What are the advantages and disadvantages of organic farming?
Question by : What are the advantages and disadvantages of organic farming?
You should include, consideration of environmental issues and world food shortages.
You should include, consideration of environmental issues and world food shortages.
Its for my biology coursework 🙂
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5 Responses to What are the advantages and disadvantages of organic farming?
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Advantage….the food tastes better
Disadvantage…..it costs a lot more to produce..why?
Paul
January 22, 2012 at 4:16 am
Advantage. Great tasting food grown the way nature intended. No intake of harmful carcinogenic chemicals.
disadvantages. Farmers don’t make as much money as they can’t grow as much.
kirstybutler7
January 22, 2012 at 4:36 am
Alot of people dont understand what organic food is (food being the yielded product of farming organically. Some people believe the food is better tasting. Some are more accustomed to processed food.
The true bennefits is the lack of incidental ingestation of chemical preservitives found is most food products. With organic food production there are guidelines to follow. Chickens that you draw eggs from do not recieve massive doses of hormones and antibiotics, they are allowed to move freely versus cage farming.
Beef is where I think they make their money, Farmers tend to naturally be either generous out of love of their job (so the cow gets a little extra grain) which has proven time and again to increase the marbeling content of the beef -this makes for a much jucier and tender meat.
Vegetables are so chem pumped from processing farms that you will notice lack of taste, they may grow larger.. but thats their sales point.
Organic Farmers dont destroy the flavor or alter genetic structure to develope hybrid plants.
The environment is impacted my non organic farming in multiple ways – wide spread use of Pesticide, Herbiside, Fungaside, and the fertilizers they use are lowest bidder bulk chem refines. Organic farmers (within code) use natural fertilizers found on this planet, phosphates can be removed from recycled bark – and be used to keep weeds down as well helping protect the crop from unwanted invaders – sparing the environment the run-off, the waste, and ph stress in the soil as it attempts to reballance it self.
While organic food isnt the best way to produce in bulk (hard to compete with warehouses using UV lamps with multiple stories) it most certainly is healthier for you and me.
Forget your biology coursework, if your not shopping at an organic food store I suggest you get out and try… you wont go back to SAMS for your groceries…
Tyro
January 22, 2012 at 5:11 am
The advantages to organic farming are as follows:
-The knowledge you are growing a nutrient-rich product free of pesticides.
-Growing fruits/vegetables that are not full of cancer causing compounds and chemicals.
-Protecting the environment from pesticides leaking into the soil and then the water table.
-Preventing mutation of human and animal (mammalian) genetics, those of which create deformities,disease, cancer, and a multitude of other illnesses.
-Encouraging and promoting a natural,God-intended agricultural practice of a coexistence of human beings and ‘nature’ -(insects, animals, weather, natural cycles of weather).
-Growing ‘heirloom’ fruits/vegetables…. Meaning non-genetically modified seeds being grown, which are proven to be unsafe and an unknown biological disaster waiting to happen.
-Sleeping well at night with a clear conscience knowing you are producing quality, nutritious, and healthy fruits and vegetables.
Disadvantages of Organic Farming:
-It requires more work: weed control, with the use of human labor and/or mechanical, versus chemicals.
-Due to insects there might be considerable crop loss. This can depend upon certain cycles in the ‘insect world;
-In general, because of the higher losses experienced by organic growers…(supposedly an argument by high volume growers of genetically modified, pesticide filled crops).
-Most, if not all, organically grown products, are generally more expensive, due to the size of their ‘operations’/farm. This is due to quantity being sold, a more hands-on method is required; meaning man hours, and also the potential loss of crops due to insects or disease. Think of the potato famine in Ireland over a century ago.
I feel the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. I do not believe the World’s food supply demand has much, if any, responsibility for the advent of genetically modified food, nor the pesticide filled produce on our grocer’s shelves, which are becoming one in the same… I truly believe it is greed. The greed for money, which in my opinion, deems these power ‘hungry’, narcisstic ”people” as mentally ill.
Compassion, humanity, and being grounded in nature are essential components of society and life.
GenaStyletto
January 22, 2012 at 5:34 am
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqCNdRYJC2w7HWtOIswZNRng5gt.;_ylv=3?qid=20090325012440AAuYCCp
m!chel@
January 22, 2012 at 5:43 am