Organically grown foods are often touted as being superior to conventionally grown foods in nearly every aspect. They are popularly considered to be better for your health and to practice more sustainable growing methods that are healthier for the environment than conventional farming methods. Organic farmers use naturally based fertilizers and pesticides to grow crops, replacing synthetic ones that may be more toxic to the environment and to humans. Weeds are also controlled naturally through methods such as crop rotation instead of using herbicides.
However, agriculture consists of a series of trade-offs, and all parts of a farm are interconnected. Fertilizers and pesticides are used by conventional farms to insure that each parcel of land is used to its maximum potential. Conventional farms are extremely efficient with land use, growing the most crops with the smallest input of other resources possible. This decreases the resources required per kilogram of product to grow crops because less water, land, and fertilizer are used to feed weeds and pests. Organic farms, however, must compensate for not using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides by using larger tracts of land and larger amounts of natural fertilizers. By over fertilizing, pollutants may run into water systems, leading to algal blooms. Dedicating additional land to farming destroys the ecosystems and habitats that organic farming methods are supposed to protect.
It is also important to note that although organic food producers use fewer and less ecotoxic pesticides, they still use naturally derived ones. Without any pesticides, crop yields would decrease drastically. Naturally derived pesticides are thought to be less harmful to humans, but some have been found to be dangerous.
Organic and conventional farming methods have essentially similar impacts on the environment. The additional synthetic herbicides and pesticides used by conventional farms are balanced by additional land and fertilizer use by organic farms. If one is looking to buy eco-friendly farm products, one must work harder than simply buying organically grown produce. In some areas, such as India and China, lack of technology and regulation means that organically grown methods have an ecological edge over conventional methods. However, in the US and Europe, the increasing use of genetically modified organisms further reduces the need for synthetic chemicals when growing conventional food and may be more ecologically friendly. We will all have to do our part in researching environmentally friendly food sources if we want to make a difference.
Hayden Braun
Sources:
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/07/25/organic-vs-conventional-farming-lower-environmental-impact/
Organic Foods: What is Organic Food and What are the Benefits?
https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Bulletins/Transitioning-to-Organic-Production/Text-Version/What-is-Organic-Farming