Sustainable agriculture Essay Example for Free

Sustainable agriculture Essay From her educational text, Jenny Ridgwell states, â€Å"Many supermarkets stock a range of ‘organic’ foods; these are normally more expensive than other foods, since it is more difficult to match the volume of perfect fruits and vegetables that are produced by intensive farming. Organic foods are grown using traditional methods of faming without artificial fertilisers, pesticides or intensive growing systems. People who eat organic food believe that it tastes better and that it is better for the environment. † (Examining food and nutrition. ) Having sourced this statement, I have studied its content and found it to be a very good definition of organic foods, showing the main features of organic food and people’s perceptions of organic products. Secondly according to a newspaper article from 2001, about the cost of going organic ‘at least 80 per cent of a cow’s feed would have had to be organically grown. Veterinary drugs would have been allowed if animals fell ill, but there would have been a ban on routine use of antibiotics to prevent infections’ (Times Newspapers Ltd 2001) . This article reference shows the implications placed on farmers dealing in organic produce, yet it gives us an idea about the health related aspects of organic foods, such as them containing no artificial substances, as an end product and during the production process. In consideration of my viewpoints I have chosen to interview two people from my immediate family, who have separate roles within the home. My first viewpoint was from my mother, who is the main breadwinner of the family and sources the food for most meals, yet she responded negatively in the session. In her statement she mentioned, â€Å"I do not buy organic produce as the price is much more expensive compared to standard produce of which you receive a greater quantity for the price with little quality compromised. † On the other hand my second interviewee was my father, a previous agriculturist. He replied positively to the interview remarking that, â€Å"I would buy organic food just for the taste alone, but knowing the health benefits and what hard work is involved it is only a privilege to accumulate great food and give the tradition a well deserved boost. From my discussions with the interviewees it has become apparent that they know the nature of organic food, the advantages and the disadvantages. To summarise, it is clear that organic food is not top of their priorities yet it is still considered and acknowledged in the day to day running of a household. Many people say organic food is better than non-organic foods, in many cases, they are healthier because ‘with processed foods there can be hidden fats, salt and sugar that can go in during the processing. Food certified as organic is not allowed to contain genetically modified ingredients. ’news. bbc. co. uk (Accessed 02/10/12). â€Å"A four year European Union funded study found that with regards to organic food compared to regular food: There are 40% more antioxidants in organic food, milk that is taken from organic herds contains 90% more antioxidants, and there are higher levels of beneficial minerals. † www. dosomething. org (Accessed 27/09/12). These findings clarify that my second interviewee’s opinion is wide spread on behalf of health issues throughout our consumers of organic produce. While many people insist organic foods contain more health benefits, according to university studies, ‘overall, there was no discernible difference between the nutritional content, although the organic food was 30% less likely to contain pesticides. ’ www. bbc. co. uk (Accessed 19/09/12). This information emphasizes my mother’s statement about â€Å"little quality compromised† this also highlights her point that we pay more for less, in more aspects than one, perhaps maybe even including our vitamins and minerals. There are many unknown benefits of organic food that provides a great advantage over non-organic produce. Many of these advantages are in connection with health, especially â€Å"children and foetuses who are most vulnerable to pesticide exposure due to their less-developed immune systems and because their bodies and brains are still developing. Exposure at an early age can cause developmental delays, behavioural disorders, and motor dysfunction. † www. helpguide. org (Accessed 27/09/12) As well as organic food differing from non-organic foods in nutrition they also differ in price, the reason for organic produce being more expensive to buy ‘is that agro ¬chemicals are designed to make food cheaper to produce. Agro ¬chemicals were not developed with nutrition, taste or the ecology in mind. The chemical designers’ remit was to make mass production of food cheaper. So what we get is a cheap but inferior product. ’ www. organicfoodee. com (Accessed 02/10/12) Much of this extra cost is due to the products necessary for produce to be classified as organic. A statement from Humphrey feeds revealed ‘organic wheat is costing us currently about 245 pound a tonne, whereas conventional wheat, most of what we had bought is about 120 pound a tonne,’ showing the costs implicated on organic producers. (Food Programme, BBC Radio 4, 12th Oct 2008) In my opinion organic foods are of a much better quality, taste and are generally less harming to the environment, this is severely reflected in their price and in many cases has extreme effects on food choices. ‘Organic farming has always tried to anticipate the challenges farmers are now facing, such as payments, and now the Nitrate and Phosphate Regulations. Organic farming has a less intensive nature and integrated approach, so organic producers have generally been able to meet these challenges without too much difficulty. ’ www. dardni. gov.uk (Accessed 02/10/12). This statement from the Department of Agriculture makes reference to the differences in farming techniques and the problems faced by non-organic producers, but to a certain extent organic farming goes back to nature, for example, farmers use crop rotation to fertilise the soil increasing stores of carbon in the soil, eventually ‘we could offset at least 23% of agricultures greenhouse emissions. ’ www. soilassociation. org (Accessed 19/09/12). This refers to mainly non-organic producers; however organic producers face hefty stipulation over what they can and can’t do. In particular the Department of Agriculture imply a regulation in which the period of slurry spreading is suited to the weather. An article from a farming newspaper last week read; ‘The closed period is due to come into operation on October 15, after which farmers caught spreading slurry would normally face prosecution. (Farm Week, September 27th, 2012). This has a greater impact on organic producers due to their lack of permitted resources, implicating that they can only fertilise soil at particular times throughout the year compared to non-organic producers, nonetheless in my opinion this has great consideration for the environment. In regards to helping the environment ‘organic farming practices use 30% less energy, less water, and obviously no pesticides,’ hence reduces groundwater pollution. www. thechicecologist. com (Accessed 02/10/12) In conclusion, I have found my research on organic food to be practical and obtained from a range of different sources to give adequate reasons for purchasing and consuming organic produce.