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Ali Taqi
Professor Eric Dinsmore
English-113B
29th April 2015
After reading the essay, “Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World?” by David Beilo, I
have assessed that in many ways his rhetorical stance to support organic ways of yielding crops
is quite rational and thought provoking. Initially, he drove attention towards those methods,
which some farmers are using to provide so–called organic food, but the production and
requirement of the food goes imbalanced. Hence, he suggests with reference to the leading
author, McGill’s University, Verena Seufert that the conventional and organic farmers, both need
to be educated in terms of using the sources to yield more crop and fulfill the need of the human
population. Organic farmers need to manage an ecosystem to mechanic pest control by biological
sources, utilizing compost and and increase the yield of crop. For this purpose, organic farmers
need to prepare fertile soil to provide accurate quality of nutrients for crop with pest control,
which is also good in quality to retain water. However, conventional farmers ought to deal with
pesticides, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers to give eco friendly environment. Moreover, the usage of
perennial crops can also reduce their expenses. Along the ma distribution and waste of food,
“healthier soils” with various practices to improve cultivation can control the global hunger
issues.
As far as the same opinions are concerned, Eliot Coleman and David Beilo are on the
same page. For Coleman, growing organic food is not to build a “profit centre “but providing
highest quality in food. Being an organic farmer, he professed all ways and methods which are
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responsible for the “Real food – Real Farming Later, he denounce the statement of USDA
director, that “properly grown food is superior, safer and healthier”, this shows that proclaimed
standards of improvement in the fertilizers are restricted to the toxic chemicals from the
agriculture that is appreciable.
Further, I think that Robert Paarlberg would critique his approach towards organic
farming. Paarlberg states that price hike in the staple foods, like rice wheat in the
underdeveloped countries is unstable and their poverty is the main reason, which is lowering
their standard of living at large. On the contrary, they are mishandled by their government
policies by increase in the expense of modern improved seeds, and fertilizers with high
transportation charges which they cannot bear and thus organic farming needs more money and
sources to cultivate crops to make up the demand. However, he thinks that getting a romanticized
vision of getting organic food cannot be practiced, as it seems. Only 1% of organic set up in
United States cannot afford to convert into 99% and fulfill their needs.
Finally, the close analysis of these works enables me to comprehend their stance where
they prove their argument with logics and rationality. However, if I would look the practical
aspect of this conventional and organic farming, I would certainly approach towards the organic
farming, which direly requires farming techniques and facilities supported by the authorities. No
wonder, as per Beilo’s statement, even after yielding “22 trillion calories annually via agriculture
which is more than 3,000 calories to provide every person on the planet,” the main focus on the
distribution and waste is not heeded by the authorities. Quoting Africa and other underdeveloped
countries, being the dependent countries, would not be a rational step. Since, the global hunger is
the product of mal distribution and massive wastage of food. However, I found Beilo’s
argument more logical as his concern is to make environment free form deadly wastes and make
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the soil more fertile, which cannot be possible with the use of synthetic fertilizers.
Nitrogenous fertilizers are also affecting the World Rivers that is also a threatening factor for the
global environment. So, if to understand the real essence of their stance, my position is to follow
the ethical eating- organic farming is the solution of all such issues, but it is the responsibilities
of higher authorities to flourish organic products for improved diet for the human population.
This thought provoking yet considerable solution of “organic farming is a very knowledgeintensive farming system” that is the dire need of time, to fulfill not only the required amount of
food but the quality food indeed.