Natural State Gardening is a weekly blog about organic gardening techniques.

Debate continues about organic versus conventional agriculture. Which one is safer, more nutritious, better for the environment, and best able to feed the world? Also, how does local food fit into this equation?

Due to the many facets of this topic, I’m dividing this topic into two posts: the “Growing” aspect and the “Eating” aspect. This is Part I, the “Growing” post.

Before we dive in, let’s clarify a few things:

  • There is a wide spectrum of quality amongst farms. One “organic” farm may be doing just enough to meet the requirements, growing a massive monocrop that is sprayed with questionable “organic” pesticides. Another organic farm may go above and beyond to produce amazing produce grown in soil full of organic matter and microbial life. This spectrum can be found in conventional farming, too. The point here is: you must know your farmers and their practices to know what quality produce you are getting, or grow your own!
  • Science is subject to political influence. Funding for research must come from somewhere. Funders often have an agenda or cause they seek to promote via the funded research. So, it’s important to understand that this influence is real and can lead to skewed research and conclusions. Agriculture (conventional and organic) is not immune to this kind of political influence, so be careful when reading studies or articles referencing studies.

Now, let’s look at the various implications of organic and conventional growing:

  • Yields: This article in Nature reviewed available yield data and found organic agriculture to have lower yields, ranging from 5% to 34% lower compared to conventional agriculture systems. The organic farms using “best practices” had 13% lower yields. Long-term research at the Rodale Institute found that “over the 30 years of the trial, organic corn and soybean yields were equivalent to conventional yields.” So, the yields may be similar or somewhat lower for organic systems, depending on the growing practices.
  • Pollution: Organically fertilized soils have far less Nitrogen leaching than conventionally fertilized soils. This means organic farms cause less harm to waterways (such as the Gulf of Mexico).
  • Soil Erosion: A long-term study found organic farming systems are more effective “in reducing soil erosion and, therefore, in maintaining soil productivity.”
  • Greenhouse Gases: This report suggests that “…if agriculture was globally converted to organic farming best practices, this could potentially offset around 11% of all global greenhouse gas emissions each year for at least the next twenty years.”
  • Farmer/gardener health: Farmworker Justice reports that “pesticide exposure causes farm workers to suffer more chemical-related injuries and illnesses than any other workforce in the nation.”
  • Bees/Pollinators: Neonicotinoid, an insecticide used in conventional agriculture, causes treated bee populations to have “significantly reduced growth rate” and “85% reduction in production of new queens compared with control colonies,” according to this report. Why does this matter? We need bees to pollinate many of our food crops!
  • Soil Health: Organic soils tend to have higher amounts of organic matter. Organic matter helps retain water. Consequently, organic operations tend to have higher yields in times of drought, compared to conventional operations.

Another consideration:

  • Pests as Messengers: Garden pests are messengers telling us that we have something to fix in our growing methods. Pests are attracted to plants stressed by inadequate growing conditions. Simply killing these pests with pesticides (conventional or organic) is merely a temporary solution. We should, instead, determine the underlying stressors (e.g., lacking nutrients? Too much water? Soil pH too high or low?) and fix them. Besides, heavy reliance on pesticides can breed superbugs and superweeds, which then require increasingly intense pesticides to control.

BOTTOM LINE: Research suggests that though organic agriculture systems may have lower yields compared to conventional, the organic systems are significantly better for the ecosystems they inhabit, as well as the farmers. I will gladly accept slightly lower yields for my personal health as a gardener and the health of the environment. What do you think?

Part II of this post will cover conventional, organic, and local agriculture in regards to eating.