There’s numerous benefits to organic farming. Natural farming includes cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock in a more traditional way. People who practice pesticide-free farming avoid the use of petrochemicals in their mulch and insecticides. But there’s more to it than that ...
The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements says that "organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems, and people." The key features of organic farming are:
- protecting fertilizer quality using natural materials
- the usage of microorganisms
- weed and insect control
- rearing of livestock
- caring for the environment
There are four rules of organic farming that you need to know:
- Principle of health, meaning that it provides pollution and chemical-free foods for us humans.
- Principle of fairness, as it helps us reduce poverty.
- Principle of balance, as pesticide-free crops must be eco-friendly and not negatively impact the natural balance.
- Principal of care, as it should benefit the present and future generations of the environment.
Organic gardening doesn't depend on chemicals. Modern gardening is unsustainable. Here’s some of the reasons why:
- The nitrates run off during rain fall
- Dirt gets destroyed due to ploughing and over-farming
- The usage of poisonous bio-cide sprays
- Harm to animals and insects
Some of the benefits of eating organic foods are that you get better nutrients from the food, the food is free of chemicals, the taste of the food is enhanced, and natural foods last longer on your shelves without preservatives.
If you want to start your own organic garden so you can eat healthier, you should follow a few basic steps:
- Prepare the soil
- Make good compost
- Prepare your garden
- Choose the right plants
- Plant the crops in beds
- Water the crops
- Weeding
- Provide nutrients to your crops
- Use of organic fertilizer
- Take care of your garden
Hopefully by now you can see that there’s a lot of benefits to organic farming. You and your family don’t end up eating insecticides that they spray the non-organic produce with. Organic farming helps conserve our environment because you’re not using chemicals that seep into the water and are spread through the air. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Organic food itself simply tastes better. Eating organically saves you money in the long term, because you’ll have less health problems down the road.
So when you visit your local grocery store look around at some of the foods you can choose from. Choose organic as often as possible. Here’s a great list of the “dirty dozen” foods you should always buy organic: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php. Similarly, here’s the “clean fifteen” foods that are often less risky to buy non-organic: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean_fifteen_list.php
Author
Kane Miller from YardYum
Kane has a background in engineering, but now focuses on environmental sustainability. He grew up on a 12-acre hobby farm and was fortunate to have been introduced to organic gardening at a young age.