organic farm becauseThe importance of organic farming Brian Smith The Collegian THERE WAS A time when our food came from our own gardens or from local farms. Small farmers planted diverse crops that fed their local communities. Synthetic chemicals for agricultural use did not exist. Rotational planting and companion planting were used to combat pests. Organic agriculture was the way. Around 60 years ago industrial agricultural practices forced family farmers off their land in order to grow monocultures of high-priced export crops. Synthetic chemicals were then developed to combat the explosion of pests and diseases that came with these monocultures. The claim of agribusiness, just like the claims of biotech companies such as Monsanto, was that industrial agriculture was needed to feed the world’s growing population. According to the facts, this country’s food production has more than kept up with its population increase, and is the world’s number one exporter of food, yet today there are still over 30 million people who go hungry every day in this country. In some markets, such as raisins, farmers are paid subsidies not to produce a crop because of excess supply. There is no lack of food in this country.The problem of hunger is poverty and landlessness, not a lack of food. On top of feeding us misconceptions about the cause of hunger in the world, industrial agriculture is polluting our air, water, soil and food with chemicals that are known carcinogens. Over one third of the food you buy has pesticide residue, and pesticides are commonly found in rural wells. Organic farming is now looked at as alternative, and its supporters have been pinned as wealthy elitists who do not care how much poor people have to pay for their food.

I like think about it's answer.

Despite it being more expensive, organic food is your best bet.

I guess it wouldn't matter to me as long as it was fresh. I have a farm where I grow alfalfa for dairies , orchard grass for the horse market, and cattle for food. I'm trying 35 acres of organic alfalfa this year. The price is FANTASTIC. The rest I use pesticides and herbicides. Testing the plants shows negligible residue.The orchard grass NEEDS to be fertilized each crop to produce any significant volume. I use urea typically and it is chemically identical with natural fertilizers, without all the detritus.My cattle are the best tasting beef EVER. We vaccinate heifers for bangs virus and all calves get 8-way and lepto shots when branded.

hydroponic I am interested in the process and would like to not only buy my food wares from it but also enjoy learning about the hydroponics field. It may be one solution for food production in the harsher areas of the world.

I have a great coop of farms in my area, they are certified organic, and they are my primary source of produce and meat.

wouldn't worry about it you can't find a farm with a diverse enough amount of crops to make it worth while to even worry about. farms tend to specialize in one or two, maybe three different crops during any one season.

Permaculture with animals fertilizing crops.

It does not matter what kind of farm it is. Purchase local gives the farmer a higher profit for his produce than he would by selling to supermarket. The environment gains by the food not travelling any distance. The local community gains by employing local labour. You get the satisfaction of doing something green helping the local area and hopefully getting good food

I was born and raised on a farm. Now my husband and I have a farm. We have goats ( shhhhh...don't tell them , they think they are puppies) We raise most of our fruit and veg's. We also keep chickens, but thanks to an over abundance of coyotes this year we don't have any now. I wouldn't live anywhere else. I have lived in a large town and hated it. Somehow I just can't bring myself to buy what at home is free like, veg's , berries, eggs etc...Our town have a whopping 400 people. Getting a little crowded. We don't have a post office, but by golly we have a Wal-mart.