User talk:1devonte

Organic Farming
Organic farming are foods that are produced by methods that qualify as the standards for Organic Farming. For example, Organic farming have regulations that restrict the use of certain pesticides and fertilizers used on crops. For a food to be organic is has to meet the standards from USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). Organic foods are generally not processed and don't use synthetic additives or solvents.

Industrial Farming
Industrial Farming is the common form of farming used today. It consist of feeding cattle corn instead of pasture(Grass). Farmers are allowed to use pesticides and fertilizers freely to help with the grow and endurance of crops. GMO's are used on crops such as vegetables and fruits for long lasting and durability purposes. Corn and soy bean are some of the major crops grown in this type of farming because it can be used to make most of the processed foods we see in our grocery stores.

Differences and Similarities
Organic and industrial farming are very similar to each other. Both of them use the same machines, tools, and methods to grow crops. Neither farmer uses grass to feed their farm animals, actually they both keep their animals in feeding sheds. Industrial farmers use corn to feed their cattle and farm animals, while Organic farmers feed their cattle with organic grain. The differences between the two is that Organic farmers don't use pesticides, herbicides, or any harmful chemicals on their crops.

Benefits and risks of Industrial Farming
Industrial Farming is one of the widely used forms of farming by our food providers. The main benefits of this farming is the high quantity and cheapest of our food. The reason why our food is so plentiful and cheap is because industrial farmers rely heavily on growing huge amounts of corn. This corn is then used to make majority of the processed food product we eat today. Some examples are high fructose corn syrup, frosting, snacks, cake mixes, mayo, mustard and many other processed foods. Furthermore, Industrial farming gives access to a lot of food at a reasonable price.

Obvious risk of industrial farming is the pesticide residue on our food and the abundant amounts of unhealthy and unnatural foods. Industrial food is also lower in vitamins and antioxidants then naturally grown food, which means we are eating less nutritious when we regular industrial food. Corn feeding cattle also puts the animals at a higher risk of diseases and health problems, which could affect and contaminate the meat that we eat.

Benefits and Risks of Organic Farming
The benefits of Organic Farming is the fact their are no harmful pesticides or herbicides used on the crops, which means you don't have to worry about the risk of eating chemical residue on your food. Organic foods have also been proven to be high in vitamins and Polyphenols(ex. antioxidants), which mean these foods can be more nutritious than industrial foods. Organic farmers also don't feed their cattle corn, however organic farmers do feed their cattle organic grain. This is a contradiction because organic food labels claim that the food comes from animals that are raised on pasture but in reality, organic farm animals are kept in feeding sheds until they are ready for slaughter. To some people this is seen as a major contradiction by Organic farmers, since they claim to raise their animals the natural way(which is raising animals on pasture, but they really don't.

The risks of organic farming is that it can burn a lot of fossil fuels, even more than industrial farmers. Although growing organic foods uses a third less fossil fuel then industrial, if compost is not near by then that margin is erased. Organic farmers use most fossil fuels on trucking massive loads of compost across countryside. Another risk is a method called Tillage. Organic Farmers use this method as a substitution to using herbicides to kill weeds. Instead of killing weeds with chemicals, farmers irrigate the fields to germinate the weed seeds, a tractor then tills the field to kill the weeds. When the crops stand to high for a tractor to roll over it, farm workers use propane torches to kill the biggest weeds by hand. The problem with this method is that it destroys the cultivation and biological activity of the soil. Using this method frequently can also release excess amounts of nitrogen into the atmosphere.

Original meaning of Organic
Currently, the USDA's qualifications of food being organic is a lot different then the original definition. The original definition of organic was food grown in the natural way which means farm animals would live and eat off of the pasture and the farm would be full of diverse crops. The original sounds a lot like the current definition of organic today because organic farms today claim to raise animals on pasture, the thing is these Organic farms are not really doing that. They don't raise their cattle on grass, instead they feed their cattle organic feed. In the original definition of organic, feed was not given to the animals at all. At the origin of organic farming, all the farmer needed was a diverse supply of animals and pasture, then nature did the rest. The old organic definition relied solely on nature to grow crops, while the current definition of organic is mainly restrictions on not to use certain chemicals and herbicides. The current definition and conditions of Organic farms are borderline just like the industrial farms. They use some of the same machines(Tractors,Harvester), tools, and methods(Feeding cattle corn or feed. The only difference is the use of chemicals.

What should we eat organic or industrial?
We can actually eat both if we are cautious of what we eat. As we see above both of these methods of farming have benefits and drawbacks. Industrial(Processed foods) can be eaten but in moderation(eating serving size on label) because of the high calorie, sugar, and fats in those foods. Even though organic food is not as 'organic' as they say it is, the food is still very nutritious. I would recommend eating organic fruits and vegetables because they don't have pesticide residue on them and they were grown more naturally then the industrial fruit.