When you think about organic apple and pear production, animal welfare perhaps does not immediately spring to mind.  Nevertheless, it is a general principle of all organic farming that every living organism should be held in high regard: from the tiniest micro-organism living in the soil to the mightiest tree towering above it. For this reason, every link in the organic food supply chain is geared towards maintaining and, wherever possible, increasing the diversity of plants and animals.

Furthermore, many practices used by Ernesto (and other organic farmers around the world) to increase productivity have the natural knock-on effect of increasing plant and animal life and maintaining natural biodiversity. For example in the case of organic apple and pear production:
• Using compost or livestock manures increases the concentration of micro-organisms, earthworms, spiders and beetles in the soil
• Prioritising indigenous breeds of plants and animals maintains the natural diversity of different areas
• Introducing natural enemies of weeds and pests, rather than using chemical synthetic pesticides, helps to increase animal life