Brandon Liette

Dr. Stallard
ENG 3080J
20FEB2014
Organic Farming: Nurturing the Land that Feeds Us
Organic farming is one of the fastest growing sectors of U.S. agriculture, with
sustained growth of approximately 20% per year since 1990. U.S. sales of organic food
and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to an estimated $20 billion in 2007,
and are projected to reach nearly $23 billion in 2008. Organic food sales are anticipated
to increase an average of 18 percent each year from 2007 to 2010. Because of this
phenomenal market growth, the organic sector of the US agricultural and food industry is
garnering increasing interest from producers, consumers, policymakers and those
interested in farm, environmental and nutrition issues. In the book Fair Food,
Hesterman talks about several subjects including the use of chemicals such as pesticides
and organic pasturing of animals. These subjects allow Hesterman to persuade his
audience to support organic farming lifestyles.
A topic I found very interesting in Fair Food was about nurturing the land that
feeds us. Hesterman starts by pointing out that the food industry today does not believe
that we can feed the world without pesticides and plastics. He goes on to state, Or that
only through intensive agriculture, nurtured by high levels of synthetic fertilizers and
pesticides and pesticides and fueled by huge amounts of fossil fuel energy can we avoid a
future of mass starvation. (page 93) The author did a great job in persuading me by
clearly arguing with this argument, by providing his own examples and stories that show

just how this is justification for chemicals is not our only resource to feed the people of
the world.
The organic farming industry is a growing market today as more and more people
become aware of the commercial type farming. Direct market outlets include farmers
markets, community supported agriculture programs, and restaurants, but in 2006 sales
from these outlets accounted for 10% or less of total organic food sales; remaining sales
were almost equally distributed among natural food stores and mass-market retail stores.
Fresh produce remained the top-selling organic category, but sales of dairy products,
beverages, packaged and prepared foods, and breads and grains grew to 63 percent of
total organic sales in 2008, from 54 percent in 1997. Organic foods are now sold at nearly
80% of U.S. mass-market retailers including Wal-Mart, and 5075% of consumers
purchase organic products at least occasionally. Due to the commitment of these buyers,
the organic food sector now accounts for nearly 5% of total U.S. food sales.
The first topic that Hesterman talks about is, reducing the chemical load. The
environmental consequences of a food and agriculture system so dependent on
agrichemicals are severe, particularly because of the nutrient and pesticide loads ending
up in our water. (page 94) Many researchers argue that there are many businesses that
use chemicals, but are much less than the normal amount and these businesses are still
very successful. He exemplifies this by telling us about Fred Kirschenmann. He is a
longtime farmer who still cares about the nature and nurture that needs to be put into
the profession. His father always used ethic soil conservation, but when Fred took over
the business he decided that he was going to use organic methods and that meant using no
synthetic chemicals. Many other farmers doubted this and thought it could not be

successful, but by using a complex crop rotation scheme, Fred had turned the business
around in about 8 years creating something not only successful but started a trend as well.
By encouraging these practices even with the challenges that come with them they will
keep us moving forward and provide better sustainability.
The next topic that I found compelling was, putting cows back in pastures. One of
the problems discussed in the books is how expensive it is to feed to cattle. I thought it
was a common thing to feed cows grass because they would be around it all day and it is
obviously cheaper, but I was mistaken. I thought it was interesting that the farmer found
out that grass fed cows' milk was must tastier than cows milk who have been fed corn
and other feed. That is just too shocking to me that he had never known that until looking
into feeding them with grass. Letting them eat grass also gives them more exercise
because they have to walk around the pasture to find a good spot to graze. Compared to
the large scale equipment, fuel used, money, and pesticides used in feed, this seems like
an idea that should be put into effect. This works for not only the consumers drinking the
milk but for the environment as well.
An article written by Ethan Huff also provides the argument we do not
biotechnology to feed the world. But the truth of the matter is that organic farming by
itself is fully capable of feeding the world -- we just need to make a few changes to the
way we grow and raise our food, which includes putting an end to the factory farming
methods that are destroying our health and the planet. He even goes as far as to say that
factory farming contributes to poverty because genetic modified systems trap farmers
into using a cycle that makes them dependent on these chemicals and industries. This
may be a little extreme, however, if you think about it, the more factory farmers conform

to this GM system, the more dependent they are on the corporations and they fall into a
pattern for each season's demand that is hard to get out of. With the way poverty is
heading in the United States and other countries, it might be a good idea to start
rethinking the process of farming and get on board with getting rid of the chemicals and
GM system. I believe that these methods can be sustainable.
Hesterman obviously believes that taking risks to build better ways of farming is
something more farmers and companies need to take. He calls it an ecological integrity
(page 109) and I believe that he might be right about it. The more we encourage and
support this change, the faster we can move forward in making a change with our food
and what we are putting into our bodies. If it is healthier and tastier than I do not
understand why more are not getting on board with the idea. There may be some tough
challenges to overcome, but I refuse to believe that the costs outweigh the benefits to the
consumers or the farmers producing the food. The hard work and determination that these
farmers have shown in this book proves that it can be done and bring us to a better future.