The high yield of organic farms

Traditionally, environmental policies have been promoted by ethical arguments. Environmentalists have long tried to persuade others to adopt green alternatives by appealing to people’s higher natures. Some people are convinced by this approach, but others say that while environmentally friendly practices are nice, they are not economically feasible.

The problem of practicality has long kept many farmers from going organic. Conventional farmers who use pesticides and herbicides have claimed that organic farms are plagued by lower yields than can be gained through the use of synthetic sprays.

A scientific study published in July suggests that the conventional wisdom about organic farming is all wrong. The study compared conventional farming practices with two different kinds of organic farming methods, one using manures and another one utilizing crop rotation to improve the soil.

The results were striking. Although the conventional farming practices outperformed both organic methods in the first few years of the study, conventional methods and organic methods offered comparable yields afterwards. In dry years, organic methods actually outperformed conventional methods.

The economic implications are clear: Organic farming can bring farmers greater profits than conventional farming.

Although organic yields and conventional farming yields are equal most years, the costs of conventional farming are usually higher. Furthermore, organically grown crops fetch a much higher price than conventionally grown crops do.

The upshot is this: As is the case with most environmentally-friendly practices, organic farming is not just the nice thing to do – it’s the smart thing to do too. For the farmer, organic methods are the most beneficial.

Yet, many people continue to resist organic farming. Why? For many people, especially Republicans, it’s a culture war thing. Because a return to organic farming method has been most often promoted by liberals, a lot of conservatives just can’t bring themselves to accept the idea. It’s as if they believe that organic farming is somehow morally wrong, like stealing, or murder. So, they continue in their old industrial ways of growing and distributing food, even though those ways have been proven to be more harmful to the community at large, as well as less efficient.

Throwing around the word “liberal” as if it’s an insult isn’t just a bigoted, arrogant approach to life. The Republican culture war directly results in damage to our food and to our economy. It’s time for the culture warriors to grow up, call off the fight, and do what’s right for America – even when a liberal comes up with a good idea.