Organic Farming - Overview Part II

It is also important to note that organic farming is a reaction against the large-scale, chemical-based farming practices that have become the norm in food production over the last 80 years. The differences between organic farming and modern conventional farming account for most of the controversy and claims surrounding organic agriculture and organic food. Until recently, the comparison looked something like this:

    Organic    Conventional
Size    relatively small-scale, independent operations (e.g. the family farm)    large-scale, often owned by or economically tied to major food corporations
Methods    no use of purchased fertilizers and other inputs; low mechanization of the growing and harvesting process    intensive chemical programs and reliance on mechanized production, using specialized equipment and facilities
Markets    often local, direct to consumer, through on-farm stands and farmers' markets (see also local food), and through specialty wholesalers and retailers (eg: health food stores)    wholesale, with products distributed across large areas (average supermarket produce travels hundreds to thousands of miles) and sold through high-volume outlets

The contrast is as much economic as it is between methods of production. Until the last decade, organic farming has been typically small business, often based in local economies, whereas conventional farming is big business (often called agribusiness, or, negatively, corporate farming) that is closely integrated with all aspects of the global food industry. However, the situation is changing rapidly as consumer demand encourages large-scale organic production.

The development of modern organic farming techniques is also a function of economics. Most of the agricultural research over the last century has concentrated on chemical-based methods— little funding and effort have been put into using current scientific tools to understand and advance organic agricultural approaches.

Principles of plant cultivation, in many situations identical to those of organic farming, are applied—usually, though not necessarily, at a smaller scale—in the practice of organic horticulture.




source : hydroponicsearch