Is organic growing better for the enviroment than conventional.?

Question

Me and my friends were having a big argument and we want to start bringing organic food into our house. So which is better? Please give good reasons. I will respond as soon as possible. Thanks!

Answer 1

Organic growing is better for the environment.

Organic crops do not use pesticides or artificial fertilizers. Both these chemicals are manufactured from petroleum. The manufacturing process produces greenhouse gasses and also makes their users more dependant on non-renewable resources.

Biologically, pesticides (and antiobiotics) are failures because the organisms they are designed to kill eventually develop a resistance to these poisons. This means deadlier toxins have to be manufactured and eventually organisms evolve which are resistant to a whole spectrum of insecticides. To make matters worse, when pesticides are used, the natural insect preditors are always killed off first. This is because the levels of preditors are always lower than prey. The prey survive to develop pesticide resistance and the preditors become extinct. This is greatly in favor of the pest.

In the case of antibiotics, the Staph bacteria in hospitals have become resistant to nearly every antibiotic known. A Staph infection in a hospital can be fatal. It is estimated more Americans die in hospitals from infections than from accidents or diseases.

The arguement for the use of pesticides and fertilizers is they maximize the harvest and minimize the damages done by pests. This petrochemical industry rhetoric does not take into account the hidden costs in terms of natural resources and the eventual futility of heavy pesticide use. Traditional farming practiced crop rotation and because the same crop was not grown every year, this helped to keep the pest population down. This is certainly not the case on industrial scale farming where just one crop is grown continiously. Because rotation is not practiced, it depletes the soil of nutrients, and chemical fertilizers have to be introduced.

Antiobiotics are better than pesticides, but not if they are overapplied. Sadly, many hospitals use antibiotics like soap instead of the medicines they actually are.

Answer 2

Another Cut and Paste (sorry haven't had my fair trade organic coffee yet this morning)

The article below is from GMwatch

http://www.gmwatch.org/print-archive2.as...

THE BENEFITS OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE (New Research & Studies)

By Sandra Best

EXTRACT: Summary

Organic food is healthier than conventional food a. Organic food contains more nutrients and vitamins and minerals than conventional food b. Organic food does not contain pesticide residues found in conventional food.

Organic farming protects the environment:

a. Organic farming does not pollute air, water and land with chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

b. Organic farming helps reduce global warming because its methods use animal manure and cover crops like clover and legumes to enrich the soil which helps sequester CO2 from the atmosphere.

c. Organic farming helps reduce global warming because it uses less energy than conventional farming

Organic farming provides economic advantages a. Organic food attracts price premiums of up to 30% b. In developed countries, well managed organic farms produce crop yields which almost match those of conventional yields.

c. In under developed countries organic crop yields produce yields 2-3 times higher than conventional crops.

d. Organic farming is a cheaper method of food production because it does not use expensive chemical inputs (synthetic fertilisers and pesticides) and because it reduces the use of medicines in animal husbandry.

e. Organic farming may produce profits for farmers from ‘carbon credit’ trading systems being developed around the world f. Organic agriculture can help feed the hungry by reducing the need to import subsidized food, and could produce a diverse range of certified organic surpluses to be exported at premium profit. Because organic methods exclude the use chemical inputs, poor farmers have less capital outlay and dependency on multinational seed and chemical companies is reduced.

Answer 3

I don't know exactly what all they can do to a plant (as far as fertilizer, pest control, etc) and call it organinc but it would definately be better for the environment.  Organic foods would not have been sprayed with chemical pesticides which get into our water supply..

Answer 4

I am simply going to copy and paste an article I read sometime ago.

Ten Good Reasons to Buy Organic

1. Organic products meet stringent standards.

Organic certification is the public’s assurance that products have been grown and handled according to strict procedures without persistent toxic chemical inputs. When you see that a product has been Certified Organic by QAI (Quality Assurance International), you can rest assured that the product, its ingredients and the manufacturer have gone through a thorough investigation.

2. Organic food tastes great!

It’s common sense -- well balanced soils grow strong healthy plants that taste great. Try an organic orange or vine-ripened tomato for a sweet and juicy flavor treat.

In a study done by Washington State University in Pullman, published in the April 19, 2001 issue of the journal of Nature, researchers measured the effects of an organic, a conventional and an integrated apple production system on the sustainability indicators of horticultural performance, soil quality, orchard profitability, environmental quality and energy efficiency. Taste was measured three ways. Mechanical analysis on fruit firmness at harvest and after six months storage was higher for organic than its two competitors. The ratio of sugar content to acidity, an indication of sweetness, was higher among organic apples as well. These results were then confirmed by consumer taste tests. To find out more you can go to http://www.nature.com, the title of the article is called The Sustainability of Three Apple Production Systems. (Natural Foods Merchandiser, June 2001)

3. Organic production reduces health risks.

Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Now, the EPA considers 60% of all herbicides (weed killers), 90% of all fungicides (mold killers), and 30% of all insecticides (insect killers) as potentially cancer causing. Organic farming keeps harmful chemicals and pesticides out of the food we eat and beverages we drink. It also prohibits the use of antibiotics in animal feed, which are routinely used in conventional farming and is known to create dangerous antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Organic farms also benefit the farm workers who have high exposure to chemicals and synthetic pesticides.

4. Organic farms respect our water sources.

The elimination of polluting chemicals and nitrogen leaching, done in combination with soil building, protects and conserves water resources. Organic farming reduces toxic farming runoff and pollutants that contaminate our water, soil and air.

5. Organic farmers build soil.

Soil is the foundation of the food chain and the primary focus of organic farming. We’re facing the worst topsoil erosion in history due to our current agricultural practice of chemical intensive, mono-crop farming.

6. Organic farmers work in harmony with nature.

Organic agriculture respects the balance demanded of a healthy ecosystem: wildlife is an essential part of a total farm and is encouraged by including forage crops in rotation and by retaining fence rows, wetlands, and other natural areas.

7. Organic producers are leaders in innovative research.

Organic farmers have led the way, largely at their own expense, with innovative on-farm research aimed at reducing pesticide use and minimizing agriculture’s impact on the environment.

Organic farming is better for the environment, better for business, more energy efficient and makes better tasting fruit than conventional methods and most integrated production systems, according to the research conducted at Washington State University. (Natural Foods Merchandiser, June 2001)

8. Organic producers strive to preserve diversity.

The loss of a large variety of species (biodiversity) is one of our most pressing environmental concerns. The good news is that many organic farmers and gardeners have been collecting and preserving seeds, and growing unusual varieties for decades.

9. Organic farming helps keep rural communities healthy.

The USDA predicts that by the year 2000, half of U.S. farm production will come from 1% of farms. Organic farming may be one of the few survival tactics left for the family farm and the rural community.

10. Organic abundance – Foods and non-foods alike!

Now every food category has an organic alternative. And non-food agricultural products are being grown organically - even cotton, which most experts felt could not be grown organically.