Organic Farming’s Place in a Sustainable Future
Fertilizer provides plants with nutrients that they need to grow strong and healthy, including, most importantly, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. While there is evidence that farmers used manure as a source of fertilizer 8000 years ago, modernized use of fertilizer picked up in the late 19th century.[1] Scientists figured out the science behind nitrogen’s central role in plant growth and thus created an energy intensive process that synthesized plant-available nitrogen from the air.[2] It is estimated that synthetic nitrogen fertilizer today is used on crops that feed approximately half of the global population with a total fertilizer production reaching 207 million tonnes in 2014.[3] Though it is possible that the world would not be able to support the population without the invention of synthetic fertilizer, this has not come without a cost.
Algal Blooms
The nutrients in fertilizers that are supposed to be used by the plants, often leach from the soil and eventually run off into nearby waterways, creating high amounts of water contamination. The extra nutrients in the water also encourage algal blooms which create toxins poisonous to wildlife, humans, and disrupt the balanced ecosystem of the waters they entered.[4] Fertilizers also contain chemicals like nitrous oxide (N2O), which is the third most concerning greenhouse gas.[5] Nitrous oxide is produced by microbes in almost all soils, however microbes are not able to convert ammonia/ammonium into nitrate at 100% efficiency, and some N is lost as N2O gas. [6] In agriculture, soil microbes feast on new sources of nutrients when fertilizer is applied and will continue to consume the fertilizer nitrogen, and release N2O, as long as it remains available and conditions such as temperature and moisture level allow for continued microbial activity. [7] N2O is bad for the environment because not only does it trap heat in the atmosphere, therefore assisting in global warming, but it also depletes ozone in the stratosphere, contributing to the ozone hole. One of the solutions to mitigate the use and effects of fertilizer is to use alternate techniques which are often seen in organic farming.
The USDA defines organic production as "a production system that is managed to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity."[8] "Organically grown" food is grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, however pesticides derived from natural sources may be used in producing organically grown food.[9] As of 2016 there were 5 million certified organic acres of farmland, representing less than 1% of the 911 million acres of total farmland nationwide.[10] The current market reveals that organically produced products are becoming more sought after throughout the world. With the U.S. organic food market surpassing $45 billion in sales in 2017, it is only expected to grow with an increased demand for organic food.[11] Majorly, the fast growth rate and high profitability level is attributed to the health benefits and the superior quality and the taste of the organic products compared to conventional produce.[12]
One top motivation for farmers switching to organic is out of a certain stewardship towards the environment. Organic farming techniques promote sequestering carbon, which can help to reverse effects of climate change. These techniques can also create healthier crops due to the decreased leaching of minerals and nutrients from the soil. Additionally, by using natural soil amendments like biochar, a farmer can sequester carbon, reduce runoff, reduce soil salinity, increase the soil’s water holding capacity, and create healthier soils all at the same time. [13] Instead of relying on synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that can deplete the soil of valuable nutrients and increase environmental degradation, organic agriculture builds up soil using practices such as composting, cover cropping, and crop rotation.[14] There are also added economic benefit that come with switching to organic since organic crops create a price premium of anywhere from 25 percent to 200 percent or more over conventionally grown products.[15] Plus, studies have shown that County poverty rates also drop and median household incomes rise by over $2,000 in counties with high organic farming activity which neighbor other high-organic counties. These are known as organic hot spots.[16]
Switching the country to organic farming will likely take some time due, in part, to conventional farming having been in place for so long. The country’s agricultural infrastructure—grain storage facilities and transportation networks—is designed for conventional crops and with a lack of funding, organic farmers have fewer tools and fewer experts to consult.[17] Organic farming also sometimes requires high up-front investments and farmers have to go through a certification process and need to keep their land free of chemicals for the first three years.
Even with these obstacles, organic farming has been an increasing market that is only growing with popularity. While conventional farming will continue to be the dominant way to farm for now, the benefits that organic farming offers hopefully will promote the practice in more communities. The economic incentives for farmers to enter the organic field will offer competition to the conventional market which will only increase the global sales of organic crops. This economic benefit, along with the drive to be more environmentally sustainable, will create a pathway for organic farming to become a strong player in the food industry and leave people with healthier choices for their dinner.
Author: Emma Cross, Amata Green Legal Intern 2020
[1] Michael Balter, Researchers Discover First Use of Fertilizer, American Ass’n. for the Advancement of Sci. (Jul. 15, 2013), https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/07/researchers-discover-first-use-fertilizer.
[2] Tom Philpott, A Brief History of Our Deadly Addiction to Nitrogen Fertilizer, Mother Jones (Apr. 19, 2013), https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/04/history-nitrogen-fertilizer-ammonium-nitrate/.
[3] Max Roser and Hannah Ritchie, Fertilizer, Our World in Data (2013), https://ourworldindata.org/fertilizers
[4] Dep’t. of Primary Indus., Fertilisers and the Environment, (Feb. 1993) https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/soils/improvement/environment.
[5] Pep Canadell, et al., Nitrogen fertilizers are incredibly efficient, but they make climate change a lot worse, Phys.org (Nov. 19, 2019), https://phys.org/news/2019-11-nitrogen-fertilizers-incredibly-efficient-climate.html.
[6] U.C. Div. of Agric. & Nat. Res., Nitrous Oxide and California Agriculture, https://ucanr.edu/sites/Nutrient_Management_Solutions/Nitrous_Oxide_and_California_Agriculture/#top (last visited July 30, 2020).
[7] Id.
[8] 7 C.F.R. §205.2 (2020).
[9] EPA, Organic Farming, https://www.epa.gov/agriculture/organic-farming (last visited July 17, 2020)
[10] Kristen Bialik and Kristi Walker, Organic Farming is on the rise in the U.S., Pew Res. Ctr. (Jan. 10, 2019). https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/10/organic-farming-is-on-the-rise-in-the-u-s/
[11] Barbara Haumann, Environmental Benefits of Organic, Organic Trade Ass’n., https://ota.com/organic-101/environmental-benefits-organic (last visited July 17, 2020).
[12] Rachel Cernansky, We don’t have enough organic farms. Why not?, Nat’l. Geographic (Nov. 20, 2018) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/future-of-food/organic-farming-crops-consumers/#close.
[13] Dave Levitan, Refilling the Carbon Sink: Biochar’s Potential and Pitfalls, Yale Sch. of the Env’t. (Dec. 9, 2010)
[14] Rinkesh, What is Organic Farming?, Conserve Energy Future https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/organic-farming-need-and-features.php (last visited July 17, 2020).https://e360.yale.edu/features/refilling_the_carbon_sink_biochars_potential_and_pitfalls.
[15] Sustainable Agric. Res. & Educ., See supra note 6.
[16] Barbara Haumann, Economic benefits of organic agriculture highlighted in new Federal Reserve book, Organic Trade Ass’n (Aug. 3, 2017) https://ota.com/news/press-releases/19778.
[17] Rachel Cernansky, See supra note 12.