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Andrew Carrasco
English 114B 2:00-3:15
Ms. Morinini
March 5, 2014
Researched Informative Argument Essay










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How do industrial farming and organic farming differ? Industrial farming is a type
of farming that focuses almost solely on mass production, it focuses on making every
natural step in a crop and animals life cycle more efficient through the application of
science and engineering. Industrial farming pays minor attention to the environment and
animals well being. Organic farming, on the other hand, can be defined by the proactive,
ecological management strategies that maintain and enhance soil richness, minimize risk
to human/animal health and minimize the usage of natural resources. Organic farming is
the preferred method of farming in the fact that its produce is healthier, its produce tastes
better, animals are treated better, and fewer resources are used. However, industrial
farming does overcome organic in the aspect of the food costs and the rate at which food
is produced.
Organic food has always been slightly healthier than industrial food. For one,
organic food does not contain pesticides that might or might not be harmful to the human
body as a long-term effect. Foods such as organic milk have higher levels of fatty acids
(EFAs) which are essential to brain development and are also important because our
bodies cannot produce EFAs. Similarly, organic food is a lot more robust, which means
that it is not prone to any type of disease as stated by an article called, Does Organic
Food Taste Better? As for industrial foods, it has been noted by Michael Pollan, in
Omnivores Dilemma, that Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are breeding
grounds for new and deadly bacteria where the bacteria are even finding their way out of
the cow manure and into our own food. It has also been said that,
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..people in England began dying of a sickness called Mad Cow disease. Mad cow
disease is a brain disease that is spread by eating the brains of infected animals.
Ground-up cattle brains are put into cattle feed and some cows develop Mad Cow
disease [as a result of being fed other cow]. Human beings who ate infected beef
also got the disease [which is very lethal] (Pollan, 104).
Do you really want to continue eating meat that eats meat?
As for the differences of taste between organic and industrial, organic food will of
course have more flavor than industrial food. In organic food, there is not a high amount
of chemicals being used when the food is being produced as opposed to industrial crops,
which are flooded in pesticides, and whos meat is fed a corn based diet. Organic food
also grows slower which gives flavors a chance to develop naturally. There is also more
dry matter in organic produce, which means that there is less water i.e. you get more
carrot for your carrot. Even top food chefs use organic food.
You get what you pay for/ quality over quantity, these are both popular sayings
that can easily explain to you why organic food costs a bit more than non-organic food.
Animal welfare standards for organic food are very high, so more land and more labor is
needed to ensure that those standards are met. The crops and animals take longer to grow
since they are not being chemically injected to grow at a faster rate to meet higher
demands. Organic seeds are more expensive there are less around etc. The list for why
organic food is more costly than conventional food is endless.
As the price of food decreases for industrial produce the rate at which food is
produced does not. Eating meat used to be a special occasion in most American homes.
Thanks to CAFOs, meat is now so cheap that many of us eat it three times a day (Pollan,
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93). Because of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, food is produced at an
explosive rate compared to rates of an organic farm. As stated earlier, industrial
farmings primary objective is to produce food at the most efficient way possible.
Nevertheless, just because industrial farms can produce food at a faster rate, it
certainly does not mean that they are doing it in the most humane and natural way
possible. As indicated by the article, Does Organic Food Taste Better?, All organic
animals have a natural diet, all standards say that they should have a 60% forage based
diet, which means that they should eat grass, hay and silage. It has been put down in
history that cows have evolved over millions of years to eat grass while at the same time,
grasses have evolved over millions of years to be eaten by cows; the grass feed the cows
while the cows help grass grow as well. All waste on organic farms is put back into the
soil to fertilize the fields (Pollan, 93). Waste from organic farms is not harmful to us
humans nor the environment we live in but rather helps the environment. However, on an
industrial farm, animals are stuffed with high energy/high protein cereals/grains that
make animals put on weight quickly but alter their nutritional balance. Basically,
almost all of the cattle in the feedlot are sick. And its their corn-based diet that makes
them ill. Theyre made to eat forage, Dr. Metzin explained, and were making them eat
grain (Pollan, 108). The cattle suffer many illnesses on an industrial farm because of
their corn diet. Their corn diet causes them to bloat rather than releasing their gas as
usual. The corn diet also generates acidosis (too much acid in the rumen).
You might be as shocked as I was to learn that they are also fed parts of other
cattle. Thats right, these herbivores, natural plant eaters, are fed meat. For years,
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leftover beef scraps were ground up and put into cattle feed. After all, it was
protein, and cattle need protein to grow (Pollan, 104).
As for the waste in an industrial farm, the waste from CAFOs is a source of very toxic
pollution; tons of animal manure is produced within a CAFO with no good way of
eliminating it.
Resources are another vital aspect when considering which form of farming is
best for the consumer and producer. During times of drought, organic farming
outperforms conventional methods by 31 percent (Striepe, Organic: Which Method).
Researchers argue that this is the effect of organic farms being able to hold on to a more
abundant amount of water since organic farms have better quality soil than conventional
farms. As for the conventional way of farming, we are exhausting and polluting our soil
and water. Industrial agriculture uses 70% of the planet's fresh water. According to EPA,
U.S. agriculture contributes to nearly 75% of all water-quality problems in the nations
rivers and streams (Industrial Agriculture). Another study shows that, intensive
monoculture depletes soil and leaves it vulnerable to erosion. Chemical fertilizer runoff
and CAFO wastes add to global warming emissions and create oxygen-deprived dead
zones at the mouths of major waterways (Food & Agriculture). Industrial farming
techniques are creating unnecessary problems for the U.S, which eventually result in
negative effects toward the overall environment and costs of food/resources.
Many of us are unaware of the vast differences between organic farming and
industrial farming. Many of us are unaware because either we have not been taught, or
we have failed to acknowledge the differences as genuine differences that are present
today. Many of us would agree that if we wanted to know about the injustices in food
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production then we would know because it is up to us as consumers to become aware of
what we are eating. With that being said, I urge you to take a look at what you eat and the
next time you do have a meal, ask yourself, where did it come from? What is it made of?
Is it healthy for me? Would I want my younger brother or sister to eat it? I want you to
really figure out for yourself, if you feel comfortable eating the foods that you regularly
do. If you do then good for you, but if you do not, then I ask that you please take a stand
because only you can decide weather you wish to continue to grow our plants and
animals artificially and support the destruction of significant resources, or, on the other
hand, you can support organic farming who ensures no harm to resources or animals and
will guarantee a natural planting process, which means that your food will be much
healthier with more vitamins and free of pesticides. Let us all support organic foods, for
supporting this effort we are making it clear that we wish to live healthier lives with out
harming our environment.

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Bibliography

Does Organic Food Taste Better? Organicwish. n.p. n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.

Food & Agriculture. UCSUSA. Union of Concerned Scientists. 30 Aug. 2012. Web. 5
Mar. 2014.

Industrial Agriculture. PANNA. Pesticide Action Network North America. n.d. Web.
4 Mar. 2014.

Pollan, Michael. Omnivore's Dilemma (Young Readers Edition). iBooks.

Striepe, Becky. Organic Farming vs. Industrial Agriculture: Which Method Wins?
Care2. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.