Organic Farming and Agribusiness

Organic farming (also known as biological farming) is a process of growing foods without the use of chemical additives, genetically modified seeds, hormones, or antibiotics. Organic farmers rely instead on a variety of low-impact techniques that include crop rotation, the application of chemical-free manure and compost to feed their soils, and integrated pest management—the use of plant diversity and naturally occurring bacteria to ward off insect problems. Currently, more than 31 such techniques have been found to reduce erosion and topsoil blow-off and decrease the presence of chemicals in groundwater systems.

The rise of modern organic farming practices is rooted firmly in the industrialization and mechanization of the last century. With the dawn of the 20th century, many countries were well on their way to becoming both more urban and more efficient in their large-scale transportation. As a result, small general stores were increasingly replaced with larger supermarkets capable of stocking fresher produce and meats from an ever-widening distribution grid. In urban areas, foods such as bananas, nuts, and seafood—once considered a great luxury for many people—became readily available at an affordable price. To meet these global demands, farmers began to search for the most efficient way to increase production and profits. For many, the solution came by way of rapidly expanding corporate farming practices in which sustainable family farms were replaced by large commercial businesses maintaining thousands of pigs, cows, or acres of crop. Farms began to practice monoculture, or growing one type of food exclusively. Because monoculture more quickly degrades soil fertility and compromises yield, the agriculture industry responded by increasing the use of fertilizers and genetically modified seeds to maintain high yields.

What resulted from this global transition was an entire industry devoted to the globalization of the food marketplace. The industry known as agribusiness promotes the use of technologies and additives to boost farm productivity and it integrates all enterprises relating to the mainstream production of food. Agribusiness focuses on economic competitiveness, the industrialization of agriculture, and the push for a more global food marketplace. Coupled with state and national subsidies, agribusiness ensures that farms can be large, focused in scope, and able to keep the price of food very low. Social scientists refer to this system of food production as the global food system. It is distinguished by trends such as the use of chemical additives, specialized production, and altering the genetic makeup of food so that it can be transported over large distances and maintain a long shelf life once at market. In this system, corporations market a wide variety of products ranging from hybrid seeds to pesticides to specially adapted machinery intended to raise farm yields. Proponents point to the efficiency of this system and its ability to bring the widest possible range of products to market.

Detractors of agribusiness say there is a much larger cost for food produced by these methods. In the 1960s, a growing number of consumers began to clamor for organic and cruelty-free food. Similarly, a small—but steadily increasing—group of farmers spoke out about the degradation of both their family businesses and the world's soil as a result of agribusiness. These farmers began to develop sustainable means of diversifying crops and developing more ecologically friendly means of producing foods. Although this initiative began largely as a grassroots initiative in progressive areas such as the U.S. Northwest and portions of Western Europe, the movement gained quickly in popularity until it became a movement onto itself. By 1972, the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements had been established by Roland Cevriot, then president of the French farmer's association Nature et Progrès. Events such as the Chernobyl accident, the outbreak of Mad Cow disease, and concern over possible pandemics such as bird flu further intensified the public's desire for locally and organically produced food.

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