ENVIRONMENT STUDIES

NAME: JASRAJ JAIN

DIV AND ROLL NO: B 14
CLASS: FYBMS
TOPIC: ORGANIC
 INTRODUCTION

Organic farming is an agricultural system which originated early in the

20th century in reaction to rapidly changing farming practices. Certified
organic agriculture accounts for 70 million hectares globally, with over half
of that total in Australia Organic farming continues to be developed by
various organizations today. It is defined by the use of fertilizers of organic
origin such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal and places
emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting.
Biological pest control, mixed cropping and the fostering of insect
predators are encouraged. Organic standards are designed to allow the use
of naturally occurring substances while prohibiting or strictly limiting
synthetic substances.
Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally
enforced by many nations, based in large part on the standards set by
the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM), an international umbrella organization for organic farming
organizations established in 1972. Organic agriculture can be defined
as "an integrated farming system that strives for sustainability, the
enhancement of soil fertility and biological diversity while, with rare
exceptions, prohibiting synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic
fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, and growth hormones".
Since 1990, the market for organic food and other products has grown
rapidly, reaching $63 billion worldwide in 2012. This demand has
driven a similar increase in organically managed farmland that grew
from 2001 to 2011 at a compounding rate of 8.9% per annum.
 METHODS

Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems
and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local
conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture
combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and
promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved

Organic farming methods combine scientific knowledge of ecology and some modern
technology with traditional farming practices based on naturally occurring biological
processes. Organic farming methods are studied in the field of agroecology. While
conventional agriculture uses synthetic pesticides and water-soluble synthetically purified
fertilizers, organic farmers are restricted by regulations to using natural pesticides and
fertilizers. An example of a natural pesticide is pyrethrin, which is found naturally in the
Chrysanthemum flower.
The principal methods of organic farming include crop rotation, green manures and
compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation. These measures use the
natural environment to enhance agricultural productivity: legumes are planted to fix
nitrogen into the soil, natural insect predators are encouraged, crops are rotated to
confuse pests and renew soil, and natural materials such as potassium bicarbonate and
mulches are used to control disease and weeds. Genetically modified seeds and animals
are excluded.

While organic is fundamentally different from conventional because of the use of carbon-
based fertilizers compared with highly soluble synthetic based fertilizers and biological
pest control instead of synthetic pesticides, organic farming and large-scale conventional
farming are not entirely mutually exclusive. Many of the methods developed for organic
agriculture have been borrowed by more conventional agriculture. For example,
Integrated Pest Management is a multifaceted strategy that uses various organic methods
of pest control whenever possible, but in conventional farming could include synthetic
pesticides only as a last resort
 1)Crop diversity

Organic farming encourages Crop diversity. The science of agroecology has revealed the
benefits of polyculture (multiple crops in the same space), which is often employed in
organic farming. Planting a variety of vegetable crops supports a wider range of
beneficial insects, soil microorganisms, and other factors that add up to overall farm
health. Crop diversity helps environments thrive and protects species from going extinct.
2) SOIL MANAGEMENT

Organic farming relies more heavily on the natural breakdown of organic

matter then the average conventional farm, using techniques like green
manure and composting, to replace nutrients taken from the soil by
previous crops. This biological process, driven by microorganisms such as
mycorrhiza and earthworms, releases nutrients available to plants
throughout the growing season. Farmers use a variety of methods to
improve soil fertility, including crop rotation, cover cropping, reduced
tillage, and application of compost. By reducing fuel-intensive tillage, less
soil organic matter is lost to the atmosphere. This has an added benefit of
carbon sequestration, which reduces greenhouse gases and helps reverse
climate change. Reducing tillage may also improve soil structure and
reduce the potential for soil erosion.
 3) WEED MANGEMENT

Organic weed management promotes weed suppression, rather than weed

elimination, by enhancing crop competition and phytotoxic effects on
weeds.[45] Organic farmers integrate cultural, biological, mechanical,
physical and chemical tactics to manage weeds without synthetic
herbicides.

Organic standards require rotation of annual crops meaning that a single

crop cannot be grown in the same location without a different, intervening
crop. Organic crop rotations frequently include weed-suppressive cover
crops and crops with dissimilar life cycles to discourage weeds associated
with a particular crop. Research is ongoing to develop organic methods to
promote the growth of natural microorganisms that suppress the growth or
germination of common weeds.
4) LIVESTOCK

Raising livestock and poultry, for meat, dairy and eggs, is another
traditional farming activity that complements growing. Organic farms
attempt to provide animals with natural living conditions and feed.
Organic certification verifies that livestock are raised according to the
USDA organic regulations throughout their lives. These regulations include
the requirement that all animal feed must be certified organic.

Organic livestock may be, and must be, treated with medicine when they
are sick, but drugs cannot be used to promote growth, their feed must be
organic, and they must be pastured.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND EMISSIONS

Researchers at Oxford University analysed 71 peer-reviewed studies and

observed that organic products are sometimes worse for the
environment. Organic milk, cereals, and pork generated higher
greenhouse gas emissions per product than conventional ones but
organic beef and olives had lower emissions in most studies. Usually
organic products required less energy, but more land Per unit of
product, organic produce generates higher nitrogen leaching, nitrous
oxide emissions, ammonia emissions, eutrophication, and acidification
potential than conventionally grown produce. Other differences were
not significant. The researchers concluded that public debate should
consider various manners of employing conventional or organic
farming, and not merely debate conventional farming as opposed to
organic farming. They also sought to find specific solutions to specific
circumstances.
Proponents of organic farming have claimed that organic agriculture
emphasizes closed nutrient cycles, biodiversity, and effective soil
management providing the capacity to mitigate and even reverse the effects
of climate change and that organic agriculture can decrease

fossil fuel emissions. "The carbon sequestration efficiency of organic

systems in temperate climates is almost double (575–700 kg carbon
per ha per year – 510–625 lb/ac/an ) that of conventional treatment of
soils, mainly owing to the use of grass clovers for feed and of cover
crops in organic rotations.

LAND AND AREA

The Oxford meta-analysis of 71 studies found that organic farming
requires 84% more land for an equivalent amount of harvest, mainly
due to lack of nutrients but sometimes due to weeds, diseases or pests,
lower yielding animals and land required for fertility building crops
While organic farming does not necessarily save land for wildlife
habitats and forestry in all cases crop the most modern breakthroughs
in organic are addressing these issues with success.
FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY

While there may be some differences in the amounts of nutrients and

antinutrients when organically produced food and conventionally
produced food are compared, the variable nature of food production
and handling makes it difficult to generalize results, and there is
insufficient evidence to make claims that organic food is safer or
healthier than conventional food. Claims that organic food tastes
better are not supported by evidence.

Soil conservation
Supporters claim that organically managed soil has a higher quality and
higher water retention This may help increase yields for organic farms in
drought years. Organic farming can build up soil organic matter better
than conventional no-till farming, which suggests long-term yield benefits
from organic farming An 18-year study of organic methods on nutrient-
depleted soil concluded that conventional methods were superior for soil
fertility and yield for nutrient-depleted soils in cold-temperate climates,
arguing that much of the benefit from organic farming derives from
imported materials that could not be regarded as self-sustaining.