Project Proposal Belina

Conventional vs. Organic Farming


Why people are choosing to switch over to organic foods and why the world cannot be fed off of organic foods alone.

  • What are the causes of this problem? Was it intentional? Are there extenuating circumstances?

People are beginning to realize that we may need to change farming practices in order to make our food healthier to consume. The drawback of this is the crop gap yield and seeing if organic agriculture can sustain the population of a country. The problem is not intentional, it is just a side effect of trying to create bigger yields from crops.

  • What can we do about it? Is there any action that can be taken to change this? What action has been already attempted to address this problem? Why wasn't it successful?

Studies are being conducted regularly to see if these farming practices can be altered in a way that compromises between yield and sustainability. The only problem with these studies is that they take a lot of time to conduct. There is not any credible research that can possibly be done within a couple years time, these studies need to gather samples upon samples in order to make their information relevant and credible. Organic farming systems are being implemented around the globe but with varying results. One of the main problems is that organic agriculture costs a lot to switch to from conventional agriculture and the farmers cannot expect to have average yields until four or five years after implementing these techniques.

  • In what ways is this thesis and topic challenging (p.108)?

This topic is challenging because people are starting to switch to organic food from conventional food and there is a push for a more sustainable style of agriculture. Conventional agriculture embraces pesticides and fertilizers that are harming the ecosystem leading to unintended consequences. Are there reasons for the recent switch to organic food products and are there ways to produce this food without creating shortages that have traditionally plagued organic agriculture?

  • How is this thesis and topic compelling (p.108)?

This topic is compelling because there may be problems with conventional agriculture's use of nitrogen and pesticides when it comes to the ecosystem. There have been studies done on the mouths of rivers and conclusions have stated that some of these mouths are "dead zones." This means that aquatic ecosystems are not able to thrive in these places because the levels of nitrogen make it uninhabitable. Organic systems attempt to address this problem but the crop yield gap between organic and conventional farming methods adds to this complicating issue.

  • In what ways is this thesis and topic debatable or controversial (p. 109)?

This topic can cause controversy because of the way conventional systems go about their business. Clearly we cannot simply use roundup for the next 10,000 years and studies have shown that the world may not be able to be fed purely off of organic systems. There could be limitless solutions but the questions need to be posed first.


argue people switching over because the gap cant handle it.
Causes of people switching over: … … …perception of health benefit… …
Why this phenomena will not be able to go on because the world population cannot be sustained off of organic agriculture.
