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Organic agriculture is in many ways a menace to the environment, pesticides are filtered not on environmental or health concerns but based on a natural/artifici

by afiori 7y ago

Organic agriculture is in many ways a menace to the environment, pesticides are filtered not on environmental or health concerns but based on a natural/artificial scale. In practice worse pesticides and fertilizer imply that huge quantities are used still yielding less per square meter.

NeedMoreTea 7y ago
Except the EU, and even more restrictive UK organic standard restricts both amount, number of applications, and requires an audit trail of why it was applied, so no it doesn't imply huge quantities. No idea if USDA permits unlimited use...
- fact_factory 7y ago
  >No idea if USDA permits unlimited use... They do not, in fact it is a last resort. [0]https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=94361624bc8858349d7eae45799f2375&mc=true&node=se7.3.205_1206&rgn=div8 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=94361624bc8858349d...
fact_factory 7y ago
In practice, organic farms are required to use pesticides as a last resort, whereas conventional farms use as much pesticide as they feel is necessary routinely. Furthermore, pesticides that are approved for organic use are non-selective, meaning that they must be applied carefully or they will damage the crop. Modern conventional agriculture is dominated by selective herbicides that are used in volume, because the crops are resistant to their effects. This means that the amount of pesticide used by a conventional farming operation dwarfs that of an organic farm.
- chicob 7y ago
  So do farmers engaged in Integrated Farming: only as a last resort, and if the economical threshold has been reached. The difference is that there are no restrictions regarding the use of 1) synthetic pesticides 2) man-made fertilizers, 3) GMOs and 4) antibiotics. So Integrated Farming is just like Organic Farming, but without the bullshit.
  - fact_factory 7y ago
    Not everyone wants synthetic pesticides or GMOs in their food.

by afiori 7y ago

NeedMoreTea 7y ago

Except the EU, and even more restrictive UK organic standard restricts both amount, number of applications, and requires an audit trail of why it was applied, so no it doesn't imply huge quantities. No idea if USDA permits unlimited use...

fact_factory 7y ago
>No idea if USDA permits unlimited use... They do not, in fact it is a last resort. [0]https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=94361624bc8858349d7eae45799f2375&mc=true&node=se7.3.205_1206&rgn=div8 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=94361624bc8858349d...

fact_factory 7y ago

In practice, organic farms are required to use pesticides as a last resort, whereas conventional farms use as much pesticide as they feel is necessary routinely. Furthermore, pesticides that are approved for organic use are non-selective, meaning that they must be applied carefully or they will damage the crop. Modern conventional agriculture is dominated by selective herbicides that are used in volume, because the crops are resistant to their effects. This means that the amount of pesticide used by a conventional farming operation dwarfs that of an organic farm.

chicob 7y ago
So do farmers engaged in Integrated Farming: only as a last resort, and if the economical threshold has been reached. The difference is that there are no restrictions regarding the use of 1) synthetic pesticides 2) man-made fertilizers, 3) GMOs and 4) antibiotics. So Integrated Farming is just like Organic Farming, but without the bullshit.
- fact_factory 7y ago
  Not everyone wants synthetic pesticides or GMOs in their food.