Organic Farming???

Question

What is organic farming? and what are the benefits and drawbacks to the environment and people?

Answer 1

organic farming is when you don't use chemicals to kill the insects and stuff. some farms don't wash the chemicals off of the food after aswell! if the insects die what are birds going to die. im sure you learned about food chains at school and stuf

Answer 2

Its using natural fertilizer and no pesticides other than natural to protect the food it its growth. Its great but expensive and cannot be sustainable as a means of feeding the whole population

Answer 3

Organic Farming, system of agriculture that uses environmentally sound techniques for raising crops and livestock that are free from most synthetic pesticides, growth hormones, and antibiotics. Organic farmers typically rely on pesticides and fertilizers derived from plants, animal wastes, and minerals. They incorporate biological methods, such as the use of one organism to suppress another, to help control pests. The methods used in organic farming seek to increase soil fertility, balance insect populations, and reduce air, soil, and water pollution.

Organic farming is a small but rapidly growing sector of agriculture in the United States. Sales of organic foods increased from $1 billion in 1990 to more than $7 billion in 2001. Organic food sales are projected to increase to more than $20 billion by the year 2005. Exports of organic food products are also growing, particularly to Japan and Europe.

BENEFITS :

For consumers, the most obvious benefit of organic farming is health-related—the food produced has little or no pesticide residue. Some advocates of organic farming believe that organic food is more nutritious than food produced by conventional farming, although no valid studies support this claim.

Organic farming, however, has less obvious, longer-term benefits. Because it preserves and enhances topsoil, it increases the chances that future generations can continue growing food. It helps preserve aquatic life by minimizing the flow of toxic pesticides into streams, rivers, and lakes. And it encourages healthy populations of beneficial insects that keep destructive insects under control.

Opponents of organic farming argue that organic farming is less profitable, requiring more labor and management skill than a conventional farm. Savings on pesticides, fertilizers, and fuels, however, usually offset the cost of the extra labor. And the environmental benefits of organic farming represent long-term savings, not just for the organic farmer, but also for future generations.

Chemical fertilizers and pesticides applied to crops often leach into the soil and are carried by rain to rivers, contributing to water pollution, one of the most critical environmental problems of the 20th century. Organic farmers minimize water pollution by using non-toxic fertilizers and pesticides.

Answer 4

Problem with organic farming is there isn't enough labor to organically farm all the acres.  Organic grain farming requires intensive tillage and cultivation practices.  Often the result is a less yielding and overall less quality product.

Answer 5

none at all either way as far as i can see

Answer 6

Strictly speaking, simply the non-use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. The key benefit is not spreading toxic and polluting substances to the environment and to our food, but the drawback is it creates a false impression that all usage of chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides are bad and inferior. Prudent and intelligent use of selected chemicals oftentimes have superior results.

Answer 7

"The main components of an organic farming system

are the use of crop rotations and other forms of

husbandry to maintain fertility and control weeds,

pests and diseases, so avoiding the use of artificial

fertilizers and pesticides. Livestock are an integral part

of many such systems, recycling nutrients in the form

of manures and thus maintaining soil fertility. By

reducing the use of external inputs and maintaining

non-intensive systems, organic farming aims to protect

the environment, ensure animal welfare and food

quality, and strengthen local economies."

This quote is from a great little online booklet from University of Wales, Aberystwyth http://www.organic.aber.ac.uk/library/or...

Answer 8

There are chemical pesticides and fertilisers approved for use in organic farming. I don't know who approved them (the Soil Association), or what they are, or what harm they do.

However, that is nothing in the bigger picture.

You may be aware that organic farming is more labour intensive, and it's yeild is only around one sixth of modern industrial farming (less harvest per acre).

So, it is of no suprise that most organic produce comes from places that have low labour costs, and low land costs.

This place is called the third world, and, in this place the fields are flush with our cute organic vegetables.

You may ask yourself "what was there before those third world people started growing our organic food?". The answer is usually "Tropical Rain Forest".

Additionally that land is less fertile than our land here in the U.K., and so more fields are needed to satisfy our desire to feed ourselves with only the best, purest, sweetest, cutest food which we deserve - as we are special.

No problem, just clear a bit more of that nasty rain forest, and there's plenty of land to grow the food that we like to pamper ourselves with.

Answer 9

Frankly I a sceptic when it comes to organic farming, particularly when it is credited with producing more whole some food. Test several friends with say ten boiled eggs each of organic and non-organic see if the guess which is which, yes I do mean guess. If every farmer reverted to organic farming then there would not be enough organic fertilisers (farm yard manure) to go round. In the UK farms claiming to be organic must be inspected and certified by the Organic Farmers and Growers, Soil Association and others. Because there is a premium to pay for organic food there will always be those wishing to make an additional profit by introducing non-organic food into the organic chain. Supermarkets make more profit out of organic food, so it’s in their interests to promote.

As stated above there is only so much organic fertiliser available, normally available from farmers in milk production most of this collected in the winter when cows are keep inside. Because of the sensibilities of the evangelical foodies I will assume they would not wish to eat food grown using organic fertiliser from intensive, beef, pig or poultry farming.

In world terms if all food were produced organically, many would starve. Many cities would have food riots with the weak and the sick going without food. The world population is growing so fast many people today are  chronically underfed.  Intensive farming, the use of artificial fertilisers will continue to be necessary. What is needed is more judicious use of fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides etc.

In the UK today we produce only 60% of our own food; farmers are going out of business on a daily basis, forced out by production costs being greater than sales prices. In ten years there is likely to be only a handful of dairy farmers in business. Presumable we will import all our dairy products and the organic farmers will be importing organic fertilisers. The UK government do not have a strategy for food security, it’s a question of less than three months supply of food in storage. Where have all the food mountains gone. The UK government treats the countryside like a great big theme park, no votes in farming for them, no votes means second or even third class treatment for the countryside.

There is a crisis in farming within the European Union; the agricultural policy is based on the political needs of the French politician and not for the greater good of the EU consumers. The food miles of much of the food we eat exceeds common sense.  It has a size 15-carbon footprint. Who is to blame for this, the consumers they want too spend less of the weekly budget on food. But we all know the cost of food is not just measured in pounds, Euros etc.

May be the answer is GM Plants and organic fertiliser!

Answer 10

Organic farming doesn't use mineral fertilisers or chemicals to kill pests and weeds.  Instead, farmers use manure to fertilise and things like insect traps to protect the crops.   Benefits are less chemicals in the atmosphere and in the food. Drawbacks are lower yields so less production for each area of land also less uniform and perfect crops.   Another drawback is that the supermarkets can charge you a premium price by claiming their goods are organic, even when they are not.

Answer 11

This site pretty much sums up my opinion of organic farming:  http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4019