Why Organic Matters

Organic farms are pollinator-friendly and protect bees, pollinators, and wildlife from toxic chemicals. In 2015, the Organic Center released a report showing that organic farming has an important role to play in supporting the health of our pollinators. Large-scale, chemically intensive agricultural production has been implicated as a major threat to pollinators. Increasingly, scientific research demonstrates that the use of toxic synthetic pesticides, destruction of native habitat, and a decrease in nutritious forage are detrimental to pollinators. A number of studies reviewed in the Organic Center’s report demonstrate that organic farming practices alleviate many threats to honey bees and that organic farms support significantly more pollinators than conventional farms.  

Chemical-free food is a huge benefit of organic farming. Organic farmers don't use any toxic herbicides and pesticides on their crops, while conventional farming involves using pesticides for protecting crops from insects and radiating the produce. Irradiation exposes the crop to intense ionizing radiation in order to delay sprouting and extend shelf life. This process is likely linked to an increased risk of cancer. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) - Internal Medicine found that those who ate organic foods frequently over time had a significantly lower risk of developing cancer. Reducing toxic residues in food and the environment is an overarching, important goal of organic farming. 

Organic food contains more vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and micronutrients than conventionally raised food. The British Journal of Nutrition found that organic crops have higher concentrations of antioxidants and beneficial compounds like anthocyanins and flavonols, compared to conventional crops. Consumption of these compounds is linked to a variety of benefits, including anti-inflammatory effects. Flavonol compounds — found widely in fruits and vegetables — have been shown to help fend off disease and prevent cancer. In a 2001 study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, researchers reviewed the nutrient content in five common organic vegetables versus conventionally grown ones. Organic carrots, spinach, lettuce, potato, and cabbage had significantly more Vitamin C, Iron, Magnesium, and Phosphorus than the alternatively grown ones. 

Organic farming conserves water and protects the streams and lakes downstream from the toxic runoff that conventional farming produces. Many by-products of conventional farming threaten watersheds and pollute drinking water. Runoff tends to carry things like fertilizer and pesticides, which can lead to an excess of nitrogen and phosphorous in water sources. This excess leads to the overgrowth of algae, which consumes oxygen needed by underwater plants. The lack of oxygen makes it impossible for aquatic life to survive, creating dead zones. Since everything eventually ends up in our oceans, organic farming is the easiest way to prevent these large dead zones. 

Farmworkers are at risk for exposure to agricultural pesticides and the adverse health impacts that can occur as a result. Organic farming protects neighboring communities and farmworkers from exposure to dangerous pesticides. Neighboring communities are also at risk for exposure through pesticide drift if they reside near a big farm or a conventionally managed park or playing field. Pesticide drift is a threat to human health as well as to wildlife and ecosystems.  A recent study published in Environmental Research shows evidence that eating organic may reduce pesticides in the human body. The study found that families eating a 100 percent organic diet rapidly and dramatically reduced their exposure to four classes of pesticides—by an average of 60 percent—over six days.

Organic farmers use natural organic fertilizers and soil amendments like organic matter (things you can compost), green manures (cover crops grown specifically for soil improvement), and animal manures (with safety restrictions) to build healthy soil.  When food is grown in healthy soil, crops are better able to resist disease, survive drought, and tolerate insects. Not only does organic farming build healthy soil, but it also helps combat serious soil and land issues, such as erosion. A major study comparing adjoining organic and chemically treated wheat fields showed that the organic field featured eight more inches of topsoil than the chemically treated field and also had only one-third of the erosion loss.

Organic products may be more expensive in the store, but they aren't more expensive to the environment. Organic crops also don't contribute to the long-term legal costs from the billions required for the clean-up, restoration, and public health crises caused by conventional farm methods. In order to keep the extremely expensive, large-scale, non-organic farming practice running, millions of taxpayer dollars were handed out in subsidies, resulting in taxpayer money contributing towards making a big mess, and then trying to clean it up. Paying more upfront for organic products may actually save you money in the long run.

By limiting the production of reactive nitrogen, organic farming can actually reduce pollution. Fertilizer often converts into nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that's 300 times more powerful than CO₂. Reactive nitrogen forms smog and can contribute to acid rain. Nitrogen runs off into lakes, causing toxic algal blooms, and pollutes oceans, leading to oxygen loss and killing organisms in the water. The longest running, side-by-side comparison of conventional and organic farming in the United States proved that a healthy organic agriculture system can actually reduce carbon dioxide and help slow climate change. In fact, the Rodale research concluded that: “If we converted all global croplands and pastures to regenerative organic agriculture we could sequester more than 100% of current annual CO2 emissions.”