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Sustainability Vs. Conventional Farming

Good Essays
In Time magazine, Brian Walsh states that today, Agriculture takes up one third of the planet. (Walsh) Agriculture is the science, art, or occupation concerned with cultivating land, raising crops, growing, feeding, breeding, and raising livestock. (Dictionary) According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), when you add the word sustainable to agriculture, it means an integrated system of plant and animal production having a site-specific application. (Gold) The sales of organics are at an all time high, but the concern is that consumers do not know the true facts behind organic farming. Oftentimes, organics are said to be sustainable and are better for the public than conventional farming, but that is not true. Organic farming is not sustainable. This is proven by giving the true meaning of sustainability vs. conventional farming, stating the regulations behind organic farming, and use the two to show how all of this affects the consumers. Sustainability is a word that is misunderstood by the public. Sustainable agriculture was addressed by congress in 1990 when forming the “Farm Bill” or the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (FACTA). (Gold) Under public law 101-624, title XVI, subtitle A, section 1603 (Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1990), it states that sustainable agriculture has to have site specific practices that will, over a long term:
• Satisfy human food and fiber needs
• Enhance environmental quality and
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