Kylie De Perio
Eric Dinsmore
English 6A
8 December 2015
Real Food, Real Farming
Organic food is the way how farmers produce meat and grow agricultural products. The
way animals are raised can have an effect on how people choose to buy their meat. “On the
Future of Food” by Prince Charles and “Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World?” by Biello
talks about the impacts of organic farming methods. However, Coleman believes that organic
food is not enough as he wrote “Real Food, Real Farming”.
There are issues on the future of food. One negative effect on organic farming is climate
change. Climate change affects the future of food because we need to take care if the Earth
which sustains us. By being more kind to Nature, there will be a better secure food production. In
addition, soil erosion is a problem to organic farming because “soil is being washed away ten
times faster than the Earth can replenish it, and it is happening forty times faster in China and
India” (Charles 225). Lastly, the amount of water consumption is an issue because “for ever
pound of beef produced in the industrial system, it takes two thousand gallons of water” (Charles
225). The amount of water consumption will be affected because water is being wasted for
organic farming. Climate change, soil erosion, and the amount of water consumption are
negative consequences on the future of food.
Similar to Charles, Biello questions if organic food will fail to feed the world. Negative
impacts of conventional farming methods are deforestation, groundwater mining, water
pollution. Since there are negative impacts of conventional farming, “farmers have turned to
organic techniques. Organic techniques are meant to minimize environmental and human health
impacts by avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, and hormones or
antibiotic treatments for livestock among other tactics” (Biello 232). Using an organic technique
to make conventional farming methods more advanced, is healthier for the environment because
irrigation does not retain better water than organic soil. The key to everywhere is a healthier soil
(Biello 233-235). Also, using an organic technique is beneficial to human health because humans
will not consume the antibiotics that were placed in the meat before packaging. The problem
with organic technique, however, humans make are distribution and waste. Charles and Biello
have similar and different viewpoints on organic farming.
In contrast, there are also positive impacts on the future of food. An argument that
associates with the future of organic food is farming. An example of a positive influence is
genuinely sustainable farming of how the future of organic food will be affected. Genuinely
sustainable farming “maintains the resilience of the entire ecosystem by encouraging a rich level
of biodiversity in the soil, in its water supply, and in the wildlife-the birds, the insects, and bees
that maintain the health of the whole system” (Charles 226). Although there are positive effects,
Coleman does not believe organic food farming is enough as he states, “Organic is now dead as a
meaningful synonym for the highest quality of food” (237). He is optimistic about the future of
food because his decision to farming organically was “a statement of faith in wisdom of the
natural world and the nutritional superiority of properly cultivated food” (Coleman 236-237).
Charles explains why a genuinely sustainable farming is a positive outcome, but Coleman
disagrees and expresses how organic farming is not enough.
Organic food, food that is produced, has different farming practices. Farmers have a
higher standard in organic farming rather than regular food products. In organic farming, farmers
do not add antibiotics to meat products. The essays of Charles, Biello, and Coleman interconnect
because Charles provides negative impacts on the future of food, but Biello tries to make
solutions of the organic farming practices when Coleman does not think the organic farming
techniques are not enough. In conclusion, organic food is real food and real farming.
Works Consulted
Bauer, Holly. Food Matters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. Print.