Is Organic Good or bad for the Environment???

Question

Are their any other reasons why organic food is better or worse fo the environment apart from::

Better - Doesn't kill animals

- more nutrients

and

Worse - Takes up more space

- more expensive

- contributes to deforestation

Please help me im doing a project and i'm stuck!!!

Answer 1

I'm not sure what Charles is on about, but organic farming is better for the environment than normal farming methods.  Organic farming is what people did long ago, without fertilisers and man made ways of growing food (i.e. genetic engineering etc).

Organically grown food is grown using compost and natural pest control methods (no pesticides).  For example, ladybirds are used to control aphids.

If you do some research on earthworms, you will find out that they are negatively chemotaxic (I think that's the term), which means they move away from fertilisers and other chemicals.

Now remember that earthworms are very important for eating up plant waste such as the leaves that fall in autumn or a plant that died and so on.  After this, the waste they excrete is much richer in nutrients than fertilisers as fertilisers generally only have Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium in them in different ratios.

Earthworms also aerate the soil as they tunnel their way through.

I don't see how organic farming contributes to deforestation or taking up more space - you still need the same amount of space whether you farm organically or with chemicals.

Yes, organic is more expensive because you get less yield as more of the produce succumbs to disease in comparison to when using pesticides.  This is debatable as mostly organically grown plants are healthier, so fight off disease more easily.  Also, remember that there are big companies out there with a huge interest in making a profit from selling fertilisers and genetically modified seeds, so I'm not sure they do work out cheaper, especially where genetically modifed seeds are seen as property of the company and the farmers must buy seeds from these companies each year, instead of saving some and planting the next year.

Please remember that in many places around the world, there is now a big problem from farmers using fertilisers, which have washed into rivers/lakes etc and now cause and excess of algae growth and other problems.

You should do some research on worm composting bins that are becoming popular as well as how organic farming is helping the poor around the world.

Also, have a look for information on different types of seeds for farming - these are heirloom, hybrid and genetically modified.

Answer 2

Organic food is food grown without any pesticides, or synthetic fertilizer.

both pesticides and synthetic fertilizers leach into the ground water making it unhealthy,

The problem with organic foods is.

that the are not as pretty as inorganic food.

Answer 3

In terms of "carbon footprint" organic farming is a double edged sword.

The farmer isn't using oil-derived fertilizers and pesticides, but the crops will often be shipped further to get to market, using oil in the transportation. From this angle, it is more sustainable to buy "local" than to buy "organic".

"Organic" means that it was grown without SYNTHETIC pesticides or fertilizers. These synthetics are usually derived from oil. But organic farmers can use natural pesticides and fertilizers. These would include capsicum (pesticide) and composted manure (fertilizer).

A few posts have already mentioned the problem with runoff. Chemicals are washed downstream and wreak havoc on the natural food chain. When using natural fertilizers the nutrients available are used on site and runoff is less of a problem.

What hasn't been addressed is the vicious circle that these synthetics get us into. If you have a piece of land that could grow 1000 bushels of whatever, but you add synthetic fertilizer and you get 2000 bushels, you've doubled your money. But the next year, the soil will be EXHAUSTED, and you will have to use more fertilizer to get the same result.

With this "sick soil" you'll have a higher chance of pestilence because the natural balance is off. The bug that eats your crop isn't going to be eaten by that predatory bug that usually lives in the soil under your crop. So now you need pesticides. Pesticides will kill off the crop eating bug, and whatever was left of the predatory bug community.

Answer 4

Despite the obvious benefits to you, Organic food is grown differently.

Organic farms have to go through "transition" after growing standard crops before they can be certified, because of the pesticide residues in the soil.

Soil is normally alive with organisms retrieving nutrients from minerals and increasing drainage. Standard farming usually kills everything, meaning that high nitrogen fertiliser has to be used to hand-feed the plants. This fertiliser is applied at about 2 tonnes per acre per crop. It's easier to apply it when sowing seed, but the plants are not large enough to use it for a number of weeks. Any rainfall during that time washes the nitrates into streams, and sometimes watersupplies. As the plants grow, more fertiliser is applied, but again most of it dissapears into groundwater.

Farmers traditionally used crop rotation to gain maximum yields naturally. A good example of this is growing legumes that are nitrogen fixing (from the air), follwed by leafy crops - that need the nitrogen.

Standard farming just sows te same crop every year - leading to soil imballace, that may be almost toxic to some plants.

Regarding run-off of natural fertiliser - There are strict rules about how close you can spread to rivers - with breaches usually fined. Plus it is usually done on ploughed fields - so run off is minimal.

Pesticides are not only sprayed, the seeds are coated in them too.

This prevents the plants getting munched by catepillars, but also any that try may be eaten by birds - and kill them too. Thee is little wildlife left in intensive farms. Carrots contain a huge ammount of pesticides in their skins - try a taste test between a washed and a peeled commercial carrot to taste the pesticides yourself.

Seeds of oil seed rape have been treated with a compound that is toxic to bees. Even if applied at lower doses, it is concentrated during honey production, and leads to disorientation and madness in the bees. We are now noticing a global decline in bees.

They say it is not fatal. But neither is mercury in low doses to humans - it just prevents us from working and causes memory loss,madness, shakes etc - similar to the bees.

As an EX bee-keeper myself, I was not happy at the continual spraying of adjacent fields, and when all my colonies died - I gave up.

Answer 5

Organic generally means biodegradable. The process of biodegrading generates methane. When the remains of these products are allowed to degrade, and the methane is not burned, this is bad for the environment. Almost anyone who composts, and almost all landfills, and sewage treatment plants allow this methane to escape into the atmosphere. Some landfills burn it. I see that as wasteful because almost none of them consume the energy from burning it.

Organic fills up our landfills. Recyclable doesn't. in general, but not always organic means not recyclable.