Yr 5 Wk bg 11.5.2020 Geography Resource

Can be used for research to plan for debate

Organic farming: pros (advantages) and cons (disadvantages) ON: JULY 5, 2013,

Organic farming can be understood as an agricultural method, in which chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not used. It was introduced by Sir Albert Howard, recognized as the Father of Organic Farming, who wanted to evolve a more eco-friendly way of agriculture. It depends on different other farming methods, like crop rotation and the use of compost. Organic farming thrives on the benefits obtained from recycling and use of natural products. Green manure, biological pest control methods and special cultivation techniques are employed to maintain soil productivity. Presently, organic farming is catering to a huge market worldwide. Explore the article to know its advantages and disadvantages. Pros And Cons Of Organic Farming Pros

• Organic farming is more economical than the other farming techniques. Its range of benefits includes reduced soil erosion (retaining fertility and reducing the need for fertilizers) and less use of water. Therefore, organic farming is more profitable.

• Organic farming results in less nutrient contamination, since it stays away from artificial pesticides. This leads to reduced carbon-emission and increased biodiversity.

• Organic farming is capable of producing the same crop variants that are produced by the conventional farming methods, even as it brings down the expenditure on fertilizers and energy by 50%. This type of farming also retains 40% more topsoil.

• The issue of soil management is effectively addressed by organic farming. It involves techniques like crop rotation and inter-cropping and makes extensive use of green manure, which helps even damaged soil that is prone to erosion and salinity, to feed on micro nutrients.

• This type of farming helps the farmers clear the weeds, without using any mechanical and chemical applications. Organic way of farming relies on practices like hand weeding and enhancement of soil with mulch, garlic and clove oil, corn gluten meal, table salt and borax, to get rid of weeds and insects, while ensuring crop quality.

• Farming in the organic way is environment-friendly and non-toxic, as it uses green pesticides like neem, composed tea and spinosad. These pesticides boost the crop defense systems, by identifying and removing diseased and dying plants in time.

Cons

• The UN Environmental program conducted a study and survey on organic farming in 2008, which concluded that farming by organic methods gives small yields when compared to conventional farming methods.

• Norman Borlaug, the Father of the Modern Green Revolution, has argued that since organic farming is capable of catering to a very small consumer group, world ecosystems are being destroyed by the expanding cropland in an alarming way.

• Danish Environmental Protection Agency conducted a research and concluded that the organic farms which produce potatoes, seed grass and sugar beet are barely producing half of the total output produced by conventional farming, in the same area.

• Organic agriculture is hardly contributing to addressing the issue of global climate change. It does reduce CO2 emissions to a certain extent, but there is no dramatic contribution.

• In 1998, Denis Avery of the Hudson Institute publicized the increased risk of E. coli infection by the consumption of organic food.

(Source – http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-organic-5713.html)

Organic farming bases ON: AUGUST 12, 2013,

The fundamentals of organic farming – the ideals of land stewardship in order to keep the land productive for future generations – are not new. However, organic farming as we know it today came about as a reaction to the wide adoption of input-intensive farming around the time of World War II, as a result of technological advances made earlier in the century and food shortages experienced during the war. Farmers around the world saw the potential dangers of industrialized farming and rejected the idea that this was advancement in agriculture. They began to study and develop methods that increased the long term productivity of their farm system and practice farming as stewards of the land. This type of farming came to be known as “organic.” Principles of organic The philosophy of organic food production maintains certain principles: biodiversity, ecological balance, sustainability, natural plant fertilization, natural pest management, and soil integrity. Since farms vary in product and practice, there is also a wide variety in how these principles are applied. However, generally, organic food products:

• Are grown or raised by a producer who uses practices in balance with the natural environment;

• Are produced on land that is free of known and perceived toxic and persistent chemical pesticides

and fertilizers;

• Are planted on a rotating basis from field to field, rather than growing the same crop in the same place year after year; and

• In the case of animals, are not given hormones or antibiotics, are fed organic feed, and allowed the

space and freedom to behave naturally.

Methods or Schools of Organic Farming ON: MAY 22, 2014,

As you read and learn more about organic farming, you may encounter some differences in approach, style or what might be called philosophy. While there have likely always been some farmers who have grown crops without fertilizers or pesticides, these are several examples of people who proposed or popularized a particular method. Please do not let this presentation format of separating them out give the impression that one or the other method must be selected. The goal is just to help give some history, background, and names to help you learn more.

Biodynamic Perhaps the oldest recognized method of organic gardening or farming is referred to as the Biodynamic Method. Rudolph Steiner developed the method in Germany during the 1920’s and “his basic theory was that nature is a mystical, spiritual thing, and to garden it well, one must treat it as a whole entity and system, both physical and spiritual”. Farming practices are related to lunar and planetary phases. Plant and mineral based preparations are often sprayed on crop plants to provide necessary nutrients. The Rodales J.I. Rodale searched for alternative agriculture methods in the early 1940’s. He was not from a farming background but wanted to grow more of his own food. The recommendations of the day to treat with chemicals that he saw as potential poisons did not make sense to him. He learned about the composting methods of Sir Albert Howard in India (An Agricultural Testament), the work of Lady Eve Balfour (The Living Soil), and F. King (Farmers of Forty Centuries) who studied growing systems in Asia. Rodale developed an emphasis on human health and how organic gardening through reduced exposure to pesticides and production of nutrient rich vegetables was related to human health. A major emphasis was placed on the production and use of compost to enrich the soil. The work was continued by his son, Robert Rodale. The family developed the Rodale Institute, Organic Farming and Gardening Magazine, and Rodale Press. A third generation now carries on the tradition. Biointensive The Biointensive Method is mostly outlined in the book How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine (1974, 5th edition in 1995) by John Jeavons. High

organic matter, growing organic matter specifically for soil building, deep cultivation or double digging, and extremely high yields per unit area of production are some key principles. As reported in the book mentioned above, the techniques were originally outlined by Alan Chadwick, an English horticulturist who combined French Intensive gardening methods such as double digging with Biodynamic methods. Extremely high yields have been achieved on small plots of land around the world. Natural Farming The Natural Farming method of gardening or farming is based on building soil with regular surface applications of organic matter and little or no cultivation. Organic matter is allowed to slowly decompose on the surface as opposed to composting in piles. Weeds are controlled by applications of more mulch or organic matter. This method was popularized by Masanobu Fukuoka in Japan (One Straw Revolution 1978). He has worked extensively to establish plants in dry or desert regions around the world using clay seedballs. He is a proponent of observing what works in nature and keeping gardening simple. No Work Method This method is very similar to the Natural Farming method. Ruth Stout published a book in 1971 called The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book” (Rodale Press, Emmaus, Penna, 1971). A recent book titled Gardening Without Work : For the Aging, the Busy and the Indolent, 1998 is likely a reprinting of the information. The emphasis in on lots of organic matter for mulch to control weeds and provide nutrients. Worms and other organisms are allowed to do the work of getting nutrients to the roots. Permaculture A broader, more holistic method know as Permaculture has been popularized by Bill Mollison and others. It appears to have originated in Australia or New Zealand. Permaculture goes even farther to evaluate and take into account the entire landscape and physical features of a growing area. Plant and animal raising are considered together to make the best use of the land. Sustainability of practices and design and care for the earth are key components of Permaculture. In some ways it appears to be a process of observing nature and methods of indigenous people and perhaps making them formal or complicated or academic. Veganics Some people have chosen to use the term veganics as opposed to organics. The main difference is basing nutrient management on only plant derived nutrients and organic matter as opposed to making use of manures and other animal products. This is not a widely used term but is does point out that there are different degrees of organic farming/gardening and what people consider important. Summary Regardless of what you call it, the ideas have common threads. Organic gardening is gardening in a way that considers the whole picture of the environment and how we fit into the existing cycles. Gardening with nature is a common sense way of putting it. There are many other methods that could be considered, including the French Intensive gardening methods and the old and widely used method of China and Southeast Asia based on intensive cultivation of diversified plots. We could also consider the work of Wes Jackson and other at The Land Institute in Kansas that are working on methods to use more perennial plants for staples such as wheat, rice and corn. Hopefully there are enough choices and ideas here that you won’t get the impression that there is only one way or one recipe to follow. Just farm with nature. (Source- http://www.safs.msu.edu/soilecology/pdfs/OrganicFarming.htm)

INTENSIVE FARMING

Agricultural solutions to meet food demands

Intensive farming practices include growing high-yield crops, using fertilisers and pesticides

and keeping animals indoors. Food production increases but there are unwelcome side

effects.

Organic farming bans chemical inputs and has a less harmful effect on the environment but

often produces less, more expensive food.

Hydroponics is the production of food using nutrient-rich solution rather than soil.

Intensive farming

Food production can be increased by growing high-yield crops, removing other plants and

pests and adding fertiliser to the soil. Other intensive farming practices include keeping

animals indoors, often in restricted spaces. Many of these practices have unwelcome

side effects.

Action Treatment Explanation Side effect

Remove competing

plants from the crop

growing area

Herbicide

spray

Allows more energy to be

transferred to the crop

Reduces biodiversity and

may have harmful effect on

health

Remove animals that

feed on the crop

Pesticide

spray

Prevents energy being transferred

from the crop to consumers

Reduces biodiversity and

may poison helpful

organisms

Keep animals indoors 'Battery'

farming

Reduces energy transferred to

environment so more energy

available for growth

Increased risk of disease,

lower quality product,

ethical concerns

The effects of insecticides

Some insecticides don't break down quickly. DDT is an insecticide that can pass up the food

chain from insects to small birds, and then from the small birds to birds of prey, like hawks. It

can accumulate in the birds of prey, giving them a large amount of DDT. Concentrations of

DDT in birds causes weakness in their eggs, and reduces their population. DDT is now

banned because of this.

Alternatives to pesticides

Biological control is an alternative to using pesticides. By releasing a natural predatorinto

the crop growing area, the number of pests can be reduced. This can have unforeseen

consequences as the numbers of different organisms in the food web are changed. There have

been examples of the predator becoming a more serious pest than the original problem.

Food production

Some food products have been grown in artificial environments to increase productivity.

Examples include growing tomatoes in glasshouses and salmon in fish farms. The benefits of

this method are that the growing conditions can be monitored and controlled to

improve productivity.

Hydroponics

An extreme form of growing crops in glasshouses is called hydroponics. Soil is replaced by

a mineral solution pumped around the plant roots.

Removing the soil means there's no risk of soil organisms causing disease but the plants

have to be supported.

Monitoring and adjusting the concentrations of minerals in the solution enable the grower to

control growth.

Hydroponics allows crops to be grown in regions where there's little or no soil. Due to

the costs involved, hydroponics is used only for high-value crops.

Tomato plants growing in controlled conditions

Farming techniques

Thousands of years ago many people grew small amounts of crops and raised small numbers

of livestock to feed their families. As we have moved from small villages into larger towns

and cities farming has become modernised to meet the demands of a larger and more urban

lifestyle.

Intensive farming

Intensive farming uses machines, fertilisers, man-power and high-yield crops to maximise the

amount of food produced. Farmers growing arable crops often specialise in growing only one

crop to maximise their profits. This is called monoculture. It can quickly reduce key nutrients

in the soil and lowers biodiversity.

Hedgerows have been removed from many fields to make them bigger and easier to tend to

by big machines. This also reduces biodiversity. Crops are often sown, treated and harvested

by machines which create pollution, and fertilisers are added to fields in larger amounts

which can cause eutrophication.

Intensive farming can also mean keeping livestock in smaller pens with regulated

temperatures. This reduces the energy they need for movement and temperature regulation

and so maximises their size and yield. Some animals are fed high protein foods to increase

their growth. They are often fed antibiotics in their food to prevent diseases. Many scientists

think this is leading to antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

Advantages and disadvantages of intensive farming practices:

Advantage Disadvantage

Higher yields Costly additives needed

More efficient use of food Risk of antibiotic resistance

Quality control easier Considered unethical by some people

Organic farming

Many people object to intensive farming because it reduces biodiversity and increases

pollution. More recently some farms have become organic to address this. Organic farmers

do not use machines to the same extent as intensive farming. They do not apply pesticides to

their crops and use natural fertilisers such as compost and manure. They rotate their crops to

avoid monoculture.

This image shows how crops planted in a field are rotated each year. This increases yield,

promotes biodiversity and helps keep the soil heathy.

Because of this organic food is often more expensive than intensively farmed food, and many

people are willing to pay more for the perceived benefits.

Use the following website, with parental supervision, to research each heading below:

https://www.everythingconnects.org/intensive-farming.html

TASK - Copy and complete the following in your book

A. In your own words, explain Organic Farming giving examples

B. In your own words, explain Intensive Farming giving examples

C.

3 Pros for Organic

Farming

3 Cons against

Organic Farming

3 Pros for Intensive

Farming

3 Cons against

Intensive Farming