Can Organic Farming Feed Us All? A Two Sided Debate
Organic farming has grown trendy in recent years but is all the hype worth the effort of actually participating. Can organic farming help rid the world of starvation and even put an end to global hunger? This paper will present the both sides of the debate on this issue. We take a look at three key points: defining organic practices, sustainability, and applicability.
Organic food is food that is grown to federally regulated standards. When speaking of fruits and vegetables, it means that they were grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers or sewage sludge, and that no conventional pesticides were used in their preparation. “Organic also implies that these foods were processed without the use of ionizing radiation or artificial food additives. When speaking of animals or animal products, organic means that they were raised without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones. Additionally, all organic food is produced without the use of genetically modified components or organisms” (Creighton University).
Food & Agricultural Organization for the United Nations (FAO) promotes organic agriculture as an alternative approach that maximizes the performance of renewable resources and optimizes nutrient and energy flows in agro ecosystems. Life cycle assessments show that emissions in conventional production systems are always higher than those of organic systems, based on production area. Soil emissions of nitrous oxides and methane from arable or pasture use of dried peat lands can be avoided by organic management practices. Many field trials worldwide show that organic fertilization compared to mineral fertilization is increasing soil organic carbon and thus, sequestering large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere to the soil. Lower greenhouse gas emissions for crop production and enhanced carbon sequestration, coupled with additional benefits of biodiversity and other environmental... [continues]
Organic farming has grown trendy in recent years but is all the hype worth the effort of actually participating. Can organic farming help rid the world of starvation and even put an end to global hunger? This paper will present the both sides of the debate on this issue. We take a look at three key points: defining organic practices, sustainability, and applicability.
Organic food is food that is grown to federally regulated standards. When speaking of fruits and vegetables, it means that they were grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers or sewage sludge, and that no conventional pesticides were used in their preparation. “Organic also implies that these foods were processed without the use of ionizing radiation or artificial food additives. When speaking of animals or animal products, organic means that they were raised without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones. Additionally, all organic food is produced without the use of genetically modified components or organisms” (Creighton University).
Food & Agricultural Organization for the United Nations (FAO) promotes organic agriculture as an alternative approach that maximizes the performance of renewable resources and optimizes nutrient and energy flows in agro ecosystems. Life cycle assessments show that emissions in conventional production systems are always higher than those of organic systems, based on production area. Soil emissions of nitrous oxides and methane from arable or pasture use of dried peat lands can be avoided by organic management practices. Many field trials worldwide show that organic fertilization compared to mineral fertilization is increasing soil organic carbon and thus, sequestering large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere to the soil. Lower greenhouse gas emissions for crop production and enhanced carbon sequestration, coupled with additional benefits of biodiversity and other environmental... [continues]
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