It’s not all sunshine and rainbows in the organic farming industry. There are also negative aspects to the industry: Here is a list of the top pros and cons of organic farming: 

PROS 

1 Better nutrition — foods raised through organic farming have a higher nutritional content and generally taste better than foods raised by conventional means. 

2 Healthier work environments — Without the prevalence of chemical fertilizers and weed and pest control products, organic farming creates a non-toxic working environment that helps reduce health problems, such as headaches and respiratory conditions. 

3 Soil protection — organic farming makes the soil more fertile, protecting it from being stripped of its healthy components by pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.  

4 Chemical-free agents — naturally-occurring fertilizers made from green manure, cover crops, and compost, along with growing companion crops that repel insects, results in crops with more nutrients and a higher resistance to pests and diseases. 

5 No genetically modified organisms (GMOs) — organic farming saves costs by reducing the risk of crop mutations.

CONS

1 Higher costs — investments to have the soil meet the organic certification criteria are higher than with traditional farming methods. 

2 More work — more physical labor is required to plant & maintain crops and raise animals, along with controlling weeds and insects.  

3 Certification process — becoming an officially certified organic farm is complex, filled with paperwork and regulations that are often difficult to achieve and maintain. 

4 Organic additives — while the fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides are safer and not chemically created, they need to be added more frequently, with higher labor costs. 

5 Risk — a knowledge of chemistry and ecology, along with a lack of government subsidies, make organic farming more unpredictable than conventional farming.  

According to a Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems (SAFS) project at University of California-Davis, a 12-year experiment showed that the organic system had a 50% higher water infiltration rate, was more efficient in storing nitrogen, and had less nitrate, chloride, and atrazine in water run off than conventional farms. 

No matter the day-to-day pros and cons of organic farming, it’s undeniably better for the future of our planet. First, it takes much less energy (30-50% less) to maintain an organic farm. According to one British study, organic crops and organic dairying use 35% and 74% less energy respectively than their conventionally-grown counterparts.  

And what we’re all most concerned about--organic farming has the potential to not only reduce carbon dioxide, but also slow down the climate change process by releasing 40% fewer carbon emissions.