In 2022, organics accounted for 15 percent of fruits and vegetable sales in the United States, being more expensive than conventional produce, according to a report in the New York Times on whether organic produce is worth the higher prices. Produce in the US with USDA Organic stickers means it has been grown without the use of synthetic fertilisers, genetically modified organisms and most synthetic pesticides. Farmers may have also practiced organic farming techniques like crop rotation and planting cover crops to conserve moisture, prevent soil erosion, enrich the soil, encourage biodiversity and even control some pests.
Synthetic fertilisers use lots of energy, usually produced from fossil fuels. A significant quality of urea, for instance, is not absorbed by plants. The unabsorbed nitrogen evaporates, or leaks into the underground water. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas. So not using fertilisers should help the environment, but organic cultivation is less productive, so it needs more land to produce the same amount of food. The resulting land conversion and deforestation would harm the environment.
The report says in one study in Pennsylvania that’s been running for 43 years, organic yields have kept pace with conventional yields and have even been higher during extreme weather. But such yields are rarely achieved in farmers’ fields; more research in organic management could change that.
Soils that have organic crops are healthier and sequester more carbon, but just how much and for how long is debated.
Organic cultivation will make a difference to the earth if used to produce crops that people consume directly rather than feed animals or produce biofuels. In that case, more land will not need to be brought under agriculture.
But the real benefit would be to farmers and agricultural workers from lower exposure to pesticides. Organics would also improve biodiversity, soil health and water quality. They should be considered for their overall impact on the environment and human health, rather than measured only by yield and profits.
(Top photo of organic wheat being grown a a research institute in Modipuram, by Vivian Fernandes)