Adrian Martinez

Organic and Local Methods of Farming vs. Industrialized Farming

Organic and Local movements have become very active in the past several years. Recent
studies show that products of local farming methods are economically efficient, environmentally
friendlier, and healthfully safer than industrialized farming products; we must change to a diet
containing local food.
The standard way of thinking about economics in agriculture is that bigger is better.
However, this is untrue because local farming techniques are much more productive with their
land than industrial farms. Steven Hopp, an environmental studies professor at Emory and Henry
College, points out that, According to USDA records from the 1990s, farms less than four acres
in size had an average net income of $1,400 per acre. The per-acre profit declines steadily as
farm size grows, to less than $40 an acre for farms above a thousand acres (Hopp 2007). Since
industrialized farms use much more land than family farms, the industrialized farms net income
has a great disproportion of diminishing returns. Family farms are able to sell their products for a
higher price because these farmers have a diverse set of crops, use more of their land for
farming, and are more likely to sell them directly to consumers. Some may say that the USDA
records were from the 1990s and that its not always the case. The truth is that many family
farms are still reported to be going out of business. However, part of that is because in year 1990
the method to determine a farm organic or not has become more rigorous. The rigidness was
implemented by the USDA because lobbyists that worked for factory farms persuaded
congressmen in order to harm the little guys. Even though many family farms used organic
methods, labeling the products organic became more expensive such that net income per-acre
decreased.
Some may say that factory farms still have higher yields and can sell more of their
product making the economy efficient (Rule 32). That may be the case since factory farms were
made to mass produce one product in order to sell it cheaply. Factory farms sell their product to
grocery stores in an appealing way often saying something like buying 10 gallon of milk will
cost $25 whereas buying 50 gallons of milk will cost $100. This method nearly guarantees that
their product is sold so that it is no longer the industrialized farms problem to sell, but the
grocery stores problem. This leads to the conversation about surplus of food and food being
thrown away. Dana Gunders, an author for the Natural Resources Defense Council, has reported
that America is losing 40% of its food to the landfill (Gunders 1). This is an astonishing amount
of food wasted because of overproduction and undervaluing food. This waste harms the economy
in the long-run because overproduction will cause exhaustion of the soil making it unusable
(resource depletion). Organic farming combats this problem since the methods sustain the soil by
using crop rotations (Carlson 2017). Also, since local and organic foods are usually more
expensive than industrialized food, it is more likely for someone to value the food and not throw
it away(Rule 7).
 However, some factory farms use chemicals or tillage to improve soil conditions. This
method improves soil condition, but the soil is still losing bacteria and nutrients that helps
prevent soil erosion. This still harms the resource in the long run and it damages the
environment. J. Schieffer and C. Dillon, professors in the University of Kentucky, found that
precision agriculture (site specific crop management) has lead to a larger carbon footprint
(Schieffer & Dillon 2015). This means that precision agriculture is impacting the climate
negatively. With local farming methods, however, crop rotations reduce soil erosion and have a
positive impact on the environment. Dan Barber, a renowned chef, discovered that, The beans
gave the soil nitrogen, and the barley was there to build soil structure, the mustard plants helped
cleanse the soil of pathogens and diseases. All of this was to prepare the soil, to create the best
possible conditions for that great, amazingly flavored emmer wheat (Fassler). The wheat tasted
great due to the crops before it since the ecology of farming is connected with the history of the
soil. Crop rotation methods used by local farms improve the soil conditions in a cleaner way than
industrialized methods. Still, some may say that these methods cause crops to be removed from
the grocery store because they are no longer in season. Industrialized methods raise crops so that
tomatoes, for instance, are provided in grocery stores all year.
Many people know that industrialized farms sell cheaper products compared to local
farms. The price tag for industrialized products certainly are lower, but many people dont
realize why its lower. Hopp claims that at least $80 billion dollars, $725 dollars per household,
are used to subsidize industrial food companies every year in order to grow, process, and ship
these products, (Hopp 2007). This means that American taxpayers are roughly spending an extra
$725 dollars on food that looks cheaper. By buying locally grown food, many of the subsidies
will decrease in the long run because factory farms use $80billion dollars to decelerate
environmentally and healthfully harmful consequences that would not happen if local farming
methods were used. Yet, some Americans will still say that they cannot afford to buy local foods
(Rule 11). Its understandable to empathize with those in poverty, although, this is all the more
reason to support local farming methods as it can become cheaper and still maintain healthy
nutrients.
The history of agriculture has unquestionably been remarkable from the start of irrigation
to processing a cow in less than two weeks. This generation has never had as much knowledge of
food as previous ones. Industrialized methods are harmfull to the economy and it will continue to
harm the economy if nothing is done about it.

Works Cited
Hopp, Steven. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, 2007.

Gunders, Dana. Wasted: how america is losing up to 40 percent of its food from farm to

fork to landfill. National Resource Defense Council, 2012, 1-26.

Carlson, Kristine. The benefits of eating locally grown foods. The Whole U: University

of Washington, 1 May 2016, https://www.washington.edu/wholeu/2016/04/29/the-

benefits-of-eating-locally-grown-foods/

Schieffer, J & Dillon, C. The Economic and Environmental Impacts of Precision

Agriculture and Interactions with Agro-Environmental Policy. Precision agriculture,

Volume 16, issue 1, Springer Science & Business Media, February 2015, 46-61.