A few weeks ago I came across an article in my Facebook feed that intrigued me. It was titled “Top 11 Reasons to Buy Organic Food” posted by the CEO of the eco-friendly detergent company Rockin’ Green Soap on their blog. I clicked the link with a bit of assumption on what I’d find, and as I continued to read the article, unfortunately I determined I was accurate in my assumptions. I read things along the lines of “healthier”, “less pesticides”, and “no GMO’s”. Right away I tweeted, left a comment under the article on their Facebook page, and emailed them asking if I could guest blog for them to perhaps give a different perspective on the blog post as a conventional grain farmer’s wife. I heard back almost immediately and they were glad to have me guest post and I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I have been a Rockin’ Green Soap customer for almost 4 years and I have never seen any pro-organic/anti-GMO sentiment on any of their social media outlets until the beginning of this year. Since I contacted them they voluntarily removed the blog post and have published mine, so I would like to share it with you on my blog now.
As moms and dads we all want what’s best for our kids and our families, and of course for ourselves. There’s so many choices to make regarding the health and safety of our family, and one of the things we easily have control over is the food we buy and eat. There are a lot of choices, labels, and production methods to sort through when filling up our grocery carts, and I’d like to take some time to teach you about some of our different choices and address some myths too.
Organic vs. Conventional Food
I really didn’t want to use the “vs” in that subtitle again because it portrays a battle, but sadly in our world these two farming production methods are often put in opposite corners defending their practices to each other and their consumers. You know what I think? There’s a place for both of them, along with other farming practices, and they can peacefully coexist. Not one farming method is perfect, they each have their pros and cons, and there’s lots to be learned about both. So let’s take a look at some of the biggest conventional and organic agriculture myths I’ve come across… 
- Organic Farming Does NOT Use Pesticides – This is the one myth I see time and time again, and while it’s true that their standards do not allow for the use of the all same synthetic (conventional) pesticides, they are allowed to use organic-approved pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides and even some synthetics too. It is often touted that organic farmers must do everything they can before they apply pesticides and implement integrated pest management strategies such as crop rotation, accurate identification of pests, etc. This is not a unique strategy to organic farmers, however. Did you know that 95% of consumers buy organic solely because they believe organic farming doesn’t allow the use of any pesticides?
- Conventional Farming Uses Too Much Pesticides – Following off of the last myth, a lot of people are mistaken in the fact that they feel conventional farming uses too much pesticides. While any farmer (organic or conventional) could choose to use too much, it’s not in their best interest in the long run. These pesticides cost a lot of money and no farmer who cares for their land and their bank account is going to spend unnecessary money by spraying too much pesticide on their crops. To get a better idea of how little we spray on our crops, my husband explains it here. With the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops, conventional farming actually uses less pesticides than they did before. And no, we don’t douse our crops in glyphosate. This study in 2014 shows that on average GM crops have reduced pesticides by 37%, and increased yields by 22% and profits by 68%.
- One Method is Better for the Environment – This topic is quite arguable, as each have their pros and cons. Since both practices use pesticides & fertilizers, that can be ecologically damaging, it all depends on who uses more and how they use it, which will vary farmer to farmer. Organic farming *generally uses more heavy tillage (and thus more fuel) than conventional practice to control their weeds, and this also releases carbon back into the air, damages soil structure, causes more soil erosion, the soil cannot hold as much water, and it has a higher evaporation rate. Organic crops yield less product than conventional crops, anywhere from 20-50% less. Meanwhile, in conventional farming they are battling disease & weed resistance, leeching of fertilizer into the environment, and a shift towards monocultures. However, it is up to the individual organic or conventional farmer to be the best stewards of their land as possible and use these technologies & methodologies responsibly.
- Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) Are Bad – This is a big can of worms, I get it. If all you’ve seen on Facebook are memes of scary corn being injected with syringes and you’re leary of GMOs, I wouldn’t blame you. There’s a lot of misinformation, fallacies, and lack of education surrounding GMOs out there and I’ve touched a lot on this before. One thing I would like to point out is that some GMO corn and GMO cotton have been genetically modified to produce it’s own pesticide, thus killing the pest/bug (not the human!) when it tries to eat the plant. This same toxin Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), is a naturally occurring bacteria in the soil and is also a pesticide in organic farming. Both methods use Bt, just in a different way.
- Organic Food is Healthier – Depending on who you talk to, organic food is not more healthy than conventional, but to be safe we can at least agree that right now they are equally nutritious? Eating conventional and/or GM crops will not cause disease or mortality at any higher rate than eating organic food. Sometimes organic farming battles bacterial contamination in their food (ex. e.Coli from fertilizer/manure) which can lead to illness and even death in some who consume said food. No disease or mortality has ever been linked directly to transgenic food, it’s very important to remember that correlation does not always equal causation.
- Organic Doesn’t Always Equal Local – Time and time again I hear people saying that they want to buy local and support their local farmers, which is why they buy organic. It’s great if you’re buying direct from the organic farmer or a local farmer’s market, but organic at the grocery store does not always imply locally grown. Over 75% of Canadian organic food is imported, [2008 stat, nothing more current] and how can we be certain the countries exporting this organic food are producing it organically, as imported organic foods are only randomly tested in Canada. Buying local reduces food miles and your food’s carbon footprint – absolutely buy local when you can!
Conclusion: Choose What Works for Your Family
You do NOT have to choose “sides”. It doesn’t have to be all organic or all conventional in your grocery cart. I recently wrote a blog post on how lucky we are to have all these choices in what food we buy, especially when there’s so many countries and people around the world that do not have a choice or food as readily available to them as we do. We shouldn’t ever feel pressured to buy or defend the food we do, but stand strong and confident in your choices and stay positive. Please don’t shame someone for the food choices they make, educate yourselves (don’t ever assume!), and if you ever have any questions there’s a whole group of farmers/ranchers/producers/scientists you can find on Twitter, I’d be very happy to point you in the right direction. There is a big gap between the farmer and the consumer and the agriculture industry is just itching to teach!
As always, please refer to my comment policy and be kind to one another. I know there will always be people who do not agree with what I write, I get that, but you can still be respectful. Keep in mind that my goal for writing this post was to address (not dispel) some common myths in agriculture and not to bash any farming practice. If I have any facts wrong, I’m always happy to learn, but please do so kindly!
*Update: I also wanted to add that we are conventional farmers, not organic, and this article is based on what farming is like for us here in Alberta. Different farming regions throughout the world may use more or less tillage, for example, (organic and conventional) but this doesn’t apply to us here where organic farmers do till more than conventional. I have respect for organic farmers and their right to farm differently than us, but admittedly do not always agree with the way their products are marketed by using fear and misleading information of conventional farming—but that’s a post for another day!
This post was originally shared at Rockin’ Green Soap and has been slightly modified to suit the needs of this blog.
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I've read this post many times when I want to remind myself how to tactfully respond to anti-GMO hysteria. I'm assuming that your ribbon on the side might be beyond your control as to who is listed under sponsors. I doubt you endorse chatting with Thai ladies and the annoying oxi-clean popups. Perhaps this content is generated at my end by some spammy cookies lurking in my system. Either way, it does draw the eye from your very credible and diplomatic comments. I too value the ability to choose based on sound, educated reasoning. I also take issue with inflammatory implications that all that is not "natural" is toxic. Keep up the good work, and I'll continue to follow your twitter and blogs.
Hi Morgan,
Yes, Google AdSense does generate some content based on what you've been browsing at, but I can block certain ads. To each their own, but I also use my blog as an outlet to earn some money to help support my family while I write this blog. Thanks for your concerns.
Do you have any citations for "Organic farmers till the soil more?"
Also can you site any studies ever that demonstrate the safety of GM foods? (Especially any by someone other than the companies making the products?)
Have you looked into the gene transfer from GM crops to gut bacteria in which they start producing BT inside the human body?
While many organic pesticides are not very good for people or the environment there has been demonstrated a much lower pesticide residue on conventional crops.
I enjoy some of your articles and appreciate that they are somewhat balanced but this one is a little short on evidence for me. I believe "organic" isn't always saving the world and "conventional" isn't evil but it really comes down to each individual farmer caring for the soil.
Hi CJR,
As for citations for organic farming uses more tillage, it is just a known-practice for controlling their weeds, especially since I have never met an organic farmer who tells me how they control their pests and what pesticides they use. I know organic farmers know a great deal about soil health, I'm not denying them that. I think they have to be very creative to maintain their soils when they don't have access to no-till and the herbicides we use as conventional farmers. Though I don't agree with or like how this paper says organic food is "free of chemicals" (completely not true, everything is a chemical) this paper looks at converting from organic to conventional using conservation tillage and cover crops, something I'm interested in looking into more: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag246
There have been over 600 independent, publicly funded safeties supporting the safety of GM foods: http://gmopundit.blogspot.ca/p/450-published-safe…
GM crops do not transfer their genes into humans. That would be akin to me turning into a pig from eating bacon, it's simply not how it works.
I agree with your last statement; no farming system is absolutely perfect—a lot is to do with each individual farmer being a good steward of the land.
Here is a study that has a slightly different information….
Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses. …
In conclusion, organic crops, on average, have higher concentrations of antioxidants, lower concentrations of Cd and a lower incidence of pesticide residues than the non-organic comparators across regions and production seasons. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC41416…
That's great. I never want to create a division (or add to it) in agriculture between conventional and organic farmers. We need to work together to feed the world and I'm glad there's the organic option to fill the niche market. If it becomes proven to be more healthy and nutritious, good on them for pouring efforts into improving crops and quality.
Sarah I just had to share this article with you if you have not already seen it. There are more of us out here who believe we should all be working together. Keep up the good work. http://farmon.com/pages/e-mag/in-the-field/farmer…
I truly, honestly, have no "beef" with organic farming or their practices. I truly believe that we do all need to work together…my problem always has been and always will be the way organic products are (usually) marketed by throwing conventional under the bus. Thanks for the article.
Great info! Well written!
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Sarah, Great article. It shows a lot of courage to write about this topic. I am a conventional farmer as well but I use the term with reservation. John Ranta I think tends to link conventional farming to Industrial farming (factory farms) which is not the case. We use pesticides and commercial fertilizers but also many of the traditional practices of older conventional farming that organic uses as well. Crop rotation, green manures and cover crops are part of many conventional farms. We use trickle irrigation, plastic mulch and straw mulch as well as biological crops for pest reduction. we also use high tunnels to help reduce fungicide applications. We also use some organic sprays and less toxic new synthetic sprays. There are some organic sprays I will not use because they are extremely toxic and broad spectrum. We are always trying to find better ways to grow our crops. I appreciate your article because 98% of farms are conventional (not registered organic) and we do a good job at what we do and are very responsible in regards to our environment.
Thank you, Sam. I know this article has been shared a ton as I can see in my stats and only a handful of people have commented (which is normal!) but I can't help but wonder why a lot of organic farmers are up in arms over this? Conventional farming gets painted with such a bad stroke that when someone dares shed some light that organic farming isn't as perfect (nor is conventional) as the public perceives it creates a mini shit storm on social media.
There's so much more to farming and keeping up with research and new trends—thank you for sharing some of what you do on your farm. We are always finding the best way to grow our crops too!
Thank you, Sarah for your time and effort in putting this blog together. I am a conventional egg producer, a strawberry farmer, and I'm also a guide-outfitter (hunting) in central BC. My husband and I make a living keeping chickens in cages, killing wild animals and spraying chemicals on strawberries, I sometimes feel like the whole world is against us!! I'm sure our photos must be on some activist's hit list somewhere!! 😉 I admit, I have engaged myself in many defensive arguments with the "other" side. Your advise is very gracious and inoffensive to everyone. Perhaps I need to change my debate tactics somewhat! My question to you is what are we (conventional farmers) supposed to do with documentary films depicting the farming, slaughter industry as "Franken-farming"? These films appeal to people's emotion and fear, and once that seed has been planted in people's minds, how do we convince them otherwise? There always is a thread of truth in these films, and quite honestly, most of the content is what we would call "standard farming practices".
Once again, thanks so much! I've been searching for an informative website just like yours. I have a daughter in 4th yr BSCNursing in Ontario. She has had to defend her family farm to student nurses and professors.
We feel the whole world is against us growing GM canola and growing that awful "gluten-filled" wheat! Yikes! 😉
Unfortunately this article isn't inoffensive to everyone, I know I've upset a few organic growers, but that's okay. I stand by what I say, perhaps they don't like the "truth" about pesticide use and other things being openly discussed?? As far as documentary films, I tell people there's 2 sides to every story and editing can make anyone, any thing, any profession look awful if you just use the worst of the worst footage and on top of it lie. Apparently there are some farming documentaries coming out though, so we'll see how they are! You're right—these documentaries appeal to emotion and fear. Even if what some of what they depict is true about 'standard farming practices' it's easy for them to twist it to scare the viewer who doesn't have a good grasp of safe agriculture practices. My husband purposefully leaves out a lot of spraying footage on his farming "movies" because of the bad name pesticides have.
Good for your daughter!
I work in the agricultural seed industry, and truly appreciate your blog and perspectives. We need more people like you in the world of social media laying out the facts. Thank you. Thank you.
Your encouragement means more to me than you know. Thanks, Jill!
I appreciate your objective approach to conventional and organic farming. I think you've provided fair comparisons, as far as you've gone. But you didn't address several issues that are less forgivng of conventional agriculture. These include mono-cultures (riskier, more prone to disease, and requiring higher inputs of fossil fuels); use of antibiotics (resulting in the rise of resistant strains of disease bacteria); confined feedlots and confinement pens (cruel and unhealthy for animals); and the use of growth hormones (unhealthy for animals and humans). I love farmers (but not necessarily agribusiness corporations). In the long run, I believe that organic farmer is kinder to the landscape, and healthier for humans. Especially as the fossil fuel inputs become harder to come by…
Thanks, John. I did address monocultures stated here: "Meanwhile, in conventional farming they are battling disease & weed resistance, leeching of fertilizer into the environment, and a shift towards monocultures."
I also didn't touch on animal production as we're not ranchers. Perhaps I should have been more clear as this was geared towards food crop production. You are obviously allowed to believe what you want, it is arguable as to who exactly is kinder to the landscape (till vs. no-till, using more fuel, soil erosion, etc.) but that varies farmer to farmer as I also stated.
Thanks for reading.
This is a great post. I find the most difficult conversation is this one. I feel like when I want to talk truths and myth busting, organic takes offense to that. I commend you for writing this.
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This is a very hard topic to address, even when I strive to be as objective as I could. The subject of organic farming and marketing tends to be a very very emotional one.
Sarah, I was impressed with that company for being open minded & allowing you to guest post. Noteworthy!
I appreciated the thought & research you put into this as well. I believe we all have standards for our food, products etc (and should – you and I included) but what I always want to say is simply, understand, what your 'standards' mean.
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Thank you, Cheyenna—I agree! Big props to Rockin' Green.
As I stated in my comment below this, organic food/marketing tends to be a very emotional topic. I'm not here to slander organic farming, but I will never agree with how their product is marketed and I'm not sure how each individual farmer plays into that role.
Great post! I have a question though re: this: "they are allowed to use organic-approved pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides" regarding organic farming. My question is – do these organic-approved pesticides have less chemicals? That is the only reason I tend towards organic for certain foods – that they might have less harmful chemicals associated with them. But if that isn't the case I would definitely want to know (and save money if possible!). Have you addressed that somewhere (if so sorry I missed it!).
Lastly, I do wonder if some people buy organic b/c these tend to be the brands that avoid preservatives, dyes, fresheners etc that we know are not good for us – not that they really care about the organic or GMO side of things. That is, I might buy organic Annie's mac n' cheese not b/c I think it's healthier, but rather b/c it avoids chemical dyes that I don't want. I wonder if you've looked at that angle or asked people that too?
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Jen, the chemicals associated with organic pesticides can actually be quite scary and a lot more toxic than conventional pesticides. You have to remember, conventional sprays have been getting safer and more efficient as time has gone on, but organic has been stuck in the 1960's. I find scientist Steve Savage's explanation about toxicity helpful: http://appliedmythology.blogspot.com/2012/09/pest…
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Amanda, thanks for that link – that was a nice read. However I have a question. You say that organic pesticides can be a lot more toxic than conventional pesticides. However if I am reading the graphs from that link correctly, that article shows the opposite – that organic pesticides account for 4.2% of EPA category II and III (moderately and slightly toxic) pesticides whereas conventional accounts for 33.8% of those. That makes organic seem less toxic by this data – do you have other information to support what you say? And I did read further about what he compared relative toxicities too – that too I'd want more info on. I'd rather more technical than less 🙂 Any ideas where to look? I am not trying to be argumentative at all – I just want to learn and Sarah's article has sucked me in!!!
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Hey, Jen! Thanks for your keenness! I love it! I link to this blog post in my article, but it's from Scientific American and has some good links in it:
Myth Busting 101: Organic Farming > Conventional Agriculture
Organic pesticides not always the greener choice (Re: University of Guelph study)
'Organic' does not necessarily mean 'pesticide-free' by Cami Ryan with relevant links & studies
List of FDA approved pesticides for certified organic Not comparative, but a nice list—I do know they have very strict application standards too
I will get back to you more on this!
thanks! Those are all great links and I have to say I am really starting to think about things. I had no idea re: the issues with soil quality concerns with organic management as well as that their pesticides need to be applied so much more. I was looking up RoundUp and I found this link to be super helpful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyphosate – OK I know it is Wikipedia (don't shoot me) but it was actually very informative and seemed even-keeled. I do just wonder though about the issue of the surfactants that RoundUp is coupled with (especially from an endocrine disruptor stance). I don't know if you know anything about surfactant concerns (and maybe organic pesticides use the same ones?) but something I'll be looking into. Very interesting….
My husband and I are conventional farmers. I seen where you questioned the surfactant in roundup. It is nothing more than dish soap. The pesticides and fungicides have to have something (surfactant) to help it stick to the plant and protect it.
I think it's great that people have different opinions on things. There is, however, a big difference in being passionate about a cause and being narrow-minded and accepting of someone else's opinion. There will always be someone who thinks you're evil for making a decision they wouldn't.
In regards to organic vs. non-organic, we tend to buy whichever is more affordable at the market that week. Sometimes that means we eat organic carrots and non-organic blueberries.
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Hey Marie-Etta!
I totally agree with you. I think that a lot of people get "tunnel-vision", especially on hot topics and tend to lose respect for how other people choose and especially for other people's livelihoods. I've had people willing away GMO's and wheat (gluten)…and those are two staples to our livelihood!
This fellow farm wife appreciates your blog so much. It can be so aggravating to constantly hear people bash our families' lifestyle and passion.
Thanks, Maria. I've been criticized (as was to be expected) on Twitter this AM. I'm truly not trying to "bash" organic farming, but I would have to boldly state that conventional farming takes way more of a beating and it's really hard to just sit back and watch, because as you say—it's our lifestyle and passion.
You're doing such a great job educating we the consumers! It's great to hear from the other side. Keep it up Sarah!
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Thanks for your interest and for being so kind, Meagan!
Thank you so much for this informative, unbiased post. In the dairy industry, the organic vs. non organic battle can get very tiresome and a lot of what you have posted here can be translated to the dairy industry. As a non-organic farmer it is easy for me to get defensive and upset when people assume we just pump our cows full of antibiotics and hormones, which is definitely not the case. There are pros and cons to both organic and mom organic farming and you have highlighted them so well here. Thank you for being such a wonderful ag-vocate!
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Thanks for the kind words, Cait! I try to be unbiased, but probably never will be considered so as we farm conventionally and also plant some GM canola. I've seen the dairy industry be slammed SO MUCH as of late, especially in the States, and I feel for you so much. It's the 'assumption' and sharing things without doing their research first that really grinds my gears. Thanks again for the comment!