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Literature review of comparative benefits of conventional and organic farming
BENEFITS OF organic farming essay
BENEFITS OF organic farming essay
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A Rhetorical Analysis Today’s economy and the environment are hurting due to the lack of nurture we have been providing. Conventional farming rules the world of agriculture, but not without a fight from organic farming. Organic farming is seen as the way of farming that might potentially nurture our nature back to health along with the added benefit of improving our own health. With her piece “Organic farming healthier, more efficient than Status Quo,” published in the Kansas State Collegian on September 3, 2013, writer Anurag Muthyam brings forth the importance behind organic farming methods. Muthyam is a senior at Kansas State University working towards a degree in Management. This piece paints the picture of how organic farming methods …show more content…
A gene used for pest control, Bt, has infected these foods. You would never know this gene existed because it’s not included in the label. Organic foods are specifically labeled as organic whenever you may find them at a grocery store or elsewhere. These foods are known as being essentially grown in healthy soil, in other words, a soil that isn’t infected with poisonous, synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides. Although organic foods are more expensive, it is only the result from the frequent crop rotations completed by the farmers during long, hot hours under the sun. Conventional farming methods destroy topsoil whereas organic farming can improve the overall health of the topsoil. Farmers who partake in organic farming view it as feeding the soil and not the plants. Due to this thinking method, a healthy soil provides healthy plants, healthy people and a healthy environment. Organic farming has the ability to feed an entire population and put an end to starvation. The dangerous pesticides that are added with conventional farming are outdated and risky to mankind. Relying on synthetic fertilizers and chemicals are paralyzing our …show more content…
Muthyam’s article states, “conventional farming’s dependency on chemical fertilizers destroys topsoil,” (Muthyam 4) and without healthy topsoil we can never produce more antioxidants or carbon. The increased production of these elements could alleviate climate change. The human beings who feel strongly about the climate change issue would be challenged on their “Bt gene” eating habits. Muthyam makes the reader think twice about buying conventional farming products because they are contributing to the problem presented. No one likes to hear about others starving which strikes the reader when they read organic farming can feed masses. The article states “we could feed our entire population through urban agriculture alone” (Muthyam 6). She also refers to the chemicals and synthetic fertilizers as being poison, which gets people double-taking their decisions to consume these conventional products. Consumers of conventional produce wouldn’t consider eating a product if it was directly labeled as
Pollan’s article provides a solid base to the conversation, defining what to do in order to eat healthy. Holding this concept of eating healthy, Joe Pinsker in “Why So Many Rich Kids Come to Enjoy the Taste of Healthier Foods” enters into the conversation and questions the connection of difference in families’ income and how healthy children eat (129-132). He argues that how much families earn largely affect how healthy children eat — income is one of the most important factors preventing people from eating healthy (129-132). In his article, Pinsker utilizes a study done by Caitlin Daniel to illustrate that level of income does affect children’s diet (130). In Daniel’s research, among 75 Boston-area parents, those rich families value children’s healthy diet more than food wasted when children refused to accept those healthier but
The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of several civil rights activists who were arrested in Birmingham Alabama, after protesting against racial injustices in Alabama. Dr. King wrote this letter in response to a statement titled A Call for Unity, which was published on Good Friday by eight of his fellow clergymen from Alabama. Dr. King uses his letter to eloquently refute the article. In the letter dr. king uses many vivid logos, ethos, and pathos to get his point across. Dr. King writes things in his letter that if any other person even dared to write the people would consider them crazy.
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between organic and non organic food? Some may say there aren’t any differences in the food itself, but the real difference lies in the means of producing the food. The controversy here is the environmental effects of different farming methods. Some believe that organic farming methods are better than conventional farming methods and some believe the opposite. There are many factors to determine which method is better but we are here to investigate the environmental aspect of the question. In short organic farming is a method of farming where the techniques used are less damaging to the environment by not using synthetic chemical fertilizers and herbicides and limiting the amount of pesticides. Conventional farming is the method of farming that uses synthetic fertilizers pesticides and herbicides to ensure the production of higher yield crops. Conventional farmers often use genetic mutated seeds to cut the cost of chemical pesticides and increase the size of the fruit to be harvested. There are many pros and cons to both sides of this issue but after researching I will say that I believe that organic farming is definitely the way to go. Not only is it better for your own personal health through the consumption of the products derived from the methods used, it is also less damaging to the environment in many ways.
Throughout the semester, we were assigned five essays. Beginning with paper one, a summary response, we were expected to provide our audience with a brief summary followed by our response to it. I began my paper with a question as the hook, and then I provided the author’s claim. Afterwards, I gave a sentence worth of information about what the article is about and then presented my thesis. My brainstorming process was minimal. Honestly, I did not tackle much on following the writing process. I read the article and began to write accordingly to the assignment sheet. My grade on the essay obviously reflected on that due to no proofreading or revising. There were errors amongst my format, such as, heading and font. As far as feedback, Armstrong
There is more than two-thirds of U.S. population who buy organic products at least occasionally, and twenty eight percent of consumers buy organic products weekly (Reganold et al., 2010). Organic produce is generally recognized as plant food produced without using growth hormones, antibiotics, or petroleum based, or sewage sludge based fertilizers (McWilliams, 2012). On the other hand conventionally grown produce uses synthetic fertilizers, hormones, and genetically modified Organism (GMO). Genetically Modified Organism referred to as plant or animal foods developed by genetic manipulation to alter nutrient levels or other characteristics such as increasing the antioxidant content in some vegetables or produce higher yield (McWilliams, 2012). The increasing popularity of consuming organic produce may be attributed to its perception of health related benefits, higher vitamins and nutrient levels, better quality, less pesticide residue, more environmental friendly, and concerns about the effects of conventional farming practices on the environment. (Uematsu, Mishra, 2012). The U.S. Department of Agriculture administeres the National Organic Prog...
Around the world, incessant debate swells over the matter of industrial farming. Today, arguments over organic versus industrial farming are analogous to a salmon swimming downstream in a murky nitrogen runoff stream – it’s stalled, hazardous, and rather convoluted. From meticulous inspection of the facts, one realizes that both sides’ arguments can often overlap and contradict each other, often with disputable claims backing up certain viewpoints. In this regard, David Biello, associate editor of Scientific American, argues that in developing countries, industrial farming is preferable to organic farming in developing countries because it is more suitable and safe. However, Biello fails to address industrial farming’s most dangerous and deadly aspect – pesticides. The effects of pesticides are so dire that it is nearly impossible to suggest that industrial farming is more innocuous and suitable for third world countries.
Sub Point A: Conventional food like, fruits, vegetables and animals are grown in farms and can be genetically modified to improve size and quantity. The number of harmful substances obtained from conventional food is a huge problem. Organic food is obtained from animals or crops produced by farmers that avoid man-made fertilizers, additives, growth regulators and pesticides.
Organic agriculture's aim is, 'to augment ecological processes that foster plant nutrition yet conserve soil and water resources. Organic systems eliminate agrochemicals and reduce other external inputs to improve the environment and farm economics' (Pimental, et al). Organic production is not only beneficial to the population as a whole but to the small time farmers who are attempting to survive in a capitalist world. In the U.S., 'National Organic Standards Program prohibits the use of synthetic chemicals, genetically modified organisms, and sewage sludge in organically certified production' (Pimental, et al). These types of eliminations mean less costs and more environmental benefits. Organic production is a step towards self-sustainable farming.
A study of 362 datasets found that organic agriculture produces 80% of conventional yield with 21% standard deviation (Tomek et al. 2012). Second, organic farming requires less energy input which equates to less money spend from the farmers in addition to lowering carbon emissions. A study by the Department of Environment shows that organic agriculture uses 25 percent less than energy than their chemical counterparts, and certain crops like organic leeks and broccoli use 58 and 49 percent less, respectively (Bialis et al. 2013). Third, organic farming does not use pesticides. According to the World Health Center, 20,000 people die annually from the exposure of pesticides (Costa et al. 2014). Fourth, the methods that organic farmers use are better for the environment in the long run. And lastly, organic farming creates more jobs. A study done in United Kingdom shows 93,000 jobs could be created if Britain were to make a full scale shift to organic farming (Herro 2006). Although conventional agriculture is the primary producer for food currently, a large scale shift to organic agriculture is better suited to feed the world because organic agriculture can produce at adequate yield, requires less energy input, do not use
Organic farmers may not use synthetic pesticides, but they use a wide variety of natural pesticides in which more than half of them are rodent carcinogens (Luik, 2007). These toxic materials found in these pesticides that are organically approved to spray on its produce, are known to cause many health risks (Aroian, n.d.). When you outweigh the risks and the benefits, organic produce seems to be more toxic to consume, with the risk of rodent carcinogens (Luik, 2007). Also, the consumption of organic foods not only causes a possible threat to us, but also to the environment. There was a study done showing they needed more amounts of retonene used on organic pesticides, compared to its synthetic counterpart, which rotenone is toxic to fish, and other marine life (Tangle, 1992). Also, organic farming relies on constant mechanical weeding, as opposed to no-till conventional farming, not only dose it disrupt worms, but it uses large amounts of fossil fuels (Luik, 2007). More importantly, since organic farming depends on plowing under crops along with manure to build soil fertility, not only is there a wide variability in the nutrition provided to crops, but the decomposition of the manure produces large amounts of environment-unfriendly greenhouse gases (Luik, 2007). Because of the demands for more land and use of machineries to till crops,
The source shows the reliability of biodiversity and soil quality that organic farming agriculture exploits, specifically when it has a tight grip of the economy and community that has directly affected livestock, farmers, people, and the global environment as a whole. Organic farms are sometimes difficult to maintain as the land can quite possibly lose its potential of being free from pesticides. As articulated in the source, the piece of land must also need precise qualifications which takes time and patience. This is one amongst many disadvantages a progressive movement such as organic farming must work on. The purpose is meant to enhance a genetically modified agriculture into an innately modified agriculture for a nutritious
In his illustration of this movement, all agriculture was generally organic until the 1920’s, and several farmers like Coleman have shared their perspectives on what we now consider “Organic Food” (Coleman). He also argues that to recognize what people eat and how that can influence on their health ought to be guaranteed. In addition, he divides his whole idea or organic farming. Basically when Coleman started farming, he believed that “organic” was a way of thinking rather than a “profit center” (Coleman). In other words, since organic food has become popular to the public, big companies in the food industry have taken over (Coleman). Moreover, he defined organic food as “locally grown and unprocessed, with exceptional quality” (Coleman). His standard of “Real Food” farming is the place where fresh fruits and vegetables along with a 50-mile radius of their final sale. Additionally, beans grains and potatoes are developed inside a 300-mile radius of the last sale. His standard is not a realistic goal which is to grow and produce food products naturally because it costs more money and requires nurturing by good farmers. It is unrealistic to have such farms everywhere throughout the spots nowadays; subsequently, individuals can purchase those ranches items on the grounds where those ranch’ agriculturists would take up more land. Consequently, more natural cultivating can make appropriately developed natural
Thirty years later, organic farming was in high demand, but suffered developing pains. Although there was agreements being made, there was no regulations put forth towards organic farming. Fast forwarding to present time, many consumers are starting to purchase organic food products even making it a trend. Written in Inouye, Alena, and McCauley’s 2006 article “Organic Farming Should Be Pursued”, “organic farming is gaining in popularity due to Americans ' increasing concern about food safety and environmental protection.” This quote assumes the reasoning behind the sudden popularity in organic farming is society’s attraction towards the idea of a cleaner food industry and environment. The article also mentions, “As a result, sales of organic foods in the United States have increased by more than 20 percent every year since 1996, reaching $7.8 billion in 2000.”(Inouye, Alena, McCauley) The fact that popularity towards organic farming grows at a rate of 20 percent every single year further proves how its movement has such an impact towards the consumers of
Organic agriculture is the oldest form of agriculture on our planet. Until post World War II, farming without harmful petroleum based sources was the only way of farming. There were no hazardous fertilizers and pesticides made from petroleum based products. During World War II many agricultural technologies were created. For example, ammonium used for munitions during World War II evolved into nitrate fertilizer and organophosphate production led to the creation of strong insecticides. These technical advances have resulted in economic gains at the cost of severe environmental and social consequences.
First of all, the main reason that people choose organic food is that people think organic foods have less chemical residue, such as pesticide, and fertilizer. In the article “Organic foods contain higher levels of certain nutrients, lower levels of pesticides, and may provide health benefits for the consumer”, Crinnion indicated that organic foods just had 33 percent of the amount of pesticide and fertilizer residues that found in conventional foods, and conventional foods contain two or more types of chemical residues than organic foods (Crinnion, 2010). In addition, Crinnion used a study of Seattle preschoolers as an example to demonstrate organic foods have less pesticide residues. The study of Seattle concluded that children who ate more conventional foods had six times higher level of pesticide resi...