characterizes the period in general. The most urgent question, however, concerns alienation, linked to race: who is actually included in the Swedish nation? Here, the texts display a scathing critique of the narrow-minded Swedes and the anti-Semitism that flourishes at that time. By analysing female authors' depictions of the 1940s, During Military Preparedness and War deepens the previous picture of this period in Swedish literature. The writers explored in this investigation express a profound and often critical commitment to the issue of war and violence, linked to gender and alienation. The most radical literary message of the period can also be found among their novels: the demand for the dissolution of the militaristic and patriarchal nation which strives to expand its territory without regard for human life.

This thesis aims to explain how small states, in this case Sweden, security politics adapts to new circumstances after great conflicts in the 20th century. The analytical model is built by a combination of the opposite theories of international politics, realism and idealism, combined with actor based and structure based perspectives and thus creating a four field analytical matrix. The empirical foundation constitutes of three post conflict periods; post-first world war, post-second world war and post-cold war periods. For every period three cases are analyzed; one foreign politics initiative, one association to an international organization and one defence politics decision. In the post-first world war period the focus is on the Swedish intervention of the Åland archipelago, the association to the League of Nations and disarmament decision in 1925. In the post-second world war period the focus is on the association of Sweden to the United Nations, the Swedish initiative to a Scandinavian defence alliance and the defence decision of 1948. In the post-cold war period the focus is on the Swedish association to the European Union, the Swedish participation in the NATO led IFOR operation in Bosnia and the defence decision in 1996. The main conclusions of these investigations are that small states, like Sweden, both are restricted in their foreign and security politics by international structures and able to use the same structure to promote their interests. Time is a key element for analyzing both structural and actor based aspects of a small states capacity. Also, in the case of Sweden, there tends to be a tension between an idealistic dominated politics and a realistic dominated politics when it comes to foreign and security politics, and that idealism seems to have increased in the latter period.

Through history, performing arts such as theatre and film have been recognized as more affective, provocative and politically problematic than the written word. By studying adaptations of Bertil Malmberg's manuscript Excellensen, the aim of this article is to address the effects, problems and consequences of attempting to perform what, at the time, was regarded unmentionable. The place and time under study is neutral Sweden during the Second World War, a period saturated by elevated levels of legislation, surveillance and censorship. Recent adaptations of two controversial manifestos are also addressed, mainly in order to show that performing the unmentionable still is a pertinent and controversial issue. Adapted from the source document.

Oomph' is a book about the women who brought on a revolution in Swedish kitchens, linen closets, living rooms, and in the country's textile and fashion industries. With their work in glass, textiles, and ceramics, and their radical ideas about the future of domestic life, they put Sweden on the industrial design map in the middle of the twentieth century. Many women designers were engaged in the increasingly acute housing crisis, and questioned the way homes were traditionally designed. After the Second World War, new manufacturing opportunities emerged: new customs demanded new designs and materials. But many doors still remained closed to women designers