10 Organic Farming Trends That Can Make Your Life Better.....

[wifezilla]

Ya know, if organic farming, sustainable farming, polyculture, small farming and local eating is so unworkable, expensive and inefficient, why is Big Agra and Big Chemical working so hard to fight against it? Just something to ponder. Carry on...

 

[seedcorn]

Ya know, if organic farming, sustainable farming, polyculture, small farming and local eating is so unworkable, expensive and inefficient, why is Big Agra and Big Chemical working so hard to fight against it? Just something to ponder. Carry on...

They aren't. The laws are for ALL--or would you have organic exempt? USA Ag is sustainable & has been for over 100 years--we do adapt as better technology comes along. Interesting that organic leader says it's expensive and inefficient, yet you disagree. Ag publications print NOTHING negative about organic and print a few on areas where money can be made to support their family. Too bad that organic people can't promote their industry without scare tactics, lies, etc about USA ag. Small farmers can't generate enough income to live unless they can sell their products for a premium and even then they have to generate enough volume to support their family or work off of the farm. If you have to work off of the farm to support the farm, are you a full time farmer or hobbiest?

 

[wifezilla]

USA Ag is sustainable & has been for over 100 years

That was a good one.

How many more manure lagoons for CAFO beef do you think we have room for? How many more subsidies will big ag need for corn, dairy and soy?

Just google MANURE LAGOON and you will see where taxpayers are being stuck picking up the tab for CAFO operation.

Come on seedcorn. If organic growers are lying, they will go out of business as they should. When Big Agra lies, they just get more money from the taxpayers.

 

[seedcorn]

What subsidies has corn/soybean growers gotten in last 4 years? Article that started this thread was about ORGANIC farmers getting subsidies, not modern AG. With $5 corn, organic still needs to be subsidized?

If organic is cheaper, better production, why aren't they getting rich?

 

[wifezilla]

Corn subsidies
http://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=corn

Soy subsidies
http://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=soybean

Who got most of the money in 2009
http://farm.ewg.org/top_recips.php?fips=00000&progcode=total&yr=2009&regionname=theUnitedStates

Comparing organic growing methods to factory farming
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/july05/organic.farm.vs.other.ssl.html

Many successful CSAs in my town. They are growing and so are craft food markets.

As for the original article linked to in the post...
"Understanding the True Cost of Cheap Food: While it may be cheaper to buy meat and produce now than it was decades ago, it's clear we're paying for it in the long-run, mainly in medical and environmental costs. One example? Factory farms in this country produce animals often tainted with cancer-causing hormones, antibiotics, or even arsenic. (A recent Food and Drug Administration report finds that nearly 30 million pounds of antibiotics are given to factory farm animals annually; this may contribute to the skyrocketing rate of MRSA, a germ that resists antibiotic treatment.) Other hidden costs: Pollution from concentrated animal-feeding operations can taint groundwater and air quality for neighbors and workers. And it's not just conventional meat production that's making us sick. Carcinogenic, hormone-disrupting neurotoxic chemicals frequently used in nonorganic agriculture are actually taken up inside the food that we eat. In fact, a recent leaked Environmental Protection Agency memo is linking a particular chemical used in corn, potato, cherry, and watermelon production to colony collapse disorder in bees."

It was not about subsidies to organics. Quit lying.

 

[seedcorn]

Not to you. When you read subsidies to anything but your "pets" you become angry. When the organic movement gets it, you just glance over it. You took what you wanted as did I.

Again, I have no problem w/organic for anyone that wants to grow crops that way or buy crops grown that way. Do get tired of attacks on modern ag. If everyone is so successful, fine, do it and stop whining about those of us that don't do organic. Again, why does no one in organic movement do the math of the organic grain fed vs. what is grown?

When you look at WHERE subsidies went in last 4 years it was not to keep the price up but for federal crop insurance and other programs where farm ground was taken out of production for a variety of reasons. As long as corn is valued for more than $1.98/bushel there are no government money paid to farmers to support corn. In past farmers did receive federal money to support the corn price. That's only fair since the government did not allow ag to operate in a fair/free trade market. In fairness I was wrong since I didn't consider crop insurance, land rented by our government as Ag subsidies but it is under that umbrella.

 

[wifezilla]

I am for no subsidies for anyone just to clarify.