Organic and Industrial Farming - Admission/Application Essay Example

Organic vs. industrial Farming This paper compares organic farming and industrial farming by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of these two farming approaches. The first section will briefly discuss the agricultural revolution in the post-war era. The second section discusses organic farming in detail and also offers statistics on the status of organic farming in the US. The final part discusses industrial farming and concludes by commending on organic farming as the ultimate farming solution in saving the US landscapes. Organic vs. Industrial Farming Introduction The agricultural revolution that took place after the world wars brought immense changes on agriculture in almost all food producing countries across the world. First, the agricultural sector saw the introduction of farm based tractor power, which was later followed by the introduction of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and factory production of livestock. This was necessitated by the desperate need for food by the recovering economies of the 1940s, 1950s, and 60s. Therefore, farmers across the world got encouraged to utilize synthetic inputs, as well as intensive food production strategies in order to increase food production and quality (Lockeretz, 2007). Discussion At the beginning of the 21st century, the world entered into the second era of the agricultural revolution. Today, the world is facing challenges resulting from industrial agriculture. A lot has been done regarding industrial agriculture, which has enabled environmentalists to document issues such as pollution of lakes and rivers and the decline of biodiversity. In addition, people have suffered a number of food scares as a result of industrial agriculture. Examples of such scares include food poisoning, presence of antibiotic and hormone residues in animal products, pesticides in food, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Francis, 2009). According to (Lockeretz (2007), the other issue of concern in the 21st century includes the introduction of genetically modified products. In agriculture, GM technology is feared to cause destruction of beneficial organisms, loss of plant diversity, and increased resistance to pesticides. In addition, the safety of GM foods to consumers is also in question. These factors plus others yet to be mentioned call for alternative farming approaches, which will offer solutions to many challenges arising from industrial agriculture. However, it is worth mentioning that industrial agriculture has some of its own advantages. For the purpose of this paper, two farming approaches (organic farming and industrial agriculture) will be discussed, but the ultimate farming option will be organic farming in order to save the landscapes of the United States. Organic farming This refers to a farming approach that aims at working in harmony with nature instead of operating against it. The approach involves applying techniques that bring about good crop yields without affecting the natural environments or its inhabitants. Organic farming follows a number of principles, which include maintenance and building of good soil structure and fertility, and proper control of pests, diseases, and weeds. The other principles encompass proper utilization of water resources, and proper animal husbandry (Francis, 2009). Today, there is a modern approach to organic farming, which implies that farmers do not necessarily have to go back to traditional methods of organic farming. The modern approach makes use of the best traditional approaches and combines them with the current scientific knowledge. For this reason, environmentalists consider organic farming as the solution to numerous challenges arising from industrial agriculture. The organic approach is based on a natural system whereby all aspects of such a system may be considered as components of a holistic unit. In this case, the referred components include crops, soil, farmers, environment, livestock, and consumers (Francis, 2009). Francis (2009) asserts that the organic approach recognizes that all of the mentioned aspects will, and have to be given an opportunity to interact. Today, the term organic has become a household name; this has caused organic farming to grow into a mainstream activity done by thousands and supported by millions. The rising popularity of organic farming According to Francis (2009), a number of factors have brought about the recent wide usage of organic farming. Several studies indicate that people are increasingly consuming organic foods for several factors. Such factors entail the fear of consuming foods contaminated with pesticides, the perception that organic farming is kinder to the environment, and the good taste arising from organic foods. In the United States, the annual growth rate of market for organic products has stagnated at 20% for the past two decades. In 2006, the Organic Trade Association estimated that the sales of organic foods amounted to $16.7, which translated to 2.8% of total retail food sales. Today, organic foods continue to be sold through conventional retailers, natural food stores, and through farmers’ markets. In addition, the United States exports a good portion of its organic food products to regions such as Japan, Canada, and the European Union (Wellson, 2007). In 2005, the US had all of its 50 states having some certified organic farms. This represented a total of 4 million acres of certified organic farmlands across the United States. Apart from certified farms, there were over 3,000 certified operations that processed and distributed organic food products. Fresh produce comprises the biggest sector of organic products, with California having the largest parcels of land put under the production of organic fruits and vegetables. California also has the highest number of acreages under organic pasture (Wellson, 2007). Advantages of organic farming As Francis (2009) notes, the use of organic farming comes with countless benefits, unlike the industrial farming approach. For this reason, it is expected that its application will continue to increase in order to minimize the problems that come along with industrial farming. The first benefit that comes along with organic farming is the improvement of food quality. Consumers of organic foods are satisfied that the food is tasty and of good nutrition. Research further supports that organic vegetables contain high levels of essential amino acids and minerals. In addition, studies found out that organic foods have high levels of dry matter and low levels of pesticides. Studies on animals showed that livestock had a clear preference for organic feed. The second advantage relates to food safety whereby organic products are believed to be much safer than industrial products. This is because organic farming discourages the use of farm chemicals in crop production. In addition, organic farming does not produce genetically modified food products that may have adverse effects to consumers. Health experts support that organic vegetables offer protection against certain forms of cancers due to high levels of secondary metabolites (Francis, 2009). The third advantage of organic farming concerns its ability to offer a cleaner and better environment. It has been noted that the increased use of industrial farming has caused serious pollution of rivers, lakes, seas, and soils. Industrial farming has further led to the decline of soil organic matter, as well as the destruction of the soil structure. One main concern of organic farming is proper soil management strategies. Through organic farming, there is the building of organic matter, which helps in controlling soil erosion and drought. Continued usage of compost and farmyard manure in organic farming helps in improving the soil structure. In doing so, there is an increase in the number of earthworms that may be essential in improving the soil structure. Therefore, organic farming can be regarded as ideal for promoting biodiversity in farmlands (Lockeretz, 2007). Organic farming also offers the advantage of recycling disposable farm wastes. Today, people experience problems while trying to dispose domestic and industrial wastes. However, organic farming offers a solution for the disposal of such wastes through the preparation of compost manure. Farms practicing organic farming prepare compost manure using decomposable waste products (Lockeretz, 2007). Disadvantages One disadvantage of organic farming is reduced productivity. This is because organic farming does not rely on the use of agrochemicals, machinery, and monoculture, which include some of the factors that cause an increase in crop production. However, experts point out that organic farming offers high productivity in the long run once soils under industrial farming get exhausted (Francis, 2009). The second disadvantage arises from the fact that organic farming is labor intensive because cultivation has to done manually instead of using herbicides. Cultivation further loosens the soil structure, which increases the risks of soil erosion and loss of soil biodiversity (Francis, 2009). The fact that organic farming does not use genetically modified products puts it at a disadvantage in the sense that the practice will not make use of crops engineered to withstand herbicides and pests. The other disadvantage arises because immense skills are needed in order to practice organic farming (Kimbrell, 2002). Industrial farming This can be regarded as a modern farming approach that utilizes synthetic fertilizers and farm chemicals, high amounts of water for irrigation, and high levels of technology on the farmland. The main characteristics of industrial agriculture are the utilization of expensive farm inputs such as fertilizers and farm chemicals. These farm inputs create wastes that are harmful to the environment. The other characteristic is the utilization of high amounts of non-renewable fossil fuels. Industrial farming also focuses much on a large scale production of food products, unlike organic farming. The other notable issue is that there are numerous environmental and health concerns over industrial farming (Kimbrell, 2002). Advantages The first advantage that comes with industrial farming is the increase in productivity. For example, in 1920, the US farmers were able to produce 30 bushels of corn per acre. However, in 1999, the yields increased to an average of 134 bushels per acre. The second advantage is the availability of cheap food; studies indicate that US families spend about 10% of their income on food. The other advantage of industrial farming is its use of genetically modified products, which ensures that crops thrive even under harsh conditions (Kimbrell, 2002). Disadvantages Industrial farming comes with numerous disadvantages, unlike organic farming. Much of the impact is felt by the environment in a number of ways. First, industrial farming consumes water at rates that are not sustainable. Secondly, the use of synthetic fertilizers and chemicals causes heavy pollutions on water, soils, and air. This pollution is the main cause of loss of biodiversity both in soils and water bodies. Industrial farming also increases the rate at which the soils may be eroded; it also reduces the rate of soil replenishment. The use of monoculture eliminates biodiversity in plants and animals (Phoenix & Walter, 2009). Based on the issue of declining amounts of water, it is estimated that about two-thirds of world’s water is used for irrigation. Today, aquifers such as Ogallala aquifers in the US are being depleted through irrigation faster than it can be replenished. In relation to the heavy usage of fertilizers and farm chemicals, it is estimated that about 20 million metric tons of such chemicals were used in the US, in 1998. The most disturbing issue is that a high number of the chemicals used to manufacture farm chemicals have not been tested (Phoenix & Walter, 2009). Industrial farming entails cultivating large parcels of land. For this reason, small scale farmers have had to vacate their farms to create the space for industrial producers. This has significantly reduced the quality of life for the affected persons. Industrial farming mostly adopts the monoculture form of farming. This form of farming causes a severe loss of biodiversity because one type of crop is grown in a single area year after year (Kimbrell, 2002). Conclusion In conclusion, having discussed in details both the organic farming and industrial farming approaches, it is evident that the organic approach offers many benefits when utilized maximally. Considering the landscape of the US farms, organic farming stands out as the ultimate solution to save the land of its biodiversity, agricultural potential, water sources, and many other resources harbored in soils. Other than saving the landscape and its resources, organic farming will also ensure that the American population is healthy due to the consumption of healthy food products. Of most importance is the fact that organic farming is the most sustainable farming approach since the land resources that support farming are depleted at an extremely slow rate. Therefore, organic farming is a sustainable food production approach. Class discussion question Discuss the factors that have contributed to the increased use of organic farming approach in the US. Is the approach a sustainable means of food production in the US? References Francis, C. A. (2009). Organic Farming: The Ecological System. Washington, D. C.: ASA-CSSA-SSSA. Kimbrell, A. (2002). Fatal harvest: the tragedy of industrial agriculture. Washington, D. C.: Island Press. Lockeretz, W. (2007). Organic Farming: An International History. New York: CABI. Phoenix, L. E. & Walter, L. (2009). Critical Food Issues: Problems and State-of-the-Art Solutions Worldwide. New York: ABC-CLIO. Wellson, A. J. (2007). Organic Agriculture in the U.S. Chicago: Nova Publishers. Read More