Pitz 1

Kallen Pitz

English Composition II

Professor Lindsey Slanker

20 May 2019

What is organic farming, How is it good for the environment, and

How is it better than synthetic farming practices?

When I was a freshman sitting in my agriculture (ag) class my teacher told me about the

supervised agricultural experience (SAE) project. These projects are summer projects for ag

students that put their brain to use and also get them an extra .75 credit in science. We were

allowed to pick whatever project we wanted as long as it taught us something, earned us money,

or counted as working unpaid hours. In ag class, we log our hours, money, and other records and

we can use them to get degrees, awards, scholarships, and proficiency awards. We also use them

on resumes because it looks good to future employers that students are motivated enough to keep

a project going for so long.

This is when I first started gardening. I have been gardening for almost 3 years, I have

three raised garden beds, and have worked over 100 hours in my home garden. I use organic

methods to raise my produce including fertilizing, weed control and pest control. The reason I

chose my topic is that yes, I use organic methods, but I do not yet know the full impact it can

have on improving our environment and our produce. I chose this topic because I want to learn

more about how organic farming is implemented and because I want to teach others about what

organic farming is.

I feel that this topic is an important topic to write about because if I can convince one

person to change their views on organic practices I can help improve the environment one by
 Pitz 2

one. My target audience will be the average consumer. I am trying to convince consumers to

invest in organic products I feel that doing research on this topic will help me see the pros and

cons of both organic and inorganic farming. Before doing the research I think that this topic is

broad enough to write a research paper on, but not so broad that it will take 100 pages to write. I

don't think my topic is to narrow or can be answered with a yes or no. I honestly believe that

organic farming is better than synthetic farming, but I see and understand the other point of view

of those who use synthetic farming methods. I believe that I am not overly biased to use this

topic because I understand both sides of it. I already know that synthetic farming can cause

phosphorus runoff and algal blooms and that organic farming can decrease artificial phosphorus

runoff. I also know that synthetic methods work faster and are more effective. Organic methods

can take longer and cannot be as effective but are better for animals and water systems.

I am hoping to learn about the bigger picture of organic farming and synthetic farming. I

think I will start to find the answers to my questions using the Sinclair database and looking up

farming, the effects of synthetic farming and organic farming. My ag teacher also has countless

books on these topics and I will use those as sources of my research as well. Two research

questions I have are how have synthetic farming chemicals been affecting the environment over

the years? And what are the drawbacks to organic practices?