The Pitfalls of Conventional Farming
Jennifer De La Rosa
Eng/147

October 26, 2015

Richard Kamerman

The Pitfalls of Conventional Farming

For the last sixty years, conventional farmers have grossly misused antibiotics. Livestock considered healthy are given antibiotics to stimulate growth merely to increase profit. As a result, humans are developing drug-resistant bacteria in their bodies. The changes that farmers have made to the way they are raising livestock is harmful to people with chronic illness. For example, children with cystic fibrosis need to take antibiotics their whole life. Coupling those antibiotics with the antibiotics that conventional farmer’s use leads to irreparable damage to their hearing. Organically grown food is a healthier alternative to conventionally farmed foods, despite higher prices. Conventional farming is a $28 billion dollar per year industry in the United States (Green, 2013). The methods that conventional farmers use to increase production such as the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO's), antibiotics, and pesticides are harmful to people with chronic illness. The mixture of chemicals and antibiotics that conventional farmers use to kill bugs, fight diseases and grow bigger crops can increase the risk factors for chronic illnesses. It is arguable that organic farming, even though it is more expensive, is a healthier alternative to conventional farming. This is particularly true among the young and the chronically ill (Shan, 2006). The overuse of antibiotics in animals is leading to the creation of drug-resistant bacteria that can make humans sick” (Couric, 2010). Over time, conventional farmers have used antibiotics to increase growth in livestock; there are no regulations for this. Farmworkers themselves allege that antibiotics are being overused. Instead of conventional farmers allowing perfectly healthy livestock to grow at their own pace, they are pumping them full of antibiotics to increase the rate that they grow. There is a certain level of antibiotics that livestock should receive to maintain their health, but farmers are exceeding these levels by leaps and bounds. The bottom line is this: the more farmers can increase growth the higher the profit. Organically grown food is considered a healthy alternative. Organic farmers are held to a different standard, they do not use any GMOs, harsh chemical fertilizers or antibiotics to make animals grow faster. Foods that are farmed organically are a little higher priced. There are reasons for this. For example, organic farmers must hire more workers for tasks such as hand weeding and remediation of pesticide contamination (10 reasons organic food is so expensive, 2012). This is something that conventional farmers don’t do. One thing that conventional farmers do, that is really disgusting, is use sewage sludge and chemical fertilizers because they are inexpensive. Organic farmers use compost and animal manure, which cost more, but are natural (10 reasons organic food is so expensive, 2012). Lastly, instead of using chemical weed-killers like conventional farmers, organic farmers use crop rotation. Crop rotation can be explained as the planting of a cover crop after another crop is harvested (Couric, 2010). This keeps the soil heathy and prevents the growth of weeds. It also adds nitrogen to the soil, which benefits the next crop that is planted. The price of organic foods is a closer representation of the actual cost of growing food (10 reasons organic food is so expensive, 2012). If more people demanded organically grown foods, competition between organic farmers and conventional farmers might decrease. If the competition decreased the cost might decrease as well. Over the last sixty years the conventional farming industry has changed drastically. During this time conventional farming has become an industry that appears to be more concerned with production than with the well-being of those that the industry services. The lack of concern is evident in the methods that the industry is using to with no regulations. The government needs to look into the methods that conventional farmers are using to increase production, specifically, the use of antibiotics to stimulate animal growth. These methods are harming chronically ill people. Many people who can afford organically grown food have made the switch. Unfortunately, those who don’t have the means to afford to move away from conventionally farmed foods must live with the risks that the industry has created.

References

10 reasons organic food is so expensive. (2012, March 11). Retrieved from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/03/11/10-reasons-organic-food-is-so-expensive/

Couric, K. (2010, February 9). Retrieved from animal antibiotic overuse is hurting humans: cbsnews.com/news/animal-antibiotic-overuse-hurting-humans/

Green, C. (2013, October). amber waves. Retrieved from USDA Economic Research Service: http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2013-october/growth-patterns-in-the-us-organic-industry.aspx#.ViAzyHpVikr

Shan, Y. (2006). Going Organic-Is it nutritonally better? Primary Healthcare Journal, 37-40.

Smith, T. C., Gebreyes, W. A., Abley, M. J., Harper, A. L., Forshey, B. M., Male, M. J., . . . Davies, P. R. (2013). Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Pigs and Farm Workers on Conventional and Antibiotic-Free Swine Farms in the USA. PLOS One, 1-5.