Jasmine Soto

Conventional Farms Vs. Organic Farms When explaining to someone the advantages and disadvantages of both conventional and organic farms, it is important to start off with the basics: defining the two. A conventional farm is a farm which uses growing methods which are the most universally used and widespread. Conventional farming is not dedicated to alternative methods of growing foods or raising livestock which means they participate in the use of chemical plant protectant, fertilizers, in addition to heavy animal farming. When describing organic farming, one would say organic farming is a farming method by which farmers develop and cultivate a plethora of vegetables, dairy products, grains, meat and of course fruits. Organic farming was originally developed as a way to reduce the amount of pollution which may be produced. In addition organic farming was also widely used to preserve water and soil quality. The idea of organic farming puts into use the natural methods to avoid any harm to the farming. One of the most notable advantages of conventional farming is un-doubtfully that crop turn out amongst conventional farms is larger than that of organic farms, while at the same time using the same amount of land. Advanced farming tools and machinery are used along side what is considered “sophisticated, aggressive plows” which also assists with the larger sized crops. Because conventional farms are producing mass amounts of crops and livestocks frequently, the prices of fruits, veggies, etc, have dropped considerably which is most definitely seen as a benefit especially in our struggling economy. More people are able to afford healthier food choices. Also, most conventional crops develop with little to no flaws to them and are seen as potentially perfect most of the time. This occurs due to the use of pesticides as well as insectasides which help greatly to protect crops. Just like any other debatable topic, conventional farms unfortunately do have it’s disadvantages as well. The overall quality of the produce has been ultimately tampered with due to the use of protectant sprays. Unfortunately because of the use of these pesticides and insecticides, the land itself which conventional farms sit upon will eventually become bare. The unnatural means of protecting crops degrades the soil it sits upon causing the land itself to suffer from soil erosion and become bare eventually not able to carry cops any longer. On a study done comparing pistachios grown on organic and conventional farms, it was found “The pistachios samples grown under conventional farming regime could contain harmful metals like Al that might damage various systems and/or organs of humans and animals” (Akababa, U 2012). Another disadvantage was proved by a study done concerning fertilizers. “High volume of CO2 emission released from easily dissolving conventional nitrogen fertilizers” (Moody, 2011). Organic farming differs in a plethora of various ways. According to F. Mcfadyen (2009), “organic farms support greater levels of biodiversity”. As compared to the strong amount of chemicals used in conventional farms, organic farms sometimes utilize synthetic chemicals to increase cultivation. However, most often organic farms use organic composting wastes which act as fertilizers. These fertilizers increase the amount and strength of nutrients which are transferred to crops. Instead of utilizing insecticides, organic farmers utilize birds whom get rid of insects which cause harm to crops. At the same time, as an alternative to herbicides which conventional farmers make use of to get rid of weeds, organic farms rely on the rotation of their crops to prevent various weeds from destroying a particular crop type. According to a study comparing organically grown and conventionally grown chickpeas, “findings clearly revealed that organic chickpeas are likely to have higher nutritional mineral content” (. When referring to livestock on organic farms, they are fed a well balanced nourished diet of organic foods, and are not fed antibiotics. “Our findings suggest that the voluntary removal of antibiotics from large-scale U.S. poultry farms that transition to organic practices is associated with a lower prevalence of antibiotic-resistant and MDR Enterococcus” (A.R. Sapkota, 2011). According to E.F. Power (2012), organic management increases plant richness in field centers. Another possible benefit as stated by G.S. Anderson (2012), organic farms have also shown evidence of benefiting crop pollination. There is no doubt that organic farms have many advantages to them just as conventional farms do, however, organic farms do have a good amount of disadvantages as well. For starters, organic farming puts a greater expense on the consumer. Because organic farms use non-conventional methods of raising and protecting their crops, it causes the price of organic produce to rise. Another contributing factor to organic foods and their expense is the fact they require more labor to harvest. These farms do not have quality and efficient ways to produce, distribute and sell organic produce. Thus, this results in produce of lesser quality which goes bad faster. This point is proven and good organic plant production is challenged by Araújo, A. (2010), when it is stated “Plant production in organic farming mainly depends on nutrient release as a function of mineralization processes in soils”. Ultimately, organic and conventional farms have their fair share of both advantages and disadvantages. On a scientific study done comparing apples, according to Valavanidis, A (2009), “the results of the study indicate that organic apples do not present higher antioxidant or nutritional value compared with conventionally grown ones”. Some advantages of conventional farms outweigh the disadvantages of organic farms and visa versa. Ultimately, in conclusion, both farm types are beneficial in addition to being detrimental in their own way.

References

Macfadyen, S., Gibson, R., Polaszek, A., Morris, R. J., Craze, P. G., Planqu, R., & … Memmott, J. (2009). Do differences in food web structure between organic and conventional farms affect the ecosystem service of pest control?. Ecology Letters, 12(3), 229-238. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01279.x

Valavanidis, A., Vlachogianni, T., Psomas, A., Zovoili, A., & Siatis, V. (2009). Polyphenolic profile and antioxidant activity of five apple cultivars grown under organic and conventional agricultural practices. International Journal Of Food Science & Technology, 44(6), 1167-1175. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2009.01937.x

Power, E. F., Kelly, D. L., & Stout, J. C. (2012). Organic Farming and Landscape Structure: Effects on Insect-Pollinated Plant Diversity in Intensively Managed Grasslands. Plos ONE, 7(5), 1-10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038073

Andersson, G. S., Rundlöf, M., & Smith, H. G. (2012). Organic Farming Improves Pollination Success in Strawberries. Plos ONE, 7(2), 1-4. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0031599

Sapkota, A. R., Hulet, R., Zhang, G., McDermott, P., Kinney, E. L., Schwab, K. J., & Joseph, S. W. (2011). Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococci on U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms that Transitioned to Organic Practices. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(11), 1622-1628.

Araújo, A., & Melo, W. (2010). Soil microbial biomass in organic farming system. Ciência Rural, 40(11), 2419-2426.

Akbaba, U., Şahin, Y., & Türkez, H. (2012). Element content analysis by WDXRF in pistachios grown under organic and conventional farming regimes for human nutrition and health. Toxicology & Industrial Health, 28(9), 783-788. doi: 10.1177/0748233711422734

Akbaba, U., Şahin, Y., & Türkez, H. (2012). The element contents in chickpeas grown under organic and conventional farming regimes using WDXRF analysis for human nutrition and health. Turkish Journal Of Physics, 36(2), 279-287. doi:10.3906/fiz-1107-12

Magbanua, F. S., Townsend, C. R., Blackwell, G. L., Phillips, N., & Matthaei, C. D. (2010). Responses of stream macroinvertebrates and ecosystem function to conventional, integrated and organic farming. Journal Of Applied Ecology, 47(5), 1014-1025. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01859.x

Moudrý Jr., J., Jiroušková, Z., Hyšpler, R., Konvalina, P., Plch, R., & Moudrý, J. (2011). CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT EMISSION LOAD WITHIN PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING OF WHEAT UNDER CONDITIONS OF ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL FARMING SYSTEMS. Agronomy Series Of Scientific Research / Lucrari Stiintifice Seria Agronomie, 54(2), 38-41.