Preview

Environmental Effects of Organic vs. Industrial Agriculture

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
692 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Environmental Effects of Organic vs. Industrial Agriculture
Agriculture is one of the most crucial necessities all around the world. The amount of food grown and sold affects the resources that are used in production. To sustain life you need food but most people are blinded to what actually happens in all the stages of growth. With technology advancing the way it is it has become hard to trust your food and its purity and cleanliness. People don’t get deep into where all their food comes from. It starts from the farms. Depending on what type of farm you visit, you will see different things. Most farms are using fertilizer or other additives in their agriculture but there are also farms that are completely natural and organic. Depending on your beliefs, you may think organic is better than industrial and vise versa. Each has its own pros and cons. The use of organic practices in food and livestock has a positive long term effect on the earth and its environment. In the United States we have about 313,000,000 people (Census). To effectively feed all the people, shortcuts are made with how agriculture is ran. With the shortcuts made there are mistakes that are also made. Pesticides have become a humongous resource in the agriculture community. Pesticides exemplify how to produce in a lazy way. They cause the grounds to get taken off their natural path of growth. The surrounding areas are being altered from pesticides from farms. The applied pesticides are being spread accidently and alter the plants that inhabit those areas. The runoff from the pesticides isn’t always a bad thing. They control weed growth, increase the life in greens. Also there are pesticides made from natural resources. For example, (E)-5-Decenol acetate is a Lepidopteron Pheromone that when released attract the males to the females but get confused because they cant find the females(Pesticides).Pheromones’ are a natural chemical released by insects naturally. The Decenol Acetate doesn’t kill the insects, but divert them from the plants. Although there

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    I gained different knowledge about organic food along with the benefits of it. Non-organic food contain pesticides and plenty of food additives. 100% Organic is made with none of that it’s made all naturally so for example its made with no food supplements and no pesticides. In the food and recipes feature stories section John Reganold, a professor of soil science at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, states, "If you 're talking about pesticides, the evidence is pretty conclusive. Your chances of getting pesticide residues are much less with organic food.” For example in a regular industrial farm where they plant crops they use pesticides along with food supplements for it to grow faster and for it to taste better. Now in organic farming where they grow crops or raise animals there are no pesticides or food supplements used in to make them grow faster, it was…

    • 1755 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ap Human Geography Ch.11

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages

    1. organic agriculture – The return to farming without pesticides; allows small farmers in core countries to compete with agribusiness. When fair trade laws are applied, organic farming in peripheral and semi-peripheral countries can bring wealth into a country by exporting to wealthier nations.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Food Police Summary

    • 2195 Words
    • 9 Pages

    They aren’t better tasting, nor do they have anymore health benefits than nonorganics. Organics do tend to use fewer pesticides, though they do still use them, and pesticide related health risks are not nearly as imperative when compared to other problems out there. Depending on yields and how much farmers are using conservation tillage practices that traditional farmers are already using, there is a chance that organic farming could possibly be somewhat better for the environment. We should all keep one thing in mind: organic foods just cost more. The absurdity here is that the food police have made food into a “status-seeking game” while at the same time wondering why exactly the poor don’t consume enough nutritious food. Even teachers at our kids’ schools find places in their schedules to bring up eating organic, buying local, and recycling. New York Times asked one mother about her child’s schools’ push to “go green” and she said that, “the social pressure her children felt regarding recyclable products was palpable.” She had caught her child’s teacher’s attention when she chose to use plastic bags inside of a lunchbox. She said, “That’s when the kids have meltdowns, because they don’t want to be shamed at school.” This type of “status-seeking” consumerism occurs when we purchase things just to better our reputations. Instead of avoiding this type of attitude, the food police encourage it (Lusk, The Food…

    • 2195 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    After WWII, the government found itself with a tremendous surplus of ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate is the main ingredient for fertilizer, and bombs. This fertilizers that big industrial farms use destroy the fertility of the soil and damage the root system setup by the plants around the area. They can also drain into rivers and wipe out a species. DDT, that pesticide almost wiped out the Bald Eagle population. These pesticides and fertilizers have destroyed insects and nitrogen that help plants grow. Instead we use lab produced fertilizers to help the plants grow. These pesticides and fertilizers damage the ecosystems around them and our dangerous not just to plants and animals to but they are also damaging our environment. Pesticides and fertilizers are not the only thing that destroy soil fertility and the ecosystem around…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They say that the pesticides ward off insects and bugs that would otherwise harm crops in the agricultural industry. Farmers that use pesticides claim that the prices of produce and other food products have lowered. For instance, without pesticides, there would be more crops lost to pests, which results in smaller harvests, and farmers would have to raise the price of their produce to accommodate their losses. But, the benefits of pesticides do not outweigh the disadvantages. As stated before, pesticides pose a threat to the environment, to pollinators, and to all organisms that ingest it. According to flowpsychology.com, experts say that insects exposed to the repellents can build up resistance over time, which makes the pesticides ineffective. Even though others say that pesticides help us, it will aid us more to ban…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Conventional vs Organic

    • 1969 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Organic farming had not played a role in the market in the previous years, yet today it is common in grocery stores around the country. Organic farming refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic farming is also constantly referred to as healthy, smart, beneficial, and ecofriendly but these are words used in advertisement ploys ran by large organic corporations. For centuries organic farming had been practiced, however, conventional technology has allowed us to further our reaches. Conventional Synthetic fertilizers along with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are all in the lime light today for the job they’ve been performing for years, they’ve allowed us to grow more and faster for our ever growing population. In studying conventional versus organic farming we find out which method is the most efficient, by analyzing modern marketing ploys, yield rates and agricultural sprays.…

    • 1969 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Pesticides have now been proven to pose potential risks to living beings. “Certain environmental chemicals, including pesticides termed as endocrine disruptors, are known to elicit their adverse effects by mimicking or antagonising natural hormones in the body and it has been postulated that their long-term, low-dose exposure is increasingly linked to human health effects such as immune suppression, hormone disruption, diminished intelligence, reproductive abnormalities and cancer (Brouwer et al., 1999; Crisp et al., 1998; Hurley et al., 1998)”( Md.Wasim Aktar, Dwaipayan Sengupta, and ashim Chowdhury). Having pesticides around us in agricultural fields, parks, schools, homes and practically everywhere is a really concerning topic. I think that the facts that the use of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides amongst other pesticides have been proven to be lethal through ingestion and simple exposure is enough to make people aware for a change. In recent times it has shown its effects here on the planet and have a factor to the contribution of the potential extinction of bees. Some factors that can be causing this Colony Collapse Disorder are pathogens such as Nosema which is a pathogenic gut fungi, Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus and many unknown. Parasites are also a possibility of the Colony Collapse Disorder as well as…

    • 1626 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Pesticides are substances used to destroy insects or any other organisms (pests) that are harmful to cultivated plants or animals. There are many variations of natural pesticides and chemical pesticides. The use of chemical pesticides raises a controversy about the safety of our food, and our environment. A number of studies conducted by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Program suggest that the use of pesticides is extremely dangerous. These studies conclude that about three million agricultural workers suffer illnesses such as cancer from severe poisoning due to pesticide exposure. Of this number, 18,000 die every year (Drake). However, Mr. Rick Melnicoe, Director of the Western Integrated Pest Management Center and the UC Statewide Pesticide Coordinator claims, “it is the dose that makes the poison and that there is virtually no illness associated with modern pesticide residue on foods. Illnesses that do occur are caused by misuse, exposure to concentrated levels by workers, and…

    • 2898 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Choi 1 Fabio Choi Ms D’addario ENG 2DE Monday April 29, 2013 Organic, the Best in the World Imagine looking at two different apples. One is a big rounded red apple. The other is smaller and less appealing. The first apple looks delicious, illuminating in the light. It seems to be the perfect apple to eat, due to its stunning appearance. A huge bite is taken out of the rich-looking apple; however, it lacks flavour. A bite is then taken out of the diminished apple which is filled with appetizing flavours. That is the problem in today’s world. Every day, millions of people buy foods that only look pleasing without knowing what it can cause. Almost all supermarkets around the world sell genetically modified foods containing deadly toxins. Ever since genetically modified foods were introduced it has been nothing but negative consequences. The solution? Quite simple. Although the physical appearance may not look pleasing, organic foods are the best way to go. The production of organic foods is necessary due to the fact that it is better for the environment, has superior taste, and will benefit people’s overall health. Organic foods benefit the environment since organic farming requires less energy, no toxic chemicals are used which means it will protect wildlife. Organic foods are grown from organic farms which are defined as only applying natural sources such as compost without human-made chemicals to produce food. According to The Rodale Institute, organic farms use 30% less energy and water because of the transportation and production of fertilizers and pesticides are unneeded. The fertilizers and pesticides used on conventional farms have caused wild animals unable to reproduce resulting in death or infection. (Greene) The fertilizers and pesticides used on conventional farms have caused wild…

    • 1830 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What Are We Really Eating?

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Organic Food is the agricultural produce that farmers make on the country 's regulation and without agricultural chemicals and fertilizer .Organic Food is very safety for human body, and contains much more vitamins, calcium, and iron than non-organic one. organic food 's taste and smell are richer than that one. For these reasons, the popularity of organic food is developing. But when making it, it costs much to protect from harmful insect. Organic food has both a popular meaning, and, in some countries, a legal definition. In everyday conversation, it usually refers to all "naturally produced" foods, or the product of organic farming. As a legal term, it means certified organic. The distinction is important, as the two definitions can represent quite different products.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay on Eating Locally

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The safety of what we eat is the number one concern among those who worry about factory-produced food. In order to produce as much product as possible, factory animals are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. Likewise, our fruits and vegetables are genetically modified and sprayed with insecticides. These chemicals have detrimental effects on our health and are ruining our food for no reason other than corporate profit. The only way to avoid our exposure to these things is to either buy organic food or buy it locally. Organic foods are the most rapidly growing segment of our food industry, doubling in growth every few years (Ikerd). Unfortunately, Organic food from supermarkets is just another big business which contributes to eliminating earth resources and often misleads consumers with its claims. If more people began eating locally, we would decrease the…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are some alarming differences between organic and processed foods especially when considering agriculture. “Organic” means that a food is grown without the aid of pesticides or fertilizers. Organic farmers use manure and nothing else to grow fruits, vegetables, and grains. It says in The Organic Myth that this can lead to some bad cases of E. Coli that wouldn’t be present in foods grown with pesticides since there are all sorts of bacteria in the manure (2004). The reverse is that without all those chemicals being sprayed on crops, you tend to have less pollution. Rodale states, “Growing foods organically prevents thousands of toxic chemicals from entering the environment and poisoning…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The increased use of pesticides and fertilizers on plants over the years have made a big impact on the environment. These harmful chemicals are sprayed on our food to try and increase food production, but it also damages the humans and animals that consume these products. These chemicals have been traced back to be the cause of health hazards such as headaches, nausea, and even a increased risk of cancer and reproductive harm. (The Problem with Pesticides) Fertilizers have also contributed to the dead zone in the gulf of mexico and the black sea, because of the nutrient overload in these areas it has caused many organisms to die and has made these areas nearly uninhabitable. However, with the advance in technology, scientist have been able to make plants naturally resistant to pests, without the harmful use of chemicals.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever thought about the food you eat? Of course you have, we all do. We think about the taste, the ingredients and the health benefits, but we don’t question where the food comes from and we barely think about all the chemicals and toxins added to it, because most foods that we are surrounded with are all the same, most food companies that we enjoy are not organically produced, but are just easier to obtain. We see organic food so rarely and are encouraged so rarely by it that we don’t even think of it as a priority, we just think of it as an expensive rare market. I believe that people all around the world should support organic food production.…

    • 855 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Future of Farming

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages

    One aspect of sustainable farming that could help to reduce the use of harmful fertilizers and pesticides is organic farming. According to Bengtsson, organic farming is a process that “operates without pesticides, herbicides, and inorganic fertilizers” and includes a more diverse crop rotation (263). This practice also increases biodiversity and species richness among crops, which will make…

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays