Sustainability Vs. Conventional Farming

Organic farming is farming without the use of growth hormones or genetically altering the growth of the food. Organic farming is a great alternative to the way the meat industry is ran now. Many large corporations, like Stonyfield Farm, are broadening the horizons on organic foods. Organic foods may take longer to produce, but it will be a very good exchange for health over time. Without the food being genetically altered, it will be rid of the nasty E. coli which has stricken the nation so often. Stonyfield Farms are even getting places like Wal-Mart to carry organic foods in their stores, which is a big step, Wal-Mart is thought of as one of the low grocery places, somewhere that the cheap people get their food. But, with this new movement, it could change the face of organic food, and the way we think of supermarkets. Organic farming is a step the industry must take to improve health

Sustainability means never having to worry about a resource of any kind not being there or a constant income of resources. For example, having enough water for crops and having enough food to eat everyday. I do not think that America or any other country will be 100 percent sustainable in agriculture because we can’t control the rainfall or how much water we get each year. Also we cannot control the economy and there are so many independent variables that go into agriculture that nobody can control that it is very unlikely to ever be 100 percent sustainable. The steps needed to get 100 percent sustainability are water management, as well as land management.Another step that we have taken is our technology, in general advancements we’ve made

The general public sees any type of organic food as being produced “straight out of a backyard garden” or “right off of the family farm”. But is it really freshly picked tomatoes right out of Grandma Mae’s garden or chicken breast from a local farm? If the food purchased is from Whole Foods or the organic section at Walmart, then that probably is not the case. Large organic farms are what usually supply Whole Foods and other larger chain stores that have organics. They are not what people initially think of when imagining the typical organic farm. They usually think of a small plot of land with an old farmhouse, chicken coops, a red barn, and a large pasture of grass. Even though there are still organic farms like that,

What does organic mean? “Anything grown without the help of fossil fuels, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers(Pollan, 112).” Pesticides and fossil fuels are harming the world. They are both bad for the environment, for the plants, for the animals, and for us.Another example is ”This reveals that fossil fuels can kill us and the environment.Organic crops must be grown in safe soil, have no modifications, and must remain separate from conventional products. Farmers are not

As mentioned in my example synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are prohibited in organic farming and these two things are harmful to the water. Pollution of ground water occurs because of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Organic farming also helps with air and climate change. With organic farming agrochemical needs are decreased and nonrenewable energy is reduced. This reduces the toxic load which helps keep harmful chemicals out of the air, water, soil and most importantly from our bodies. Organic farming also promotes biodiversity which is another reason in it beneficial to the environment. Organic farming is overall beneficial to our environment in many ways and helps keep not only the environment safe, but also our

My second reasoning for siding with sustainable farming is it keeps the soil full of nutrients. They are able to keep the soil healthy or fertile by fertilizing with compost and or manure. By keeping the soil fertilized and healthy the crops will grow better. It’s also a more clean and efficient way to fertilize the soil and crops. Fertilizing crops plays a key role in the growth and development of the product.

I hear the word sustainability almost every day, what does it mean? Is it about people, our environment, or jobs and money? Sustainability is about all of these things and more. Sustainability could be defined as an ability or capacity to reduce the foot print, reuse resources of something without jeopardizing the quality of what you are trying to accomplish. We all have been at food establishment from fast food, take out to table cloth dining. And many times we scratch our head and wonder if they know what they are doing, from why is my food taking forever to I do not need to ask for my water to be refilled three times, and we all say to ourselves, I can run this place better than this.

7A Organic agriculture is defined by the USDA as agriculture that uses methods that help preserve the environment and do not use synthesized chemicals like chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers may use compost to improve soil fertility as an alternative to nitrogen and phosphorous based fertilizers. In organic agriculture, polycultures are often implemented, where multiple different crops are planted in one field. Crop rotation is also an essential part of organic farming, as it increases crop diversity and soil quality. Family farms better protect the environment when they switch to organic agriculture. Use of synthesized chemicals require more water, which can deplete water sources and even cause desertification, which increases soil

In Forrest Pritchard’s book, Growing Tomorrow, Juan Garcia, an organic farmer in California who owns and operates Garcia Organic Farming speaks of the hard work organic farming requires when he states “instead of taking shortcuts with chemicals and machinery, we use our hands – and our backs – to get the job done” (247). After acquiring more knowledge about organic farming practices it is clear across the board that organic farmers love what they do and have pride and confidence that they are being good stewards of what has been placed in their care. In his book, Gaining Ground, Forrest Prichard refers to organic farming as “honest and meaningful” (266). Organic farmers are passionate about bringing only the best foods to the consumer’s tables, foods that are fresh, natural, and

Organic farming is becoming an increasingly popular market throughout the world. (Adam, 2004, p. 666). The aims of organic farming are, to decrease pollution, maintain soil fertility and biodiversity, be more sustainable, and have increased nutritional benefits than conventionally grown foods (Yaping et. al., 2003, p. 298). While the aim of conventional farming is to provide safe, proficient supplies of food, in abundance and at low prices (Trewavas, 2001, p.409). Since 1996, the amount of land in the UK dedicated to organic farming has risen tenfold (Adam, 2004, p. 666). As well, from 1992 to 1997, the amount of certified organic cropland in the US more than doubled (Tafel et al, 2007, p.182 ). The main difference between organic and

Stop pretending you are sustainable. In fact, stop pretending you even know what the word “sustainable” means. In a world where we are inundated with social media feeds, slogans, buzzwords, flashy ads, and media coverage, it can be difficult to weed out the truth from the fluff. When it comes to environmental issues, that’s where things start to get dangerous. If we allow fads, marketing, and social pressure to lead us around blindly, we will be forced to tout empty symbols and gestures of what mob rule considers sustainable. Even worse, we will be taking up mind share and resources that could be spent on something we are truly passionate about, where real meaningful change can begin. Elizabeth Scharpf argues that we need to bring clarity to the now ambiguous term “sustainability” in her article “Why sustainability should be more than a meaningless buzzword.” The problem is that the word sustainability is so overused and thus too far gone to have any hope of being revived or made into a cornerstone of an environmental movement. While I agree that “sustainability” should be more than a meaningless buzzword, it has been so saturated that it is now not only meaningless, it’s dangerous. When we are left to fend for ourselves regarding sustainability’s true meaning, we are in danger of allowing social pressure to blindly lead us down the path of what it deems “sustainable” at the moment.

By the year 2050, estimates show that over 9 billion people will inhabit Earth, and it is imperative that agriculture finds a way to feed them all. That is about 1.5 billion more people than there are today. One of the biggest dilemmas that agriculture faces is that relatively very little more land can be converted into land used for agriculture production, without causing irreparable, detrimental effects to the environment The damage that this would cause is the subject for another essay, but the bottom line is that we have to produce this food using the land we already have. The only way we can accomplish this, and the point that I will try to argue, is to combine the best practices organic, or small farms, with those of conventional farms (Foley).

As Shireman (1999) stated, “being a responsible consumer and business operator of limited resources can improve one’s bottom line.” Many farmers have restricted or eliminated their use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, which eliminates soil and water contamination, reduces erosion, preserves local wildlife, helps conserve biodiversity and helps fight against global warming. According to Chait (2016), organic farming can be profitable and organic food appeals to consumers as both a healthy and ethical choice. Beyond money and ethics, though, organic agricultural practices result in numerous environmental

Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)

The National Organic Standards Boards defines organic agriculture is ìan ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony. The primary goal of organic