Organics for Sustainability and Lower Cost

By Elly McGuinness

Advantages of Organic Farming

Have you been wondering about the advantages of organic farming? Is there any point to purchasing food or products that have been produced via organic farming methods? Do you think that organic shopping comes with a higher price tag than conventional?

You may have noticed that the dollar amount charged for organic produce and products can often be higher than conventional. There are a number of reasons for this.

Why Am I Charged More For Organic Products?

  • Intensive production methods supported by quick-fix chemical fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides are not used.  This is one of the main advantages of organic farming
  • If chemicals are used in organic farming, they are natural and biodegradable. Therefore they have less impact on the environment. Sick animals are kept apart from other animals for a certain period of time, rather than impacting the health of the rest of the herd. Antibiotics are not routinely used like they often are in conventional farming.
  • Organic farming does not allow the use of growth-promoting hormones or protein-rich feeds. Therefore organically reared animals take longer to reach marketable size.
  • Healthy crops are grown via natural methods, rather than by employing chemical solutions that can result in dire consequences for our health and the environment. Therefore, organic farming can often result in lower yields than conventional. Some of the natural methods using in organic farming include crop rotation, companion planting, and the use of manure. The farmers have a good understanding of ecology.
  • Organic farming is more labor-intensive because people are used to removing weeds, or natural treatments are used. The focus is on control, rather than the annihilation of pests and weeds.

As you can see from the points above, the advantages of organic farming from a sustainability point of view are many.

What Is The Real Cost Of Conventional Farming?

Conventional farming is simply not sustainable. Air and water pollution results in a huge cost to the environment, and plants and wildlife habitats suffer. Excess consumption of toxic chemicals comes at a massive cost to our health. For example there is the potential for endocrine disruption as a result of pesticide use.

Let’s look holistically at the implications of conventional versus organic farming. If we consider social, environmental and health factors, which one costs more?

Rather than asking ‘Why does organic cost so much” perhaps we should ask “Why is conventional so cheap?”

Where To Get Organic Products

IHerb is a great ‘go-to’ online health shop for certified organic and natural products and they deliver all over the world.

They stock a massive range of groceries, household items and personal care products. Not all the products are organic but each item is clearly labelled with all information and ingredients. Therefore it is easy to find organic if that is what you are looking for. Try typing ‘certified organic’ into the search box, or search by brands that you know are certified organic. You can also read my review of iherb here.

Click here to check out what they have on offer and see latest prices.

Read More About The Advantages Of Organic Farming

The information in this article was gathered from our knowledge of organic practices. Some ideas have also been influenced from the book “Organic – a new way of eating”. Sophie Grigson and William Black.  Headline Book Publishing 2001

P.S. If you’re into food awareness and making conscious choices, you can find out how to avoid wastage of food by making the most of your fresh produce.

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links then I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my site and helping make it the best holistic health and fitness resource on the internet!

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Elly McGuinness

2 Comments
  1. Debra

    Such important information to get out into the world! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
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