The Benefits of Organic

Growing

Why grow organically? Organic vegetables have more

vitamins and minerals don’t contain unhealthy chemical
residues and contribute to better soil, water and air
quality. What’s more, they taste better too!

The History of Organic Growing

While artificial fertilisers have been around for 150 years,
before the 1940s virtually all vegetables were grown
organically. After World War II came a push to make
farms as productive as possible. Chemicals used in the
war effort were applied to agriculture. Ammonium nitrate
used in military explosives was added to soil to increase
nitrogen. DDT, which protected the troops by killing
typhus-carrying mosquitoes, also killed crop-destroying
insects on the farm.
Advances in chemical engineering created new products –
herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides - that promised to
make farming easier and land more productive. With
developments in labour-saving machinery and synthetic
chemicals, factory farming became the norm. While this
increased food production and economic gain in the
short-term, it took a long-term toll on the quality of soil,
water and air, as well as human and animal health.

Birth of the Organic Movement

The term “organic farming” was first coined in 1940 in
the book Look to the Land by Lord Northbourne. Also in
1940, British botanist Sir Albert Howard published An
Agricultural Testament. As an agricultural advisor in India,
Sir Albert devised - partly out of necessity - a system of
growing plants and raising animals without using
synthetic chemicals. In 1943, Lady Eve Balfour published
The Living Soil and in 1945 she founded the Soil
Association, which focused on the relationships of the
health of the soil to the health of plants, animals, and
people. Lady Eve is credited as founding the modern
organic movement in Britain.

Healthier Soil
Conventional farming methods increase harvests for the
first few seasons, but then the soil becomes depleted.
Synthetic fertilisers replace macronutrients, but trace
minerals are not replaced; pesticides kill “good”
microorganisms - necessary to maintain soil health -
along with the “bad”. Gradually, the soil structure is
broken down. Organic methods restore soil health by
adding compost and manure and creating a healthy
balance of nutrients. (See “Soil and Amendments” for
further discussion.)
Healthier soil means healthier vegetables. Research has
shown that organic vegetables contain more of certain
vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C. (See “Vitamins,
Minerals, and Antioxidants” for more information.)

Healthier Water
Water quality is threatened by fertiliser and pesticide
runoff from farms and gardens. In the UK, it costs about
128m euros annually to lower the levels of pesticides in
drinking water to an acceptable level. It costs 16.6m
euros to remove nitrates.

Healthier People and Animals

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring raised
awareness of the devastating effects of DDT and other
pesticides on human, animal and environmental health.
In the UK today, the Soil Association reports the use of
over 400 chemicals to kill insects, weeds and other pests.
Pesticides have been linked to cancer, Parkinson’s
disease, chronic fatigue and many other diseases.

What about GMOs?

GMOs - genetically modified organisms - are created by
transferring genes from one species to another. Common
GM crops include corn, soybeans and potatoes. While
genetic engineering promises disease-free crops and
vitamin-enhanced vegetables, as Prince Charles said,
“We simply do not know the long-term consequences for
human health and the wider environment, of releasing
plants bred in this way.” (Currently no genetically
modified seeds are available to home gardeners.)

Organic Growing is Good Business

As people realise the health and environmental benefits
of growing food naturally, organic vegetables are
becoming more main stream. In their 2006 report, The
Soil Association found a whopping 30 percent growth in
the organic market in the UK over the previous year.

Organic growing is being embraced by big businesses

worldwide. Global sales of organic food are rising at the
rate of about 10 percent yearly. Multinational companies
like McDonald’s are jumping on the bandwagon, selling
organic dairy products in their European restaurants, for
example. Giant food conglomerates are buying out or
investing in small organic companies.

What is Organic Growing?

Organic growing looks at the interrelationships of all
living organisms and works in concert with the cycles of
nature. Organic growing avoids the use of:

• synthetic fertilisers
• synthetic pesticides
• genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

Instead, organic growing keeps the soil and environment

healthy by using composting, green manures, and crop
rotation, as well as natural methods of pest and insect
control. See the articles “Soil and Amendments”,
“Vegetable Crop Rotation”, and “Garden Pests: Safe and
Effective Solutions” for discussions of these subjects.

How You Can Help

Organic farmers and gardeners all play a part in creating
a healthier world. The Henry Doubleday Research
Association (HDRA) publishes “Organic Guidelines for
Gardeners” which covers all areas of organic growing.
Recommendations are categorised as “best practice”,
“acceptable”, “qualified acceptance”, and “not
recommended”.

You can make a difference: grow organically!