Research Paper

Everything is For you.

People do not want to put their groceries in the same bag with cleaning products. The reason is obvious because they do not want chemicals in their foods. Unfortunately, most of foods already have chemicals inside. Recently, many issues about the importance of food are coming up. This is because of that people care about their health more than anything, also, their have been many new discoveries of illness. Even though people exercise and take vitamins everyday, people cannot be healthy without good food. Food is the most important part of our life; as a result, people started to become interested in organic food, which has became generally known as good food. Some people fear organic farming because organic food does not have chemicals and other things that keep diseases and other biological contaminants out. Therefore, people think that the chance of getting sick from eating bad contaminated food is higher. However, organic food has been proven safe. Also, the popularity of organic food is increasing and many people want to have organic food even thought it has high price. This is because many people still support organic farming for its advantages and still believe everything in organic farming is for us. Organic farming should be supported for alternative farming practices because of its good quality, better tastes and importance in economy.

Organic farming is “A form of agriculture which involves the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizer, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides” (”Organic farming”, 2006). In “What is Organic Culture?” the author (2008) tells the oldest form of farming on earth is the organic agriculture. Agriculture changes a lot until today because of the inflow of technologies during post-World War II. (In 1950, there was “Green Revolution”. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, green revolution means, the great increase in production of food grains as rice and wheat due to the introduction of high-yielding varieties, to the use of pesticides, and to better management techniques.) During post World War II, farmers started to use many kinds of electric farming tools and tried to have more farmlands. Then, it had become hard to control their big farmlands. Companies took over farms and they used helicopter to spread out fertilizer for growing crops faster, also, they used pesticide to kill bug that ate their crops, but this damaged the ecosystem. Because of these disadvantages of technology, some farmers started to keep traditional way, which can help the ecosystem and food quality. After that, organic farmers employ crop rotations, cover crops, and natural-based products to continue or improve soil fertility (“What is organic culture?” 2008). Nowadays, many kinds of organic foods are sold by people.

First, organic foods have better taste and quality than inorganic foods. Many people say organic food is too expensive. However, if we know the detail of organic food, the price is absolutely reasonable. Organic food taste better than inorganic food. In “Organic Foods Taste Better, claims new poll” (2005) the author gives a poll of the Soil Association, which is the country’s major organic accreditation body, and says “Fruit and vegetable scored particularly high on taste, with 72 percent of respondents saying they taste better than non-organic. Meat also scored at the top, with 71 percent saying they preferred the taste of organic meat” (Para.6). This poll shows a definite result of taste that favors organic food. In addition, organic food is fresher than inorganic food. There are no preservatives in Organic food so you always know that the food you are eating is fresher. For example, there are two types of milk: One that people should drink in three days, such as organic milk, and the other that people can drink in fourteen days which is not natural. Which one has lower quality? Everybody knows that milk in three days is better than fourteen days..

Second, organic farming plays an important part in the economy. It helps the rural economy. In “Impacts of Organic Farming on the Rural Economy” the author says “Organic farming has developed rapidly in recent years and now has a market value of over £802 million” (para.1). This is about 1 billion 560 million US dollars. The potential for a great market is already there. America can not afford to miss out on this opportunity for a big market. Also there is plenty of room to make it an even bigger market. Howard (2008), chairman of the Maryland Agricultural Commission, tells “The organic food industry is growing rapidly and has been growing rapidly for many years.” (para.3) and adds “We have been seeing 17 percent to 25 percent growth nationally and Maryland the past 10 years. Global sales now top $22 billion annually” (para.3). This could definitely help rural farmers. However, farmers are not the only ones to benefit economically from organic farming. It benefits consumers, too. Now, organic food market is not bigger than we expected even though it is better quality than inorganic food. The only reason is that people do not want to buy expensive foods. However, if many organic farms grow up and lots of organic food enters the market, it will increase the supply and the competition between food companies. Because of increase supply and competition between many companies, the price of organic food will decrease making it easier for customers to buy. Therefore, the economy will also benefit.

Many people who do not support organic farming as an alternative farming are concern about organic food because it does not have any pesticides or chemical fertilizer. Pesticides kill plants or animals that are harmful to people. This is why people think that pesticides protect our health from the unsafe things and preserve our health. However, pesticides damage our environment such as soil and water. Miller (1994) says that only a small percentage of pesticides end up on the crops. Most miss their target and causes damage to soil, water, ground water, and non-target organisms such as wildlife even humans. These pesticides can disturb food chains by directly killing the organisms, reducing their ability to reproduce, or making them vulnerable to disease. For long-run of farming practice, we should use no pesticides and inorganic fertilizer because we never can be healthy in a dirty environment. Luckily, there is a clean solution for inorganic fertilizer. According to Miller (1994), adjunct professor of human ecology in St. Andrews Presbyterian College, organic farming uses only organic fertilizer such as animal manure, green manure and compost, can recycle part of garbage of the world. Making good environment and making body healthy are definitely win-win situation.

The world is speedily changing. Many parts of trend are also changing with the world. The reason is that people know what is good, better or not. Organic farming is the trend of farming form right now because of its advantages such as excellent quality and value in economy. Organic farming should be supported for alternative farming practices for our future.



References

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Miller, G.T. (1994). Environment: Problems and solutions. Wadsworht Publishing Company. Retrieved February 21, 2008.

Organic farming. (2008). Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

Organic foods taste better, claims new poll (September 05, 2005). Foodnavigator.com. Retrieved February 20, 2008, from http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/news-ng.asp?n=62272-organic-market-ingredients

Williams, S. (n.d.). Fertilizer: Application (Organic Vs Inorganic). Retrieved February 16, 2008, from http://www.gardenline.usask.ca/misc/fertili2.html

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What is Organic Agriculture? (2008). Organic Agriculture. Retrieved February 15, 2008, from http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/organicag/history.html