Sustainable agriculture Essay Example for Free

Sustainable agriculture EssayFrom her educational text, Jenny Ridgwell states, umpteen supermarkets stock a say of natural aliments these are normally more(prenominal) than expensive than other foods, since it is more difficult to match the volume of perfect fruits and ve set outables that are produced by intensive horticulture. positive foods are giving using traditional methods of faming without artificial fertilisers, pesticides or intensive growing systems. People who eat constitutional food believe that it tastes better and that it is better for the environment. (Examining food and nutrition. )Having sourced this bidding, I hurl studied its content and found it to be a very good definition of thorough foods, showing the main features of organic food and pluralitys perceptions of organic products. Secondly according to a publisher article from 2001, about the cost of waiver organic at least 80 per cent of a cows feed would father had to be organically gro wn. Veterinary drugs would have been allowed if animals fell ill, but on that point would have been a forbiddance on routine use of antibiotics to prevent infections (Times Newspapers Ltd 2001) .This article reference shows the implications placed on farmers dealing in organic produce, yet it gives us an idea about the health related aspects of organic foods, such as them blocking no artificial substances, as an end product and during the production process. In consideration of my standstills I have chosen to interview two plurality from my immediate family, who have separate roles within the home. My first viewpoint was from my mother, who is the main breadwinner of the family and sources the food for most meals, yet she responded negatively in the session.In her statement she mentioned, I do not buy organic produce as the price is much more expensive compared to quantity produce of which you receive a bang-uper quantity for the price with little quality compromised. On the other hand my second interviewee was my father, a previous agriculturist. He replied positively to the interview remarking that, I would buy organic food just for the taste alone, but knowing the health benefits and what hard work is involved it is scarcely a privilege to accumulate great food and give the tradition a well merit boost.From my discussions with the interviewees it has become apparent that they know the nature of organic food, the advantages and the disadvantages. To summarise, it is clear that organic food is not jacket crown of their priorities yet it is still considered and acknowledged in the day to day running of a household. Many people say organic food is better than non-organic foods, in many cases, they are healthier because with processed foods there usher out be hidden fats, salt and sugar that can go in during the processing.Food certifiable as organic is not allowed to contain genetically modified ingredients. news. bbc. co. uk (Accessed 02/10/12). A four family European Union funded study found that with regards to organic food compared to regular food There are 40% more antioxidants in organic food, milk that is taken from organic herds contains 90% more antioxidants, and there are higher levels of beneficial minerals. www. dosomething. org (Accessed 27/09/12). These findings clarify that my second interviewees opinion is wide gap on behalf of health issues throughout our consumers of organic produce.While many people insist organic foods contain more health benefits, according to university studies, overall, there was no discernible difference between the nutritional content, although the organic food was 30% less likely to contain pesticides. www. bbc. co. uk (Accessed 19/09/12). This information emphasizes my mothers statement about little quality compromised this also highlights her point that we pay more for less, in more aspects than one, possibly maybe even including our vitamins and minerals. There are many unkno wn benefits of organic food that provides a great advantage over non-organic produce.Many of these advantages are in connection with health, especially children and foetuses who are most unguarded to pesticide exposure cod to their less-developed immune systems and because their bodies and brains are still developing. Exposure at an early age can cause developmental delays, behavioural disorders, and motor dysfunction. www. helpguide. org (Accessed 27/09/12) As well as organic food differing from non-organic foods in nutrition they also differ in price, the reason for organic produce being more expensive to buy is that agrochemicals are designed to make food cheaper to produce.Agrochemicals were not developed with nutrition, taste or the ecology in mind. The chemical designers remit was to make mass production of food cheaper. So what we get is a cheap but inferior product. www. organicfoodee. com (Accessed 02/10/12) Much of this extra cost is due to the products incumbent for produce to be classified as organic. A statement from Humphrey feeds revealed organic wheat is costing us currently about 245 pound a tonne, whereas conventional wheat, most of what we had bought is about 120 pound a tonne, showing the costs implicated on organic producers.(Food Programme, BBC Radio 4, 12th Oct 2008) In my opinion organic foods are of a much better quality, taste and are mainly less harming to the environment, this is severely reflected in their price and in many cases has extreme effects on food choices. Organic farming has continuously tried to anticipate the challenges farmers are now facing, such as payments, and now the Nitrate and Phosphate Regulations. Organic farming has a less intensive nature and integrated approach, so organic producers have generally been able to meet these challenges without too much difficulty. www. dardni. gov.uk (Accessed 02/10/12).This statement from the Department of Agriculture makes reference to the differences in farming tech niques and the problems faced by non-organic producers, but to a certain extent organic farming goes fundament to nature, for example, farmers use crop rotation to fertilise the soil increasing stores of carbon in the soil, eventually we could starting line at least 23% of agricultures greenhouse emissions. www. soilassociation. org (Accessed 19/09/12). This refers to mainly non-organic producers however organic producers face respectable stipulation over what they can and cant do.In particular the Department of Agriculture connote a regulation in which the period of slurry spreading is suited to the weather. An article from a farming newspaper last week read The closed period is due to come into operation on October 15, after(prenominal) which farmers caught spreading slurry would normally face prosecution. (Farm Week, September 27th, 2012). This has a greater impact on organic producers due to their lack of permitted resources, implicating that they can only fertilise soil a t particular times throughout the family compared to non-organic producers, nonetheless in my opinion this has great consideration for the environment.In regards to helping the environment organic farming practices use 30% less energy, less water, and obviously no pesticides, hence reduces groundwater pollution. www. thechicecologist. com (Accessed 02/10/12) In conclusion, I have found my research on organic food to be practical and obtained from a range of different sources to give adequate reasons for purchasing and consuming organic produce.