Organic Foods: Are They Better For Climate Change?

Is Organic farming better for the environment than more conventional forms of farming? If you do even a quick search on the internet, you’ll no doubt receive a resounding yes. On the surface, this can sound like the obvious answer. But is it really? Join Dave as he explores what science has to say on the topic, the answer may surprise you!

0:00 - Introduction

2:45 - What is Organic Farming? 

4:22 - Requirements for Organic Certification

6:10 - Greenwashing

8:43 - Pesticides

13:35 - “Feeding the Soil” and CO2

18:04 - Nitrous Oxide, i,e,. Laughing Gas

22:56 - Water

23:48 - Land Use

24:27 - Wrap Up

Transcript

Good morning, afternoon or evening. Whatever it is where you find yourself at this time. 

I’m going to start off with a quote today, here it goes… 

"What people don't want to understand is that you don't feed the plant, you feed the soil."

These words were spoken by a man named Cornelius and, if there is such a thing as a master composter, Cornelius was it — the guy is an absolute compost guru and to say that he obsesses about every single detail of his compost, from where he sourced his manure it to the timing of, well, just about everything, would be pretty much an understatement. He is again is really good, and I can’t say that I’ve ever seen compost anywhere that rivals his. And that sounds really weird to say that about compost but, once you experience his, ya, you get it.  

As I heard him say this statement, it became clear to me that he has said that same thing a lot, and I was really stuck by how intentional he was in saying, “what people don’t want to understand…”

We’ll come back to what Cornelius said in a few minutes though.

I’m Dave and thank you so much for joining me today on Running my mouth off about Climate change, where we talk about some of the lesser discussed issues that surround climate change. And today, that topic is Organic farmings: are organic food actually better for the environment than those made with more modern and conventional methods? That’s what we’re going to be looking at today.

Before starting off though, know that what I’m not going to talk about is livestock. I feel like, if we did that, we’d be here all day and honestly, it’s an issue on which I’ll no doubt jump on a soapbox and ya, we don’t want to go there so. 

Also understand that I buy organic when possible but, when I talk about his stuff, or anything else, I really do try to be as unbiased as I possibly can. After all, the data says what the data says and I kind of tend to be a prove it to me type person so, with attempted lack of bias…let’s jump in. 

To start with, organic farming is pretty basic, but also one of those things that really, really complicated. So, let’s start off with a working definition of what organic farming is.

Simply put, organic farming is a method of farming that is GMO free and uses natural processes and resources to grow food. That’s honestly about all there is to it. 

The natural processes encourage soil health by using practices like crop rotation, cover cropping and composting. And those  resources are things plant-based composts, like the stuff that Cornelius made, manure and green manure, and pesticides that are produced using natural sources like plants, minerals or animals. If you’re unfamiliar with the term “green manure”, its basically when you plant a cover crop, and we’ll say, clover, and then after a season of growth you turn it into the soil and it becomes part of the soil once it breaks down. 

And those animal resources that I mentioned are mainly used in approved pesticides by the way, those animal resources? One of those things are pheromones that are used as a pesticide and that’s highly cool and that’s another thing that I could really go on for a while about, really cool though, animal pheromones as a pesticide. Anyways, that’s going to be digression number one so, moving on. There are also a few synthetic pesticides that are allowed in organic farming, but the list of those is pretty small and we’ll come back to those. 

Pretty basic, getting a little more complicated.  

Now we start thinking about what’s required in order to be called organic, to put that “certified organic” label on your product. 

That “Certified Organic” label, and I’m referring mainly to certified organic in the US at this point, is controlled by the United States Department of Agriculture, better known as the USDA, and if you want to grow and sell things organic, they're going to make life pretty tough on you. 

The USDA wants to make sure that every single detail, from where you buy your seeds, to final packaging, is done according to its very strict set of standards. You have to agree to things like on-site inspections, and these people can show up whenever they want, at any time. These inspections are largely unannounced. And they want to see your operation, every detail about it, and your record keeping, and your records darn well better be incredibly meticulously kept. They want to see every single detail about how the crops are grown and packaged from seed to the store. And all of this as to be done a very specific way. 

And, when talking about seeds, though you don’t technically need to buy them for every plant in order to be certified organic, my understanding is that it’s just a lot easier and cheaper than doing what it takes to ensure that certification.

The process on the whole again very stringent, to say the least, and you need to comply with every letter of the law in order to keep that “Certified Organic” label on your product. 

There is a term called Greenwashing, where companies try to side-step this certification process in attempt to make themselves look like they’re legit healthy and organic. 

Probably the most well known example of corporate greenwashing has nothing to do with food, and was back in 2015, when Volkswagen installed software in some of their diesel gas engines that could detect when the cars were being tested for emissions. When these cars were tested under controlled conditions, it was noticed that the cars went into a “safety mode”, of sorts when they were being tested. Again, the software that Volkswagen installed detected that there were tests happening and the output of vehicle power was cut by about 40% to make things look better than they actually were. That’s greenwashing.

When it comes to food, greenwashing can most easily seen in its packaging. And we’ll see labels that say things like. “100% Natural”, “Free Range”, and “Sustainably Harvested”, and there’s a lot more terms. These terms aren’t regulated, but the terms Organic is. Without that official label from organizations like the USDA in the US, and the logo that’s controlled by the European Commission in the EU, you really don’t know what you’re buying. Could be that the products are absolutely legitimate, and maybe they’re not, but  we don’t know though, there aren’t any guarantees without those labels. 

Moving on though…So we want to grow organic, what does it take? 

Starting off, again the farmer needs to use certified organic seeds. And the requirements for these may be different depending on whether you’re planting in Australia, the US, the EU, or wherever. But these seeds are organic, meaning they’re not GMO’s.

There’s a lot of debate about GMO’s, and we’re not going to get into that here. Suffice to say that GMO’s aren’t allowed in Certified Organic Foods. 

Once those seeds are planted though, we’re talking about greenhouse gases, they grow, and humans aren’t the only ones who have an interest in consuming them. 

Enter pesticides. 

We certainly don’t want our plants eaten or destroyed by things like beetles or fungi, so we need to protect them against all of those little things that would otherwise do them harm. And, if we’re planting organic, we need to use organic pesticides.

Again, organic pesticides are made made largely from things like plant extracts, minerals, microorganisms along with the occasional very cool animal pheromone. There is also that  short list of synthetic pesticides allowed in some cases, this might occur if there’s no organic option available to combat a very specific pest. At that point, a synthetic might be approved. But again that list of synthetic pesticides is pretty short. 

Because these organic pesticides have a tendency to break down more quickly than do their synthetic counterparts, they typically leave fewer residues on crops and have the reputation of posing less of a risk to non-targeted organisms like beneficial insects, birds, and soil microbes and well us, humans. 

However, organic pesticides do come with their own challenges and limitations. While, generally speaking, they’re considered safer for the environment and us humans, their effectiveness can vary depending on factors such as the pest that’s being targeted, the timing of the application, and environmental conditions and more. Because they break down fairly quickly, more frequent applications might be required. And, some natural pesticides can still have negative effects on the environment if not used properly. 

In the past we’ve seen things like pollinating insects, i.e., bees and butterflies not show up when they’re supposed to because some of these natural pesticides haven’t been applied as they should have been.  

One major positive though that I do see with organic pesticides is that, because they don’t stay on plants as long, because they break down more quickly, and because they’re crafted largely from things that are already happening in nature, I don’t think that they’re as problematic when it comes to local water supplies. Remember that pesticides don’t only land on the plants when they’re applied. It gets on and in the soil and, as water carries things into rivers, lakes, and ultimately the ocean, organics probably aren’t going to be as bad as the synthetic stuff to whatever lives in those water systems. 

I brought up a few quotes in a previous podcast regarding synthetic pesticides, and I think they’re worth repeating here. These are from a study that was done recently by some scientists from mainly Saudi Arabia and India, here we go; 

“Pesticides are frequently applied without precision, which leads to a number of adverse effects on human health, from acute intoxication to chronic diseases that include various types of cancer (brain cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and colon cancer), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, neurotoxicity, infertility, leukemia and diabetes.” Ya, sign me up for that! 

And the second quote from that same study: 

“Pesticide contamination in water poses the greatest threat to aquatic bodies, mostly through diminishing dissolved oxygen levels. They have an impact on aquatic animals at all stages of the trophic chain, from algae to fish.”

What that last part is  essentially saying is that, as things get into the water that aren’t supposed to be there, and in this case we’re talking about pesticides, it reduces oxygen levels in the water, and that, well, obviously it’s pretty bad if you happen to call the water your home. Again, all stages of the trophic chain, from algae to fish. Ya. 

Let’s move onto the actual soil though and what that looks like when we farm organically. 

Remember that statement that Cornelius made, that you don’t feed the plant, you feed the soil? This is where organic farming really comes into its own.

Even if you do a quick search on the benefits of organic farming, you’ll see enhanced soil sequestration near the top of the list and if you’re not familiar with the term carbon sequestration, it’s basically the soil’s ability to hang on to carbon dioxide, to “sequester” it as opposed to releasing it into the atmosphere. And yes, the soils created using organic farming methods do sequester more CO2, but there’s a catch. 

Because of a lot of factors, organic farming’s soil tends to be a lot healthier than does soil involved in more conventional methods of farming. Because the soil experiences less tillage, or turned over, less, the microbes in the soil are left to do their jobs when it comes to breaking down plant material and providing nutrients to roots of plants. 

Of course a large part of this is due to the fact that organic compost is used to “feed the soil” as Cornelius put it, as opposed to adding a lot of fertilizers to plants. 

After being exposed to organic farming’s methods, soils become looser and again, those microbes do a fantastic job of feeding giving the plants the nutrients like Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus that they need. And again,  course this is made possible by that organic fertilizer. 

As these soils improve, they become more and more sponge-like in their ability to hold things like CO2, in other words, to sequester CO2. But, that catch? Their ability to hold CO2 isn’t infinite, it has a limit. 

What you typically don’t read on the top of Google’s AI response to the benefits of organic farming, is that, after about 10-14 years, even the best of soils lose their ability to soak up more CO2. Kind of like a sponge that’s holding as much water as it possibly can, it just can’t absorb any more. According to Cranfield University in the UK, soil’s ability to absorb Co2 essentially drops to zero after about a decade. And I said 10-14 years?  I give that timeframe because I read one study that said 10 years, and another that said 14 years. So, I’ll say 10 to 14 years.

Realistically though, there are a lot of factors that go into how much CO2 a soil can absorb — all soils are not created equal, some are rich in clay, which has really small soil particles and makes absorbing things like water — if you ever take clay and dump a bunch of water on it and the water just kind of sits there? Ya, it’s gonna do that same thing to CO2.

Other soils will contain a lot of silt and still others may be loam, which is a essentially a combination of silt, clay and sand. As you can imagine, absorption rates are going to vary pretty widely in each of these soils, whether it’s water or CO2. 

Also, the plants that you’re growing have a lot to do also with how much CO2 can be absorbed and held. For example, the soil for crops like potatoes will hold less than a perennial like fruits, nuts and grains. My guess, and I didn’t see any studies to support or refute this, is that, the more the soil is disturbed on a yearly basis, the less carbon it can store. With potatoes, it makes sense that, because the soil is disturbed so much when those potatoes are harvested, they’re able to maintain less Co2 each year. Again, just a guess, and there are things like rice that pretty much has a permanent covering of water so, ya, there are a lot of factors that go into this stuff.  

When talking about absorption of molecules like Co2, we also need to look at Nitrous Oxide, and this one is a little bit more difficult to position, a little more complex. 

Starting off, Nitrous Oxide, also known as laughing gas, is much, much worse than is Co2 when it comes to doing things like trapping heat in the atmosphere, and it hangs around in the atmosphere for a little over 100 years. Meaning, we’re still experiencing the impacts of Nitrous Oxide that entered the atmosphere during the 1920’s. And, barring any kind of amazing nitrous oxide removal technology that may come around,  people in the 2125 will still have to live with what we’re putting out now. That said, how does Organic Farming do when it comes to handling laughing gas? 

Let’s back up a minute first.

Remember that quote from Cornelius, when he said, “What people don’t want to understand?”. Growing food organically is a longer process than is conventional farming. There are those who like things fast, and I imagin this is especially the case when your entire livelihood relies on producing as much food as you possibly can, in as short of time possible. 

Well, enter fertilizers. 

Plants need food, they need things like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, those are the things that are in most fertilizers that we see in the stores. Synthetic fertilizers can provide those very quickly and very efficiently. The upside is that, with synthetic fertilizers, plants grow and produce a lot of food really quickly. The downside? Things like Nitrous Oxide are produced and released. 

It’s important to understand though that even organic fertilizers, probably the most common being composted manure, provide these same nutrients to plants. They essentially do the same job, but they do it a little differently. And it follows that, also have their own share of nitrous oxide emissions. 

How do they compare? 

Realistically, it’s impossible to say with anywhere near 100% accuracy. There are so many factors that need to be considered; soil type, type of crop, temperature, location, and so many more. Everything that I’ve read though, every study that I’ve read, seems to indicate that organic fertilizers generally do provide lower levels of nitrous oxide emission, again that’s generally speaking. Those levels though can vary significantly depending on a variety of factors, again temperature, crop, timing, and more. All of these impact emissions. For example, in various studies, check out this range, reductions measured were from 23% to 43% fewer emissions, that’s 20%, that’s fairly significant. A one size fits all number is realistically impossible to say.

Also worth nothing is that most studies, they use area-based metrics, i.e.,   Most studies use area as a metrics, i.e., greenhouse gasses produced per hectare or acre. Honestly, I think a more effective  way to measure things is by using an amount of food produced type metric, i.e., a kilogram of carrots produced organically vs conventionally. Typically, it’s not how things are done right now, there are a few studies who use this but, by in large, they all look at area. 

One study that I read went on to say that we’re continually overestimating the emissions of conventional farming and underestimating those of organic farming so, again those numbers, vary quite a bit. 

One of the biggest difference that I see that has nothing to do with how things are measured. It’s the thing that happens in ecosystems when these fertilizers are washed away because of irrigation or rain. Nitrogen and phosphorus do a really, really good job of neutralizing oxygen levels in water so, again, we have that issue with fish and algae, and pretty much everything in the trophic chain is impacted by these fertilizers. 

It’s easy to imagine that things like manure would have less of a negative impact than something synthetic — it breaks down a lot more naturally and easily again, these are things that already exist in nature. Honestly I’d call that a big win for Organic.

But on the topic of water, let’s take a very quick look into how conventional and organic farming handle water and again, I’m going to try to keep this short: organic farming uses less water, all things considered. Better soil means more effective water absorption. And as we’re at a time when water security is becoming more and more of an issue, water is starting to become, pretty important. 

How much less? Heck if I know. Generally speaking, again using area based metrics, soils exposed to organic farmings methods do tend to perform better with water usage, and this is especially the case during drought conditions. And that’s about as specific as we can be here. And thus, the topic has been covered. Short enough for you? 

One more thing and then we’ll wrap up. And this thing is probably the biggest argument against organic farming. And that’s the land that’s required to do it. 

Simply put, yields from organic farming aren’t anywhere near what they are in conventional farming. Honestly it’s not surprising when you consider the things like synthetic fertilizers that are designed to get maximum crop yields as quickly as humanly possible. Think about how much technology has changed in the last 30 years. Let’s look at things like cell phones. 

30 years ago, land lines were seen in just about every household. Now, they’re largely a thing of the past. And that thing that was reserved only for conversation? Has now transitioned into something that we’re rarely without — it’s always in our bag or pocket — and it impacts nearly every single aspect of our lives.

Now, apply that same level of technological advancement to farming. Organic farming is very much at a disadvantage here, it’s like playing a game of cards against a player who’s  using a stacked deck, it’s not a fair fight. 

But the fact remains that organic farming is less than its counterpart. The bulk of the studies that I’ve read seem to suggest that it’s about 40% less efficient. 

So where does all of this leave us? 

Is organic farming better for the planet? I think the answer is a resounding, well, it kinda depends. In looking at things like pesticides, I’d call that a huge win for organic methods. Just looking at what happens in water systems after application. And keep in mind how much longer synthetic pesticides hang around compared to organics. And this is to say nothing about the impacts on human health, which is pretty much beyond what we’re talking about here, but still worth considering.  

Soil and its ability to hold Co2? After about a decade of organic treatment to the soil, it kinda comes down to a draw. But that first 10 years? Ya, let’s call that a win for organics.

Nitrous Oxide? I’d call this another win for organics as well.

I do like the use of organic composts and fertilizers, simply for the possible impacts to the rivers, lakes and ecosystem on the whole once this stuff gets washed away. 

Water, another check in the win column for organic. 

And then land use. That’s the big one. Frankly, as things are today, I’m not sure that we can afford the land that would take to go organic on a mass scale. And, as I say this, I’m realizing how ridiculously idealistic that must sound. Agriculture is very much a for-profit thing and companies are going to do everything that they can within the law to maximize profits, there’s just too much money involved so going all organic isn’t something that’s going to happen any time soon. Of course, were we to stop eating things like beef, that thing that we’re not going to talk about today because of the soapbox? That takes up the majority of our farmland and were we to stop that, that would be a game changer, but that’s going to happen any time soon either. 

In a perfect world, we’d figure out a way to effectively blend organic with conventional and then create a product that’s both good for the environment and produces a lot of food. Not sure that’s going to happen any time soon either. 

Personally, I already buy organic and I won’t stop any time soon. The pesticide thing is enough to keep me buying organic, and with that, I think we’re gonna wrap up here. 

What’s up next? There is so much that I’d love to talk about. I think what we’re going do next is talk about those tipping points. You know in the Paris Agreements how it says, “Yes, we’re going to keep it between 1.5 and 2….” There are some out there, and some of these are pretty well known in the climate circles, who feel that these numbers were arrived at with some degree of randomness. Like the UN just said, “What do you think?” “I know, I have a dart…1.5 and 2. Done! It’s official!”

So ya, I think we’re going to look at tipping points and why that 1.5 and 2 degrees, and then there’s another one that’s 4 degrees that we absolutely can’t surpass, what those numbers are all about and what they represent. That’s what’s coming up next week.

Again, thank you for joining me on running my mouth off about climate change. Again I’m Dave and I hope you have an amazing week.