Protect the Children.
Children are at the greatest risk of being harmed by the toxins
in non-organic food. It is estimated that they are at 4x the risk
compared to adults.
Protect the Soil of the Planet
The Soil Conservation Service estimates that more than three billion
tons of topsoil are eroded from the United States croplands each year.
That means soil is eroding seven times faster than it is built up naturally.
And this is just America. Third world countries are learning disastrous
farming techniques from us. With Organic farming soil is nurtured
and actually is improved. Soil is the foundation of the food chain
in organic farming. Remarkably, in conventional farming the soil is used
more as a medium for holding plants in a vertical position so they can
be chemically fertilized. As a result, farms around the world are suffering
from the worst soil erosion in history.
The repeated application of chemical fertilizers also kills the
essential microbes required for an organic system to work, thereby locking
the growth into a cycle of continued chemical use which will never be of
benefit to soil condition. An organic operation on the other hand may,
quite possibly, provide less end product but is constantly improving the
soil condition as microbial activity and organic matter in the soil increase
thereby offering the possibility of increasing yields as soil condition
improves.
Protect the environment
It is practically impossible to use chemical fertilizers without
damaging the environment. Plant nutrients of chemical origin are, by definition,
soluble so they are easily leached from the soil. Nutrients which are of
organic origin only become soluble after being broken down by microbial
activity so they are released in a controlled manner. One of the reasons
that growers choose organic production is that it almost guarantees that
there is no adverse effect upon the environment from farm run-off.
Purify Our Water Supply
Water makes up two-third of our body mass and covers three-fourths
of the planet. Despite its importance, the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), estimates pesticides run off from conventional farming (some cancer
causing) contaminate the ground water in 38 states, polluting the primary
source of drinking water for more than half the country's population.
Cheaper operation costs
Inorganic fertilizers, chemical sprays and the equipment used to
apply them are expensive. A method of farming with none of these costs
is attractive. Even if there is a drop in crop yields, input costs reduced
as organic nutrients produced on the property replace purchased ones.
Pesticede resistance insects
The emergence of strains of insects which are pesticide resistant
and a tendency for some crops to respond less and less to the repeated
application of chemical fertilizers are issues which are starting to worry
sections of the agricultural community.
Save Energy
American farms have changed drastically in the last three generations,
from the family based small businesses dependent on human energy to large
scale factory farms highly dependent on fossil fuels. Modern farming uses
more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12 percent of
the country's total energy supply. More energy is now used to produce synthetic
fertilizers than to till, cultivate, and harvest all the crops in the United
States. Organic farming still mainly based on labor-intensive practices
such as weeding by hand and using green manures and crop covers rather
than synthetic. Organic produce also tends to travel a shorter distance
from the farm to your plate.
Keep Chemicals Off Your Plate
Many pesticides approved for use by the EPA were registered before
extensive research linking these chemicals to cancer and other diseases
has been established. Now the EPA considers that 60 percent of all herbicides,
90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides are carcinogenic.
A 1987 National Academy of Sciences report estimated that pesticides might
cause an extras 1.4 million cancer cases among Americans over their lifetimes.
The bottom line is that pesticides are poisons designed to kill living
organisms, and can also be harmful to humans. In addition to cancer, pesticides
are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutation.
Protect Farm Workers Health
A natural Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides
had a six time greater risk than non-farmers of contracting cancer. In
California, reported pesticide poisinings among farm workers have risen
an average of 14 percent a year since 1973, and doubled between 1975 and
1985. Field workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in
the state. Farm worker health also is a serious problem in developing nations,
where pesticide use can be poorly regulated. An estimated 1 million people
are poisoned annually by pesticides.
Help Small Farmers
Although more and more large scale farms are making the conversion
to organic practices, most organic farms are small independently owned
and operated family farms of less than 100 acres. It's estimated that ther
United States has lost more than 650,000 family farms in the past decade.
And with the US Department of Agriculture predicting that half of this
country's farm production will come from 1 percent of farms by the year
2000, organic farming could become one of the few survival tactics left
for family farms.
Support a True Economy
Although organic foods might seem more expensive than conventional
foods, conventional food prices do not reflect hidden cost borne by taxpayers,
including nearly $74 billion in federal subsidies in 1988. Other hidden
costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal
and clean up, and environmental damage.
Promote Biodiversity
Mono cropping is the practice of place large plots of land with
the same crop year after year. While this approach tripled farm production
between 1950 and 1970, the lack of natural diversity of plant life has
left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients. To replace the
nutrients, chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts.
To Taste Better Flavor
There's a good reason many chef's use organic foods in their recipes.
They taste better. Organic farming starts with the nutrients of the soil
which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and ultimately our
palates.
