Organic Farming is the Best Alternative
In modern times people have become more conscious about how their food is produced, and their sole interest no longer lies in the product only. The increased awareness and access to information has enabled people to become more aware of how their food is manufactured, starting from the farms, till the process of its packaging. There is commonly accepted that the farm produced organic food is better and healthier for them. Green or organic farming uses natural methods of raising crops and animals. This type of farming discourages the use of any form of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, growth hormones, animal confinement and other such methods used to increase production. It encourages applying natural methods such as using manure instead of fertilizers, and encouraging people to find alternative methods of getting rid of the pests and weeds in their farms.
Industrial farming encourages the use of chemical fertilizers and mono cropping, which has negative effects on the environment. Organic farming is the best alternative for people because it leads to enhanced environment protection and better environment management, better deployment of economic resources and improvement of human health. Organic farming leads to better environment management. It leads to the soil improvement because it encourages crop rotation, which enriches the soil. This leads to increased soil quality. This enhanced soil quality leads to advanced crop production.
Moreover, this conserves water because the soil becomes more adoptable for water holding. Organic farming does not use pesticides or herbicides, or any other chemicals to increase crop or animal production. Crops grow naturally, and intercropping enables the farmers to control the pests. Crop rotation encourages biodiversity, which in return leads to the crops becoming more weed resistant. Since there are no pesticides used in organic farming, the farm is rich in rodents and other useful animals, and they help to keep the pests away.
Farmers, who adopt organic farming, protect the environment because they use less energy to produce crops. Industrial farming encourages the use of increased energy during different farming processes. This energy comes mostly from fossil fuels which increase the carbon footprint, hence increase greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions contribute to global warming, and this leads to weather and climate change. Organic farming leads to less soil erosion. This type of farming encourages the growth of cover crops, which protect the soil from wind and water (Pollan 11).
Farmers do not need the herbicides, since there are no weeds to control. The farmers know the right kinds of plants to crop in different seasons. They know the type of crops that will keep away pests and insects from the plants. Industrial farming encourages the use of herbicides. The continued use of herbicides on the land makes the weeds more resistant to the herbicides, and the farmers have to continue using more herbicides.
In return this has led to the development of super weeds which are harder to control. This creates a never-ending cycle, which continues to encourage the use of chemical herbicides. Industrial farming encourages the use of chemical fertilizers which are bad for the environment. They degrade the environment and increase the levels of pollution. When it rains these chemicals find their way to water bodies where they pollute the water. Organic farmers do not have to worry about polluting the water because of fertilizers.
The soils are already rich with nutrients because of the crops planted in them. They have high quality micronutrients. This makes it economical for the farmers to produce more crops. Organic farming is economical in the long-term. Farmers use less input to grow crops and to keep livestock. Industrial farmers have to worry about incresing costs.
They use a lot of money to purchase inputs such as herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, technical tools for harvesting and planting among other farm inputs. Organic farming does not require much input from the farmer. The farmers use cover crops and other natural methods to increase production and to protect the crops. Organic farming is also economical because the farmers avoid the risk incurred by farmers using industrial farming in case of pest infestation. Industrial farmers plant one type of crop on huge sizes of land.
In case pest and disease invade the crops the farmers end up losing their entire crop. The same situation happens with farmers who prefer to rear animals in a commercial industrial manner. The practice of monoculture has permeated the animal farming industry with some farmers preferring to confine their animals in enclosed places. The farmers put hormones and other growth enhancers into the animal’s food to enable them to grow at a faster rate. The quick growth does not enable the animals to develop natural resistance to diseases and they can all die if they are infected (Hurst 9).
Since organic farmers plant a variety of crops in one land they do not have to worry about losing their entire crop when diseases or pests strike. Animals bred organically or free-range and those that develop naturally acquire a strong immune system what increases their chances of surviving in case of disease. They do not get disease infections quickly because they have natural boosters to protect them from sickness. The use of natural predators to control the pests leads to massive savings for the farmers. These predators are useful to the crops. They feed on the insects and they leave the plants intact.
Many organic farmers tend to mix crop and animal farming. This is beneficial for the farmers since it is a way for the crops to get manure to assist in their growth and a way for the animals to get food from the crops planted. Moreover, some of the animals feed on weeds, which can save crop yields; other animals feed on insects and other bugs.Organic crops are more drought resistant compared to other crops. They are able to withstand extreme conditions unlike crops grown in other types of farming.
The crops grown in industrial farming lack the natural mechanisms necessary to protect them in extreme weather conditions. They are usually modified and altered genetically, containing hormones and this makes them inferior to organic crops. They do not get the chance to develop normally and develop the necessary resistance because their growth is artificial. Organic farming is also beneficial because farmers can use their products for food. Since the farmers plant a wide variety of food, they do not have to depend on other food sources, and they can just pick them from their gardens.
This saves the families money which they would spend purchasing food from the grocery stores (Singer 66). Organic farming is also economically beneficial because it contributes to the growth of the economy by providing jobs. Many farmers using industrial farming rely on heavy machinery and tractors to do all the planting work in the land. This is not the case with organic farming which depends on the use of manual labor for all its processes, including planting and harvesting. The use of manual labor reduces wastage associated with industrial farming, and it gives people a chance to get an income when they work on the farms.
One does not need huge tracts of land to practice organic farming. A farmer can divide a small piece of land and he can use it to plant a wide variety of crops. Organic farming tends to be more economical in the long end. Farmers, who prefer industrial farming, are more concerned with the short-term benefits. This enables them to use as many chemical growth enhancers and pesticides as they want.
In the end, their soil becomes poorer in terms of mmicronutrients. Such soil will need replenishing after sometime, but this will cost more for the farmers. Organic farming enhances good human, animal and plant health. The use of natural remedies deals with insects, weeds and disease in the farm and leads to less usage of chemical products, some of which have adverse effects on human health. Some fertilizers do not benefit people’s health in anyway and failure to wash plants grown using some types of fertilizers can lead to infections appearance.
Organic farming is beneficial to human health because it does not lead to polluting of the environment. People are healthier when they live in a good and clean environment because this reduces their chance of getting infections. Organic farming also benefits people’s health because they may include into their diets the variety of crops which are good for their self-being. People are able to vary their diets because the food they need is readily available. This leads to better health and safe lifestyle for people who eat such food. Varying diet is especially important, because it helps in maintaining people’s health, and preventing diseases.
Industrial farming’s monoculture does not give people such opportunities (Wallace 12). Although organic farming is beneficial to farmers, the final product tends to be more expensive for the ordinary consumers in the market. Therefore, people find it cheaper to buy farm products produced in industrial farms because they are cheaper. The government has supported industrial farming over the years by offering subsidies to farmers. These benefits go towards the consumers who buy the foods at cheaper prices.
In addition, the different types of chemical fertilizers in the market make it cheaper for industrial farmers to produce crops. This is the contrast when compared to the manure and compost that the organic farmers have to use. The organic farmers pass this cost to the consumers, who end up paying highly for food. Sometimes this cost can be too high for many people who would like to buy the products. The high food prices discourage customers from consuming organic farm production and they discourage grocery stores from stocking it.Industrial farming leads to increased food security in the world.
This happens because of the technological development which ensures that farmers are able to produce more food in a small piece of land. Scientific research has led to the advancement of knowledge in food production. This enabled scientists to find out how they can make crops more pest and disease resistant and how they can increase the output of the farm production. They have passed this knowledge to the farmers who have used it in their farms. This has led to greater harvests leading to more food for people’s consumption. The technology has advanced to the extent that farmers have more than they can use and sell.
It has led to the exportation of farm products, something that would not happened previously. This has benefited countries with food shortages and has contributed to people leaving healthier lives. Organic farming has many advantages. Many people have realized these advantages and many of them are turning to organic farming. Many people are especially drawn to organic farming because of the use of natural methods to grow the crops and the opportunities it offers them to improve and maintain their health. Organic farming benefits a country economically.
It does not use heavy machinery and this leads to more job opportunities for people who can work in farms. The benefits of organic farming are especially evident in the management of the environment. Organic farming leads to reduced use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. This leads to less pollution and a cleaner environment. Therefore, organic farming is the best alternative.
