The Pros and Cons of Organic Farming
Organic farming isn’t all good. The yields are lower because more produce is damaged by pests, and carefully selected chemical pesticides cannot be used. With an ever-growing world population, we have limited land to feed everyone from. So should we therefore just focus on maximising yields?
Interestingly, it has been found that some organic farming methods require more water than non-organic alternatives; a huge problem as droughts become more regular and water more scarce.
Organic is not necessarily better for the environment either. Organic dairy farms do actually produce more methane per cow than conventional farms because of the diet of the cattle: organic cows apparently burp twice as much as conventional cows!! As methane is a greenhouse gas, this does not bode well for global warming.
Scientists are still debating the pros and cons of organic farming in comparison to conventional farming, and there is plenty of information you can read online. The tricky part is that most articles are very biased so don’t be swayed by the first article you read.
The principles of organic farming are obviously very good for the environment, but in reality yields matter. There is a balance to be found between looking after our soils and environment, and so employing organic strategies such as crop rotations, but having a limited amount of agricultural land and an ever-growing population.
Many conventional farmers employ organic strategies to do their best for the soil structure and local biodiversity, but make use of chemicals in the lowest levels possible whilst still maintaining yields.
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