The "Green Movement" has taken over the world's conscience, but with every one hopping on the bandwagon, what does the future hold for the food we eat?
Agribusiness and the multinational food producers during the past few years have done an excellent job of providing substantial amounts of nutritious food for a mushrooming world population, but is this scenario of farming really sustainable? Currently there is a great debate between organic farmers and conventional farmers who are both looking for common answers to this question.
Throughout the many parts of the world, organic farming is defined by law, so that the commercial use of the term organic is regulated by the various government. Unfortunately, these laws are constantly usurped by greedy and unscrupulous parties.This is due to the fact that the consumer demand for organic products in developing economies has grown at about 20% annually because of increasing awareness of organic and healthy farming methods.
Organic pest control which allows for a minimal amount of pest damage, encourages the use of beneficial organisms rather than toxic chemicals, utilizes careful crop selection and crop rotation and mechanical, thermal and mulch controls for weeds. Organic pesticides; which are usually derived from plants and not chemicals, allow for the use of natural benign methods of protection.
Conventional farming requires farmers to apply only those critically needed fertilizers to the soil in order to minimize waste pollutants. Organic farmers on the other hand do not have that option because they depend on natural amendments such as manure, which contains unspecified amounts of various elements which can not be adjusted. The most common problem is over application of these organic fertilizers because of their relative lack of strength. These over applications will very easily lead to pollution of the water supply.
Opponents claim that the impact of genetic laboratory engineering on food quality and plant and animal health is not yet fully understood. Proponents argue that genetic engineering is vital to create higher volumes of produce in the fight to end world hunger without requiring additional land. Often forgotten,is the fact that classical genetic engineering is a technique, also known as selective breeding or plant propagation; that has been used for thousands of years, and has done much good for mankind.
The pro-organic point of view regarding the environment is that conventional agriculture is depleting our natural resources such as fossil fuels and potable water at a rapid rate and is seriously polluting the air,soil and water. The large quantities of chemicals, water wastage through inefficient high volume irrigation and the fuels required for the farm machinery and long-distance transport to market are some of their arguments. On the other hand the organic farmer using natural compost and manure on a large-scale may cause as much of a burden to groundwater and soil as does chemical fertilizers.
Organic farming is at a crossroads. Even though there are laws that ensure that the playing field be level for everybody, these laws have been found to be full of loopholes which have led to serious charges being leveled against the regulatory agencies in our government such as the FDA and the USDA.
If agribusiness can convert to large scale organic farming and will they still be able to make a profit without raising consumer costs to unacceptable levels?
The current food distribution system favors high volume production with corporate operations and is not easily altered. What we now know as organic farming may change very dramatically in the coming years. An aware consumer market is normally one of the main factors encouraging conventional farmers to convert to organic agricultural production methods. I believe this trend will continue.
While this debate goes on, families are making their own decisions regarding this subject by doing the sane and sensible thing; growing their own foodstuffs. The "Green Movement" is more than a slogan. It has become a way of life for those who are choosing to join in to make this world a better place to live.
Dick Murray is a concerned American who cares about the quality of the food that our families eat on a daily basis Our commercial food system supplies us with food that does not contain the nutrients and health benefits contained in the food we consumed just a few short years ago. Learn how to grow your own food and beat this system. It is not difficult and will probably be a lot of fun. To learn more visit vegetablegrowingbasics
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