we looked at the key principles of organic farming - the use of

more natural alternatives instead of chemical fertilizers,

herbicides, and pesticides or feed additives for livestock. This
all sounds great, but there is more to the story. Organic
farming isn’t all good.
The yields are lower because more produce is damaged by
pests. With an ever-growing world population, we have
limited land to feed everyone from. Where would this surplus
land come from - cutting down our remaining forests and
rainforests? This would be far worse for the environment both
in terms of climate change and biodiversity.
//A study in the UK found that a litre of organic milk requires
80% more land than conventional milk to produce. That’s a
lot more land and makes you wonder whether organic foods
are a luxury the world just cannot afford to provide. //
Interestingly, it has been found that some organic farming
methods require more water than non-organic alternatives; a
huge problem as droughts become more regular and water
scarcer.
Organic is not necessarily better for the environment either.
Organic dairy farms do produce more methane per cow than
conventional farms because of the diet of the cattle: organic
cows burp twice as much as conventional cows!! As methane
is a greenhouse gas, this does not bode well for global
warming. You also need to consider the air miles of your
produce…
It is a big misconception that organic farms do not use any
pesticides; some of the regular pesticide chemicals are not
used in organic farms. As fewer chemicals are used, like
Neem coated urea.
The principles of organic farming are very good for the
environment but in reality, yields matter.