Organic farming

The current movement towards organic farming isn't just about eating healthier, although this is part of it. It is good for you to eat organic crops, as everyone knows, and the absence of pesticides or unnatural fertilizers can't hurt either. But when people buy foods grown by organic farming farming methods, they are less buying food than buying an idea, and an image of purity. They like to think that they are buying in to a bygone time, while simultaneously indulging in a Utopian future. You see, the images associated with organic farming are quite complex. On the one hand, they incorporate this ideal of the family farmer, who has worked the land for generations on generations. On the other hand, there is the idea of working for the future, and starting a new way of life that will preserve the earth and help to undo some of the damage that we have all done. Both of these ideas of organic farming, however, are somewhat distant from the actual reality of the thing.

First of all, organic food is great and all, but unless you specifically know that it comes from a small, local organic farm, it probably doesn't. Organic farming is big business now. Do you think that a nationwide chain like Whole Foods stocks itself from ma and pa and their tractor, living in the middle of Missouri? If you do, then you'd better think again. There is so much money to be made with organic farming, that the big food product bullies have taken it over, the same as they did with the rest of farming almost a century ago. You can buy food grown with organic farming locally, but you have to go to your local organic food store to do it, and check out the labels. Usually some foods will advertise this fact, and these are the foods that you want.

The idea of rebuilding the future is also kind of off the mark. Although organic farming is somewhat better for the environment because it does not put the same toxic pesticides and fertilizers into the soil, this advantage doesn't address the real problem. Commercial agricultural techniques, whether organic farming or conventional farming, wreak havoc on both the topsoil and the ecosystem through their huge fields growing just one strain of one kind of plant. It is this, and not the pesticides and fertilizers, that does the most rotten stuff to the environment.

A type of agriculture that stresses ecosystem management and reduces the use of external or synthetic products is organic farming. It excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or any “genetically modified organisms” in producing food. Many governments take organic farming seriously and require that a farm claiming to produce organic products is certified and regulated.

While methods differ, most farms do share common practices and have similar goals. Not only does organic farming exclude synthetic chemicals, it also includes practices that protect the soil, promote biodiversity (for example growing a variety of crops rather than exhausting just one) and better grazing for livestock and poultry.

Individuals in organic farming develop their own systems according to their knowledge, circumstances and what the market or law requires, but the basic framework remains the same throughout the many farms.

There is a vast and noticeable difference between the various methods of farming. For someone unfamiliar with the industry this may come as a surprise. Conventional farming has earned a reputation for being especially cruel to the environment. Conventional farming is known to have large-scale and chemical based practices when it comes to growing food rapidly, and these have been used since the 1930’s.

The basic differences between organic and conventional farming lie in methods used to grow crops and the overall size. Organic farming is usually small and independently operated. Conventional farming is large scale, usually owned or operated by a major food corporation. A farm that grows foods organically does not use purchased fertilizers and uses limited mechanics in the growing and harvesting process. Conventional farming uses heavy mechanics and production including special equipment facilities, and of course, many synthetic chemicals.

Many people remain unaware of how food is produced and that there is not an unlimited supply of it. If conventional farming is indeed destroying the earth’s capacity to produce more food, then organic farming along with other environmental concerns remain crucial topics—and ones that lately have been forgotten.

Although the quality and taste of food is one of the determining factors for a consumer choosing organic foods, organic farming has less to do with that and much more to do with the mechanics of the actual farming. Some claim that the argument of organic farming is exaggerated and that conventional farming produces food as well as it can be produced under the circumstances. While a debate can be made from both sides, organic farming continues to be a popular choice and a controversial issue.

For the average consumer it comes down to an issue of taste and price. Many people claim that foods grown in an organic way taste better, but the drawback is that they can be substantially more expensive depending on where you live. Personal choice really becomes the determining factor.