Organic Farming or Conventional Farming? The Debate Goes On.
Organic, holistic and naturalistic are disciplines of agriculture that are growing in popularity each day. People everywhere are extremely concerned about the environment especially as how it relates as to what we put into our bodies and also how it affects our earth.
Large food producers over the years have done an excellent job of providing substantial amounts of nutritious food for a growing world population, but is this scenario of farming sustainable? Organic farmers and conventional farmers are looking for common answers to this question.
Organic farming largely excludes the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, and livestock feed additives, such as hormones. Organic farmers rely on crop rotation, crop residue recycling, animal manure and mechanical cultivation to maintain the soil and to control weeds, insects and other pests.
Many methods are employed by organic farmers including crop rotation, green manure, cover cropping, application of compost and mulching,as a method of enhancing and maintaining soil health which is the mainstay of organic farming. Organic farmers also use certain fertilizers such as seed meal and mineral powders such as rock phosphate and greensand which are naturally occurring forms of potash.
Organic farming began as a reaction against the industrialization of agriculture in the early 20th century. Scientific research produced hybrid seeds, fields grew in size and cropping became specialized to make efficient use of machinery, irrigation, fertilization and the use of pesticides. Cheap fertilizer was available in the form of nitrates produced as explosives and converted to fertilizer as a source of nitrogen.
Another major problem is the wide spread use of genetically modified organisms (GMO), human growth hormones (HGH), sewage sludge and antibiotics in the production of our food supply.
Standard farming allows farmers to precisely apply only the necessary fertilizers to the soil in order to minimize waste pollutants. Organic fertilizers such as manure which contains fixed amounts of various elements which can not be adjusted. The most common problem is over application of these organic fertilizers because of their relative lack of potency. These over applications can very easily lead to pollution of the water supply.
Can agribusiness convert to large scale organic farming and still be able to make a profit without raising the consumer cost to unacceptable levels?
The current food distribution system favors high volume production with large farming corporate operations and cannot be easily altered. What we know as organic farming may change very dramatically in the coming years. A growing consumer market is normally one of the main factors encouraging conventional farmers to convert to organic agricultural production methods. I believe this trend will continue. - 17273
Large food producers over the years have done an excellent job of providing substantial amounts of nutritious food for a growing world population, but is this scenario of farming sustainable? Organic farmers and conventional farmers are looking for common answers to this question.
Organic farming largely excludes the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, and livestock feed additives, such as hormones. Organic farmers rely on crop rotation, crop residue recycling, animal manure and mechanical cultivation to maintain the soil and to control weeds, insects and other pests.
Many methods are employed by organic farmers including crop rotation, green manure, cover cropping, application of compost and mulching,as a method of enhancing and maintaining soil health which is the mainstay of organic farming. Organic farmers also use certain fertilizers such as seed meal and mineral powders such as rock phosphate and greensand which are naturally occurring forms of potash.
Organic farming began as a reaction against the industrialization of agriculture in the early 20th century. Scientific research produced hybrid seeds, fields grew in size and cropping became specialized to make efficient use of machinery, irrigation, fertilization and the use of pesticides. Cheap fertilizer was available in the form of nitrates produced as explosives and converted to fertilizer as a source of nitrogen.
Another major problem is the wide spread use of genetically modified organisms (GMO), human growth hormones (HGH), sewage sludge and antibiotics in the production of our food supply.
Standard farming allows farmers to precisely apply only the necessary fertilizers to the soil in order to minimize waste pollutants. Organic fertilizers such as manure which contains fixed amounts of various elements which can not be adjusted. The most common problem is over application of these organic fertilizers because of their relative lack of potency. These over applications can very easily lead to pollution of the water supply.
Can agribusiness convert to large scale organic farming and still be able to make a profit without raising the consumer cost to unacceptable levels?
The current food distribution system favors high volume production with large farming corporate operations and cannot be easily altered. What we know as organic farming may change very dramatically in the coming years. A growing consumer market is normally one of the main factors encouraging conventional farmers to convert to organic agricultural production methods. I believe this trend will continue. - 17273
About the Author:
Dick Murray is a retired urbanitewho cares about the quality of the food that we consumeon a daily basis. Our commercial food system offers us food that is inferior in nutrients and health benefits compared to what was available just a few years ago. Learn how to grow your own. It is not difficult, and will probably be fun. To learn more visit vegetable growingVegetable Growing Basics
posted by X - Men at
1:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home