Organic – Hype or Real?
The “Green Movement” has taken over the world’s conscience, but with every one hopping on this bandwagon, what does tomorrow hold for the food we consume?
Agribusiness and the multinational 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? Currently there is a tremendous amount of debate between organic farmers and conventional farmers who are looking for common answers to this question.
In many countries throughout the world including the United States, China and most of Europe; organic farming is defined by law, so that the commercial use of the term organic is regulated by the government. Unfortunately, these laws are constantly usurped by greedy and unscrupulous parties.This is due to the fact that the end user demand for organic products in developing economies has grown at about 20% annually because of increasing awareness of organic farming methods.
Organic pest control which allows for a minimal amount of pest damage, encourages the use of beneficial organisms rather than toxic chemicals, utilizes careful crop selection and crop rotation and mechanical, thermal and mulch controls for weeds. Organic pesticides; which are usually derived from plants and not chemicals, allow for the use of natural benign methods of protection.
Conventional farming requires farmers to apply only those critically needed fertilizers to the soil in order to minimize waste pollutants. Organic farmers on the other hand do not have that option because they depend on natural amendments such as manure, which contains unspecified 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 strength. These over applications will very easily lead to pollution of the water supply.
Organic farming advocates claim that the impact of laboratory genetic engineering on food quality and plant and animal health is not yet fully understood. Proponents argue that genetic engineering is vital to create higher volumes of produce in the fight to end world hunger without requiring additional land. Often forgotten in this debate, is the fact that some classical genetic engineering such as grafting and plant propagation, has been used for thousands of years, and has done much good for mankind.
The pro-organic point of view as far as the environment goes, is that conventional agriculture is depleting our natural resources such as fossil fuels and potable water and is seriously polluting our air, soil and water. The large quantities of agricultural chemicals, water wastage through high-volume irrigation and the heavy use of fuels for the farm machinery and long-distance transport are some of their arguments. An organic farm using natural compost and manure on a large-scale may possibly cause as much damage to groundwater and soil as does manufactured fertilizers.
Even though there are laws that ensure that the playing field be level for all of us, these laws have been found to be full of loopholes that have led to serious charges being leveled against major government agencies such as the FDA and the USDA. Organic farming is now at a crossroads.
If agribusiness can convert to large scale organic farming and will they still be able to make a profit without raising consumer costs to unacceptable levels?
The current food distribution system favors large farming corporate operations and cannot be easily altered. What we presently know as organic farming may be entirely different in the coming years. A growing and educated consumer market is normally one of the main factors will convince conventional farmers to change over to organic agricultural production methods.
While this discussion goes on, families will make their own decisions regarding this subject by doing the sane and sensible thing; growing their own produce. The “Revolution” is more than a slogan. It is now a way of life for those who are choosing to join in to make this world a better place to live.
Dick Murray is a concerned American who cares about the quality of the food that our families eat on a daily basis. Our commercial food system supplies us with food that does not contain the nutrients and health benefits contained in the food we consumed just a few short years ago. Learn how to grow your own food and beat this system. It is not difficult and will be enjoyable to boot.. To learn more visit vegetablegrowingbasics
