Build Soil :
Soil is the foundation of the food chain in organic farming. But in conventional farming the soil is used more as a medium for holding plants in a vertical position so they can be chemically fertilized. As a result, agriculture farms all over the world are suffering from the worst soil erosion in history.

Save Energy :
Indian agriculture has changed drastically in the last three generations, from being human and cattle energy dependent to highly dependent on fossil fuels. Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming huge chunk of the country’s total energy supply. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate, and harvest all the crops in the country. Organic farming is still mainly based on labor-intensive practices such as weeding by hand and using green manures and crop covers rather than synthetic inputs. Organic produce also tends to travel a shorter distance from the farm to your plate.

Protect Water Quality :
Water makes up two-third of our body mass and covers three-fourths of the planet. Despite its importance, the pesticides (some cancer causing) contaminate the ground water, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country’s population.

Reduce Health Risk :
It is now a common knowledge that 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides are carcinogenic. The bottom line is that pesticides are poisons designed to kill living organisms, and can also be harmful to humans. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutation.

Protect Farm Workers :
A Natural Cancer Institute, USA study found that farmers exposed to herbicides had a greater risk, by a factor of six, than non-farmers of contracting cancer. In California, reported pesticide poisonings among farm workers have risen an average of 14 percent a year since 1973, and doubled between 1975 and 1985. Field workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in the state. Farm worker health also is a serious problem in developing nations, where pesticide use can be poorly regulated. An estimated 1 million people are poisoned annually by pesticides in the USA. Several of the pesticides banned from use in the United States are still manufactured there for export to other countries.

Support a True & Fair Economy :
Although organic foods might seem more expensive than conventional foods, conventional food prices do not reflect hidden cost borne by taxpayers in Government subsidies for fertilizers and pesticides. Other hidden costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and clean up, and environmental damage.

Promote Biodiversity :
Mono cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year. While this approach multiplied farm production in last 5 decades, the lack of natural diversity of plant life has left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients. To replace the nutrients, chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts.

Great Taste :
They taste better. Organic farming starts with the nutrients of the soil which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and ultimately our palates.

Issues :
Government subsidies for fertilizers and pesticides. Other hidden costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and clean up, and environmental damage.

Did You Know ?
It takes approximately 3,000 years for nature to produce 6 inches of topsoil. Every 28 years, 1 inch of topsoil is lost as a result of current farming practices. Organic bio-intensive farming can produce 6 inches of topsoil in as little as 50 years-60 times faster than the rate in nature. Source: Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, 1999, in “Our food, our future,” by Donella H. Meadows, in Organic Gardening, September/October 2000.