Organic farming promotes biotic resistance to food-borne human pathogens

Farmland biodiversity benefits pollination, biological control and other key ecosystem services. Food safety has been seen as an exception to this broader pattern, as diverse farmlands attract wildlife that vector foodborne human pathogens. Resulting mitigation efforts thus often seek to deter wildlife by removing natural habitats, while also excluding vertebrate livestock. However, surprising recent evidence suggests that farm simplification actually increases the likelihood that produce will be contaminated with human pathogens.
Here, we consider the possibility that intensified agriculture harms faeces‐feeding (coprophagous) beetles and bacteria, which could contribute to heightened food‐safety risk. In 70 commercial vegetable fields spanning the US west coast, using either organic or conventional farming methods, we surveyed coprophages both above‐ and below‐ground. We also measured removal rates of the faeces of Sus scrofa, which vectors foodborne pathogens both as livestock and a...