This week I go to an organic farm on the North Shore and buy a Community Supported Agricultural box there. I am going to dedicate this week’s blog to organic farming.
What is organic farming, and how is it different from conventional farming?
Organic farming minimizes chemical usage, and uses only natural methods. Conventional farming makes uses unnatural farming methods, making use of chemicals (pesticides). Conventional farming methods may use genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
There is a free resource available from the Rodale Institute, a 30 year report from their Farm Systems Trial, which compares conventional and organic farming side by side.(1) They found that organic farming uses 45% less energy and is more efficient, and conventional systems produce 40% more greenhouse gases.
The Rodale Institute found that soil health in the organic systems increased over time while the conventional systems did not change. Synthetic nutrients leach through the soil more quickly than nutrients derived from organic sources (manure, composts, or cover crops) ending up in the water. Therefore, nutrients do not remain available to the plants in conventional systems.
In addition, organic corn yield was 31% higher than conventional corn during drought years, better than genetically engineered “drought tolerant” varieties which increased yields only 6.7% to 13.3% over conventional (non-drought resistant) varieties. Organic corn and soybean crops also tolerated higher levels of weed competition than their conventional counterparts, even while producing similar yields.
Regarding genetically modified crops, they earned less than non-GMO crops over a 14 year study period. Traditional plant breeding and farming methods had three to four times more yields of major grain crops than GMO varieties. GMO crops have led to increased herbicide-use, as resistant crops continue to emerge. Unfortunately, there is a fast growing list of 197 species of herbicide-resistant weeds, linked to genetically modified crops.
Finally, the report touches on a few of the health effects of pesticides. Glyphosate3-based herbicides, legal in our food at low levels, has been shown to cause dna damage, infertility, low sperm count, and prostrate or testicular cancer in rats. Exposure to pesticide products has been linked to brain/ central nervous system disruption, breast, colon, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, kidney, testicular, and stomach and other cancers.
Please get out there and support our local organic farms!
(1) The Rodale Institute “The Farming Systems Trial, Celebrating Thirty Years.” The Rodale Institute. Web. 18 August 2015. <http://rodaleinstitute.org/assets/FSTbooklet.pdf>.
