You must consider organic farming if you want a new hobby or career. If you’ve never heard of organic farming, it’s essentially growing crops without chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
This can be a difficult lifestyle change since many farmers have used these chemicals for years. They don’t know how else to grow their crops. However, there are many benefits to going organic. Let’s have a look at these benefits in detail.
Organic Farming Is Replacing Conventional Farming Practices
Conventional farming practices, like pesticides and fertilizers, harm humans and animals. It’s also not friendly to our planet. The soil becomes depleted due to overuse of these chemicals, causing a lack of nutrients in our crops.
Organic farming practices are much better for us and our environment. These farms do not use chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Instead, they rely on traditional methods such as crop rotation and natural predators like ladybugs instead of pesticides.
Organic farms also have lower carbon footprints. They don’t need as much energy or fuel to grow their food. By 2027, the global organic farming market size is estimated at $183.8 billion. Many reasons will drive this vast growth. Let’s look at a few prominent ones.
To Avoid Pesticides
There are many reasons to move to organic farming. But one of the most compelling ones is that it eliminates the need for pesticides. Pesticides are harmful to people, animals, and the environment.
Some pesticides have been banned in many countries, and for good reason. Pesticides directly or indirectly poison 385 million people and kill 11000 people yearly.
They also pose a massive environmental threat: they contaminate soil and water sources, kill beneficial insects like bees and increase our reliance on fossil fuels.
However, despite being precautions, many people fall victim to misleading advertisements of weed killers that claim to be safe. The best example is Roundup.
Roundup is one of the most widely used weed killers. It is often promoted as environmentally friendly. However, this herbicide has been shown to cause congenital disabilities and has been linked to chronic ailments.
The recent Roundup lawsuit update states that there is evidence that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, is carcinogenic. However, Monsanto has been accused of hiding the dangers of their product for decades and continues to do so today.
To Promote Soil Health
One of the most important reasons to move toward organic farming is that it promotes soil health. The reality is that 40% of the earth’s soil has already eroded. This is pretty alarming.
Soil health is key to the overall health of plants, animals, and people. Yet many farmers are unaware of how vital their land management practices are for maintaining this essential foundation for life on our planet.
Organic farming practices have been shown to promote soil health using cover crops and crop rotation strategies. This benefits in the following way:
- Protects over-use of nutrients and water.
- Feeds animal manure back into the ground.
- Allows native plants like legumes or grasses to grow between rows to help break down nutrients in animal waste.
- Keeps livestock at low densities to prevent overgrazing.
- Uses natural pest control methods such as companion planting rather than pesticides.
- Leaves fallow fields fallow instead of tilling them yearly so they can replenish themselves naturally.
These benefits ensure no more harm to the soil but reverse the effects.
To Preserve Natural Resources
Organic farms are better for the environment in several ways. First, organic farms use far less water than conventional growers. Conventional farming requires enormous amounts of water to keep crops growing and healthy.
But organic farmers can rely on natural sources like rainfall and snowmelt to feed their plants instead. They can even use dry weather to reduce their dependence on irrigation systems by substituting it with cover crops, plants grown specifically for their ability to enrich the soil.
Second, organic farming uses far less energy than conventional production methods do. Organic farmers reduce their energy needs by avoiding pesticides and herbicides. They also don’t rely on fossil fuels or electric lights when they work at night or in bad weather conditions. Organic farming creates carbon sinks instead of emitting greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.
Because It’s Better for Animals
One of the most significant benefits of organic farming is that it does not involve animal cruelty. Animals are not fed genetically modified feed or receive synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, or hormones to make them grow faster.
In addition, animals raised on organically-certified farms have more space to move around. They enjoy natural sunlight instead of being kept in dark stalls 24 hours a day. This helps keep them healthy so they can live longer than most animals raised by conventional methods.
To Protect our Pollinators
Pollinators are essential to the survival of many plants. There is no long-term alternative to bees for plant reproduction and pollination. That’s not all: bees also provide a much-needed service for farmers in their quest to grow food. Without them, certain crops would be unable to reproduce at all!
Over 100 crops cultivated in the United States depend on pollinating insects for production. Their contribution to agricultural production is worth an estimated $18 billion annually. But despite its importance to our economy and food supply, this industry is experiencing a decline due to pesticide use and habitat loss caused by human activity.
One study estimates that if nothing changes within 10 years, we may lose up to 80% of our wild bee colonies. This concern can be resolved with organic farming that does not use bee-killing pesticides.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a business owner or just someone who’s environmentally conscious, organic farming may be the best option for you.
Moving to organic farming will help protect our planet from chemical harm and encourage sustainable living practices that can benefit all of us.
While it may seem like an expensive venture at first glance, it’s cheaper than conventional farming in many ways.
