Organic Farming is Not Sustainable
Organic farming is a form of agriculture which avoids the use of:
- pesticides
- herbicides
- synthetic fertilisers
- genetically modified organisms
Farmers instead rely on a number of methods to produce successful crops including:
- rotating crops
- planting polycultures
- using green manures
- using organic fertilisers
Organic farming is less damaging to the environment as well as farm workers who would otherwise be in regular contact with toxic chemicals, however, is it sustainable?
Sustainable agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to produce a consistent level of crops on an ongoing basis. One of the key elements in sustainable farming is maintaining a fertile soil. When farmers grow crops, nutrients are removed from the soil, thus depleting its fertility. If these nutrients are not replenished then the farm cannot be sustainable over the long term.
Green manures certainly add nutrients to the soil, specifically nitrogen, as well as beneficial organic matter. Animal manures and other organic fertilisers also increase the quality of the soil but there is an environmental cost of transporting these inputs to the farm. To be sustainable, animal manures, composts, and other soil enhancers should be produced by the farm itself. This is often not the case with organic farms, especially with large scale organic farms. So if an organic farm is purchasing inputs to use in their farming then it cannot be classified as sustainable farming.
So while some small organic farms are most probably self-sufficient and sustainable, it is unlikely that the bigger farms are. Large organic farms face the same sustainability issues as conventional farms.
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I agree with everything said in this post - except the title!
To say “Organic farming isn’t sustainable” is like saying “People can’t be kind”. Just because some aren’t, doesn’t mean it applies to all. Such a statement isn’t helpful, or productive.
Organic farming can certainly be sustainable - proved by civilisations throughout history. Study traditional Japanese and Korean methods, for example. These people lived on the same plots of land for centuries - the soil gaining in fertility, rather than the other way around.
I agree that organic farming needs to return to these smaller labour-based systems. Large-scale organic farms are often ‘organic’ by name only. Such small-scale systems would rectify a great deal of our modern problems - including such related issues as unemployment, crime, health, and of course CO2, energy, and other environmental issues.
I guess what I was trying to say is that organic farming is not always sustainable, although ideally it should be.
Agreed Andrea - and this does need to be made known to more people. With huge companies like Wal-Mart, M&S, etc. going ‘green’, farms are trying to slip under the ‘organic’ banner any way they can. Using the same processes (heavy mechanised agribusiness), just without chemicals, does not a healthy soil make.
I think the author is confused between self-sufficiency and sustainability (to maintain or continue for a period of time). Some organic farming may not be self-sufficient but I have yet to know of a certified organic farm that is not sustainable.
In addition to this, organic certification in the UK comes with additional requirements from not cutting back hedgerows in season to leaving certain percentages of land to ‘greenbelt’ growth. This is an attempt to ensure organic farming lives up to the expectation that it is also in harmony with nature and sustainable. Social Association Organic certification is another attempt to drive this home (currently debating removing their certification for produce from overseas due to the unsustainable transportation methods).
I agree with the need to be critical, and even skeptical in the world of green-wash, but alarmist titles like “Organic farming is Not sustainable” is the kind of sensationalism I’d expect if I ever bought the Daily Mail, and moreover, is ultimately destructive rather than constructive.
The most significant thing I have learned recently, is that people are surrounded by destruction of life, the environment, norms, values and beliefs. I agree that destruction breeds creation but there seems to be a lot more of the former than the latter happening right now. People are so weighed down by guilt, fear and confusion they can barely move. Lets be creative as well, and avoid adding to what amounts to a current over-destruction where possible. Live kindly because its ultimately so much more rewarding and widens our human potential to develop; don’t do it out of guilt or shame as This is truly unsustainable.