Conventional Agriculture

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Recommended: Literature review of comparative benefits of conventional and organic farming

Even though organic agriculture is seen to be safer and healthier for people and the environment, conventional agriculture is more efficient than organic because fertilizers and pesticides reduce the risk of crops failing, however, they may also be detrimental to the nutritional value of the crop. On the other hand, producing organic goods is said to be more expensive and requires more land to produce the same amount of crop yield. With the world’s ever expanding population, rates of starvation are increasing and it is crucial that we understand the consequences of trying to feed the world potentially healthier food rather than just feeding it in general.
Introduction
Since the development of agriculture some 12,000 years ago the world has greatly expanded its knowledge of techniques and methods to producing the highest amount of crop yield with the least amount of effort. This endless quest for greater agricultural yields is brought on by a necessity to feed the ever growing human population. A population that has boomed from nearly 5 million people 10,000 years ago to 7 billion people today and by 2050 could reach an estimated 10 billion (Badgley et al. 2006). However, arguments are being made as to which form of agriculture, conventional vs. organic, is more beneficial and economically sound to sustain a constant healthy food supply to feed the worlds people.
Conventional agriculture is the mainstream method utilized by most serious farmers these days to produce high crop yields. It requires the use of pesticides and herbicides to protect the crop from failure and increases the likelihood of survivability to harvest time. Farmers also use nitrogen. More nitrogen than the plants could obtain from the atmosphere itself. It is ...

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... organically grown produce yet there is no conclusive evidence that conventionally grown items utilizing fertilizers and pesticides is harmful to consumers. However, it is found that growing conventionally is more harmful to the environment but trying to grow mainly organically requires the use of more land, resulting in a stalemate between the two methods since it requires about the same amount of expenses for both. Those growing organically are reaping the benefits of a misunderstood subject driven by fear and social media projections of a better, healthier lifestyle. On the other hand if one were truly organic it would mean that if they got sick and needed medicinal help they wouldn’t accept it either but rather let nature take its course. It might sound a bit absurd but so is the increased hype over organic farming without substantial evidence of the benefits.

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