...E-I-E-I-O and on his farm he had a- oh wait! This is biology, not vocals!
Do you know what organic farming is? It’s okay if you don’t, because after reading all of THIS, you will have a general idea of what it is and how it benefits biodiversity.
Organic farming utilizes natural methods to raise crops to maintain the quality of the soil and the surrounding environment. Farmers use birds and other insects to eliminate the pests by consuming them; therefore avoiding the use of pesticides. When there are weeds that need to be pulled out, farmers usually hand-pick and plough them instead of pouring dangerous chemicals into the field to destroy the weeds. When it comes to farm animals, they are left in the open, allowing them to breathe fresh air and are fed with organic food to maintain a proper healthy diet and to prevent diseases. Lastly, farmers try to increase the amount of organic matter in the soil when they fertilize the plants. Those organic matters include animal dung and urine, and adding decomposed plants into the soil. All of these methods used when farming are renewable and very eco-friendly.
Have you ever thought about the difference between organic and conventional farming? Well, conventional farming uses non-renewable and harmful methods that can affect us and biodiversity. When it comes to getting rid of pests and weeds, farmers use pesticides such as insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides and that can be harmful to the environment in long term usage. The farm animals are kept indoors and live in extremely crowded and foul conditions and that causes the animals to get sick. When animals are sick, farmers feed them anti-biotics for a long period of time and that can weaken the animal’s physical strength and it is bad if humans consume the animals along with the anti-biotics. Last but not least, conventional farming uses chemicals to fertilize their crops and heavy machinery run over the tilth which decreases the amount of nutrients packed in the soil. Overall, the routine of conventional farming does not benefit biodiversity; instead it causes harm to its surrounding areas and other people around it.
After reading this, you may ask why and how organic farming benefits biodiversity, right? From the methods mentioned above, we know that organic farming uses natural methods to process crops instead of a non-renewable manner. The reason why organic farming is beneficial is because they try to preserve and improve the biodiversity at the same time. Organic farming uses less water because of the huge amount of nutrients the soil contains and that allows the soil to store more water. When the crops are healthy they will benefit the biodiversity because then the wildlife would also consume a healthier diet when they feed off of the plants. By avoiding the usage of chemicals in plants and animals, it will decrease the chances of spreading diseases and lowering biodiversity. Basically, organic farming uses natural methods and renewable sources to benefit the biodiversity.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6496-organic-farming-boosts-biodiversity-.html
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/11320/1/Organic-Farming-vs-Conventional-Farming.html
http://www.scienceclarified.com/Oi-Ph/Organic-Farming.html
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/organic_green.html
http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/health_food/organic_food/why_organic_farming_benefits_the_environment.html
Picture References:
http://www.instablogsimages.com/images/2009/05/14/organic-farming_xgv4E_22978.jpg
http://futurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/butterfly_1.jpg
http://www.liveco.ca/infoPages/organicCottonClothingChart.jpg
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http://kicksurface.blogspot.com/2010/09/wings-of-liberty-bully-bullies.html
http://caiitlinc.blogspot.com/2010/10/darth-vader.html
