Introduction
HISTORY OF ORGANIC FARMING
Organic farming was the original type of agriculture, and has been practiced for thousands of years. After the industrial revolution had introduced inorganic methods, some of which were not well developed and had serious side effects, an organic movement began in the 1940s as a reaction to agriculture's growing reliance on synthetic fertilizers. The history of this modern revival of organic farming dates back to the first half of the 20th century at a time when there was a growing reliance on synthetic fertilizers.
The first 40 years of the 20th century saw simultaneous advances in biochemistry and engineering that rapidly and profoundly changed farming. The introduction of the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine ushered in the era of the tractor and made possible hundreds of mechanized farm implements. Research in plant breeding led to the commercialization of hybrid seed. And a new manufacturing process made nitrogen fertilizer — first synthesized in the mid-19th century affordably abundant. These factors changed the labor equation: there were some 600 tractors in the US around 1910 and over 3,000,000 by 1950; in 1900, it took one farmer to feed 2.5 people. Currently the ratio is 1 to well over 100. Fields grew bigger and cropping more specialized to make more efficient use of machinery.
During and after the Second World War technological advances and accelerated post-war innovation in all aspects of agriculture, resulting in large advances in mechanization (including large-scale irrigation), fertilization, and pesticides. In particular, two chemicals that had been produced in quantity for warfare were repurposed for peace-time agricultural uses. Ammonium nitrate, used in munitions, became an abundantly cheap source of nitrogen. And a range of new pesticides appeared: DDT, which had been used to control disease-carrying insects around troops, became a general insecticide, launching the era of widespread pesticide use.
At the same time, increasingly powerful and sophisticated farm machinery allowed a single farmer to work larger areas of land and fields grew bigger.
In 1944, an international campaign called the Green Revolution was launched in Mexico with private funding from the US. It encouraged the development of hybrid plants, chemical controls, large-scale irrigation, and heavy mechanization in agriculture around the world.
During the 1950s, sustainable agriculture was a topic of scientific interest, but research tended to concentrate on developing the new chemical approaches. In the US, J.I. Rodale began to popularize the term and methods of organic growing, particularly to consumers through promotion of organic gardening.
In the 1970s, global movements concerned with pollution and the environment increased their focus on organic farming. As the distinction between organic and conventional food became clearer, one goal of the organic movement was to encourage consumption of locally grown food, which was promoted through slogans like "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food".
In 1972, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was founded in Versailles, France and dedicated to the diffusion and exchange of information on the principles and practices of organic agriculture of all schools and across national and linguistic boundaries.
In 1975, Fukuoka released his first book, The One-Straw Revolution, with a strong impact in certain areas of the agricultural world. His approach to small-scale grain production emphasized a meticulous balance of the local farming ecosystem, and a minimum of human interference and labor.
In the 1980s, around the world, farming and consumer groups began seriously pressuring for government regulation of organic production. This led to legislation and certification standards being enacted through the 1990s and to date.
Since the early 1990s, the retail market for organic farming in developed economies has been growing by about 20% annually due to increasing consumer demand. Concern for the quality and safety of food, and the potential for environmental damage from conventional agriculture, are apparently responsible for this trend.
IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIC
The rapid growth of population in world gives farmer to produce more production through the modern way of agriculture, using pesticides, chemical and other intense chemical that degrade the enrichment of the soil. So this creates serious threat for the human health and leads the dangerous diseases and harmful impact to the environment also. Developing countries and under developed countries has been negatively affected by the intense population, lack of education and low quality food production. Therefore these allowed them to make unfair competition with the ones producing safe food and encourage them for mass production of chemical used production unhealthy foods.
Production of healthy and high quality food should be intake; safe food should be produced in establishments under minimum health, hygiene and technical conditions. Physical, biologic and chemical dangers have great importance for food safety. Physical dangers are all kinds of foreign materials (stone, sand, metal, wood, etc.) which are not desired to be included within the food. They affect the demand of consumers and cause health problems. Bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites are serious biologic dangers regarding food safety. Chemical dangers for food can be listed as natural toxic materials (mytotoxins and sea oriented toxins), environment oriented toxins (ex. Hg, Pb, Cadmium, dioxins) and chemicals naturally found in plants (ex. Glycoalkaloids in potato).
In order not to pollute the environment, it is quite important for food safety and environmental hygiene to control and send away the wastes and residues that occur during food production. To increase the production supply for the increasing population in the world, transgenic products are produced by means of modern biotechnology. Different from the other crops grown on nature, transgenic crops have genes which do not belong to their own varieties, raise significant doubts and create risks for animal and human health, for food safety, for biologic diversity and for environmental and socio-economic structure.
Since organic food is food that is grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides and insecticides, growth hormones or antibiotics and cannot be irradiated, contain genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). So the crop rotation is always done for yearly they grow at their fields, which preserve and nourish the soil, and promote biodiversity. The nutritional value of food is strongly correlated to the nutritional value of the soil.
Here are a few studies that talk about the nutritional advantages of organic food.
• A 2010 report by Washington State University said that organic strawberries have higher levels of antioxidants, last longer and taste better than conventionally-grown strawberries.
• A 2009 report by the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) says that organic food has greater levels of polyphenols in fruits and vegetables (protect against cancer), polyunsaturated fatty acids in meats and milk, and more nutrients in wholegrain cereals than traditional food.
• In 2007, the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry Research published findings from a ten-year study at the University of California-Davis which showed flavonoid levels increase over time in organically-grown crops. More specifically, the researchers found that organic tomatoes contain on average 79 and 97% more quercetin and kaempferol aglycones (beneficial flavonoids) than conventionally-grown tomatoes. Flavonoids are antioxidants found in plants, which can be very beneficial to the human body.
• As reported in the 2006 Journal of Dairy Science, a three-year study conducted by the Universities of Liverpool and Glascow found organic milk contained 68% more omega-3 fatty acids, on average, than conventional milk.
• A 2003 study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry reported that organically-grown marionberries had 50% more antioxidants than conventionally-grown berries and organically-grown strawberries had19% more antioxidants than conventionally-grown strawberries. The study also said that organic produce had higher levels of ascorbic acid, which the body converts to Vitamin C.
Organic farming reduces environmental pollution and the release of greenhouse gases from food production by severely restricting the use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Instead, organic farmers rely on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of crops.
In addition, no system of farming has higher animal welfare standards than farms working to Soil Association organic standards. Animals are reared without the routine use of drugs, antibiotics or wormers, animal feed is GM-free and poultry is always free-range. Organic standards also prohibit GM crops and ingredients, hydrogenated fats and controversial additives like aspartame, tartrazine and MSG.
That’s why organic food cost more than conventionally-grown food because major agribusinesses receive large subsidies from the government, particularly for corn-based products; most organic farmers do not have the economies scale to compete with large corporate conglomerates, and; organic food producers must go through go through a rigorous and time-consuming process to receive organic certification. Even though conventional food may cost less, it does not deliver the same amount of mineral nutrition. The cost may be lower but so is the nutritional value. As per no chemical is used in organic food to preserve artificial preservatives to extend its shelf life so it doesn’t last longer than the conventional grown food but these preservatives results in an inferior taste and care for the quality food and health of consumers.
Throughout this history, the focus of agricultural research and the majority of publicized scientific findings have been on chemical, not organic farming. This emphasis has continued to biotechnologies like genetic engineering. Earth Day, which is tomorrow, immediately brings to mind recycling, consuming less gasoline, driving a hybrid car or ways to conserve energy. Rarely, however, do people think about eating organic food as an essential component of saving our environment. Eating organic food is a statement that you care not only about yourself but also about the planet. is matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or the product of decay, which composed of organic compound. Organic farming is the process of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm. Organic farming uses fertilizers and pesticides but excludes or strictly limits the use of manufactured (synthetic) fertilizers, pesticides (which include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides), plant growth regulators such as hormones, livestock antibiotics, food additives, and genetically modified organisms. So organic farming in properly speaking is not one that uses certain methods and substances and avoids others but whose structure is formed in imitation of a natural system that has the integrity, the independence and the benign dependence of an organism. It is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people which 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.
