Organic Food Debate 03 – Tolerance

Another problem with both GM crops and crops that utilise harmful and/or excessive chemicals in their farming process is that the problems facing them are becoming immune to the product designed to stop them. GM cotton for example has been specially modified to contain a certain chemical in it’s very fibres to rid the cotton of pests. However, this is resulting in over saturation of the chemical and there are fears of a pest tolerance on the horizon that would mean the chemical is useless as a last resort crop saver for other farmers.

If a tolerance is built up the chemicals become useless as a product for what they are designed for be it pesticides or insecticides for example. Thus stronger and more harmful chemicals are needed to fill the void and ensure crops survive.

This is the first of a small series of discussions on the matter of organic food and will also briefly touch on vegan-ism. organic food has been popping up and ducking out of the food market for many years but lately has once again been brought into the limelight as farmers are now turning to fully organic farming to cover this “niche” market. The problem is that it is an extremely expensive process and no guarantee that there is enough demand to sustain the change over.

Organic Food Debate 01 – Demand

One of the underlying problems that the organic food industry faces today is the lack of demand for the products. Unfortunately, there simply aren’t enough people to make the business fully profitable for larger farms and smaller farms alike. Some small time businesses have been able to sustain the organic produce market in their local area as a niche product but many other farms simply cannot sacrifice the income they are receiving from mass production food stuffs for alternative organic farming methods even if they want to. Farms have been hit hard recently and the farming economy is already on the brink of extinction.