Organic farming! It’s becoming more and more familiar and popularized these days. Every time you’re at the grocery store, you see two different types of veggie options: organic or nonorganic.
What Makes Organic, Organic?
Organic farming’s aim is to be environmentally sustainable. To do this, organic farmers utilize methods of pest control and soil fertilizers that are ecologically derived rather than using chemical or synthetically derived fertilizers and pesticides that traditional farming uses to accomplish the same goal.
What Are Ecologically Derived Pesticides and Fertilizers?
生态农药和化肥主要来自利用动植物粪便以及固氮覆盖作物的堆肥做法。生态杀虫剂也可以从具有天然驱虫特性的植物中提取，如楝树或桉树。
Related Post:Introduction To Integrated Pest Management
既然我们对有机农业实践有了更好的了解，让我们进入它的历史。
How Did Organic Farming Originate?
Organic farming, before synthetic and chemical compounds were invented and used in agricultural practices, was the only method of farming. However, with the invention of these unnaturally occurring pesticides and fertilizers, organic farming became less and less common. The new farming method had clear advantages controlling pests and fertilizing soil, and environmental degradation due to these practices was little known.
有人可能会说有机农业一直存在。它只是被遗忘或遗忘了。直到奥地利哲学家鲁道夫·施泰纳(Rudolf Steiner)开始宣扬自然和环境友好型农业的好处时，情况才有所改变。
Wait, Who’s Rudolf Steiner?
Rudolf Steiner is almost more of a concept than a person at this point. People have devoted years of their lives to studying him with some believing him to be clairvoyant (having supernatural abilities to perceive the future and present beyond normal sensory contact). The study of Steiner is extremely esoteric. It’s intended for — and likely to only be understood — by a small group of individuals with a specialized knowledge and interest.
Steiner invented many unique and interesting concepts that we won’t be covering here, but for in depth and easily understandable information, check out thispostI wrote that covers more on him.
In 1924, after a small group of farmers sought advice from Steiner, he coined biodynamic farming and began advocating for ecologically sustainable agriculture, which omits the use of chemical or synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. This quickly spread around the globe and gave rise to the organic farming movement.
So, What Are Some of the Primary Differences Between Organic Farming and Conventional Farming?
Aside from what we’ve already covered with organic farming omitting the use of chemical or synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, compare the two and you’ll find these factors present:
- Organic farmers reduce soil erosion.
- 有机农民在耕作前和耕作后都将更多的养分循环到土壤中。
- 有机农民通常有更多的多样性，同伴种植，和野生动物栖息地(作为自然防御害虫攻击)。
- Organic farmers’ produce typically costs more to counterbalance higher farming costs, slower growth rates, higher rates of pest damage and crop loss, and therefore, smaller crop yields.
Because conventional farmers have the advantage of powerful chemical or synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, they don’t have the high rates of pest damage and crop loss.
In fact, this is what helps create “superbugs” — insects and bugs that are extremely resistant to pesticides. With every new generation, genetic mutations occur that allow them to become more immune to pesticides. To compensate for more resistant pests, pesticides must become stronger and stronger, and therefore, more ecologically destructive.
由于传统农学家使用强大的杀虫剂，他们通常有大面积的单一作物(只有一种作物)。通常，这种作物只有一个品种，很少提供有益的昆虫、野生动物或土壤和任何养分，这些养分可能会被回收到土壤中。
Organic farmers, in contrast, poly crop their fields. This creates natural barriers to fend off pest attacks. It also allows beneficial insects and bugs (ones that consume non-beneficial pests) to flourish. Poly cropping is more beneficial to the soil, as it doesn’t rob the soil of specific nutrients that one species of crop may need to grow. Monocropping promotes that because chemical or synthetic fertilizers are often used alongside the harsh pesticides in traditional farming to compensate.
Besides Poly Cropping, Organic Farmers Utilize Companion Planting, but What Is That?
To help explain, I’m gonna use a classic example of companion planting — the “three sisters” originating from the Iroquois.
一般来说，这三姐妹是玉米、豆类和南瓜的品种。种植在一起，玉米种子自然比其他两种种子吸水更快。玉米深深扎根在土壤中，当玉米茎秆第一个从土壤中冒出来，然后迅速向上生长时，就形成了稳定性。
The bean will emerge next, usually showing its leaves by the time the corn is already 6 inches tall. Squash and pumpkins take more time, sometimes poking their leaves through the soil after a few weeks of patient anticipation.
在生命的最初阶段，豆类专注于叶子的生长，而玉米则专注于茎的生长和强度。等到豆子开始伸出攀缘的卷须时，玉米已经长到几英尺高了——这要感谢玉米长得比其他两姐妹快。玉米就像豆子攀爬的完美梯子。如果玉米长得慢一点，豆子就会把它掐死。
Around this time, the squash has begun emerging and is slowly spreading out laterally, covering the soil around the base of the beans and corn with wide, scabrous leaves. The squash leaves create a shady blanket, helping to provide shade and hold moisture closer to the ground for itself and the other two sisters. It simultaneously helps suppress other plant species from growing there.
The three work in perfect union with one another, the corn providing a ladder for the beans, the squash providing shade, moisture, and decreased competition from other plants, and the beans providing vital nitrogen to them all (the legume family being nitrogen-fixers).
And thus, companion planting!
For a more in depth explanation on the three sisters, please refer to Robin Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweet Grass, and more specifically the chapter on The Three Sisters which can belocated here.
Many large farms prefer not to utilize companion planting in this sense though, with consideration to harvest becoming less systematic and more complicated. There are pros and cons to everything.
What’s Wrong With Chemically or Synthetically Derived Pesticides and Fertilizers?
Pesticide runoff always occurs either below the soil, damaging the very fiber of what makes up the unique network of life occurring under our shoes, or downhill into our streams and rivers creating a domino effect of ecological disaster.
农药径流杀死了土壤内以及下坡/下游的昆虫和害虫。受污染的不仅仅是昆虫，它还污染了水源，伤害了一个由鱼类、爬行动物、两栖动物、鸟类和哺乳动物组成的复杂生态系统。
So, pesticides poison the ecosystem while the fertilizers do quite the opposite, they promote unnatural blooms of plant species (Yes! Fertilizer runoff likewise happens).
Certain plants will thrive, depending on the fertilizer, while others will suffer as the thriving plants out-compete them, and the ecosystem becomes unbalanced.
通常情况下，藻类大量繁殖是由于肥料流失造成的。藻类爆发可能是有益的，但当不自然地加速，并由于肥料吸收而获得不公平的优势时，它会窒息其自然环境，从水中吸收大量氧气，使一个对野生动物有利的环境突然变得不利和不适宜。它会导致这些物种的灭绝，就像农药流失一样。这是一个持续的负反馈循环。
The ecological poisoning ensured with conventional farming using harsh pesticides and fertilizers isn’t the only negative side effect of this practice. It also makes it more difficult for organic farmers to do their work. Why?
To explain, I’ll give an example from an organic farm I worked on called Paradise Farms.
Paradise Farms did everything I listed above to be considered organic, and jumped through the many hoops and financial burdens of obtaining an organic certification (yet another thing making it difficult for organic farmers). Organic farmers are generally lower down on the financial scale because of previously covered reasons — the costs of obtaining an organic certification are ridiculous.
天堂农场周围都是其他农场，没有一个是有机农场。这意味着，周围农场通过生态战阻止害虫进入作物的所有害虫，都来到了我们的农场。我们以生态为基础的农药，虽然仍然是一种有效的威慑，但与它们已经适应的刺激性化学物质相比，简直就是天堂。这样做的负面后果是显而易见的。
Why do it? Why organic farm?
Organic farming stems from a love for the environment and the natural world. Organic farmers’ ultimate mission emphasizes the use of our renewable resources in order to conserve our soils and waters for the bettered future of humanity and our entire world. Regardless of the challenges organic farmers face due to these practices, and the domino effect conventional farming operations have on organic farming, it’s worth it to know they’re simultaneously protecting the environment and providing for people.
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