Download Molly Ryan Professor Morrison FYSM

Molly Ryan
Professor Morrison
FYSM-116
October 28, 2014
Annotated Bibliography
Topic: Organic/sustainable agriculture
Costa C et al. 2014. Is organic farming safer to farmers’ health? A comparison between
organic and traditional farming. Toxicol Letters. 230: 166-176.
This article is a study on the effects of pesticides on farmers’ health. The
exposure to pesticides, experienced by farmers, could be a major health concern due to
the possible long-term effects that the pesticides have on the body. This study aimed to
see if there is a difference of effects on farmers’ health between traditional and organic
farming. The health effects of organic farming are unknown, however, it is thought that
is less harmful to the environment and also less harmful on the body. Farmers exposed to
pesticides and organic farmers were used as subjects and compared to a control group.
The goal was to determine if the organic farmers experienced any less genetic damage or
immunological change than the farmers exposed to pesticides. The results showed that
farmers exposed to pesticides had increased genetic damage. This article is relevant to
my topic because it provides different effects of organic agriculture on people rather than
just the environment. The comparison between organic and traditional agriculture gives a
preference toward organic agriculture and provides data to support the negative effects of
traditional agriculture that includes the use of pesticides. The statistics provided help
outline one of the various negative effects of traditional farming.
Goldberger JR. 2011. Conventionalization, civic engagement, and the sustainability of
organic Agriculture. J Rural Stud 27(3):288-96.
This article is a study on how sustainable organic agriculture actually is. It is
often perceived that organic agriculture means that it is also sustainable, however, that is
not necessarily always true. The goals of sustainable agriculture include economic
profitability, environmental management, and community contribution. The study also
looks at the organic farmers’ perception of sustainability. Data collected from surveys
from organic farmers in Washington State is used to compare civic engagement and
conventionalization of farms. It was found that conventionalization of farms had a
significant negative impact on social and environmental sustainability, while civic
engagement positively contributed to social and environmental sustainability. This
article is relevant to my topic because is show how sustainable organic agriculture
actually is. My topic revolves around sustainability and organic agriculture, so
combining the two and taking a different view on organic agriculture validates any
arguments for sustainability.
Marja R, Herzen I, Viik E, Elts J, Tscharntke T, Batáry P. 2014. Environmentally
friendly management as an intermediate strategy between organic and conventional
agriculture to support biodiversity. Biol Conserv. 178: 146-154.
This article is a study on the effects of organic farming on biodiversity. The study
arose out of a decline in biodiversity in Europe in the 20th century. The lack in farmland
biodiversity was combatted with the implementation of agri-environment schemes (AES).
The effectiveness of AES in increasing biodiversity was examined in Estonia. The
numbers of species were compared along with abundances of flowers, bees and birds. It
showed that the abundances and number of species was greater on both of the AES.
Flower cover and diversity of bird species was found to be much greater on the organic
farmland. This study is relevant to my topic because it explains how organic farming
indirectly benefits the surrounding environment. This article provides a positive
viewpoint of organic farming that is different than the positive health effects for humans.
Sahm H, Sanders J, Nieberg H, ehrens G, Kuhnert H, Strohm R, Hamm U. 2013.
Reversion from organic to conventional agriculture: a review. Renewable Agriculture and
Food Systems. 28(3): 263-275.
This article looks at the trend in reversion from organic agriculture back to
conventional agriculture. In Europe, in the past decade there was a large increase in the
number of organic farms and the industry become very popular among farmers due to its
political promotion and market demand. This increasing organic trend did not last and
numbers have shown a decrease in the number of organic farms. Many farmers reverted
back to their old methods of farming and abandoned organic agriculture all together.
This study examines the reasons why farmers decided to revert back to conventional
farming. Collected data show many farmers entering and exiting the organic sector each
year. The results explain reasons why farmers reverted back. These reasons include
economic motives, certification difficulties, and difficulty in crop production. This
article is relevant to my topic because is examines why a farmer would not want to use
organic agriculture. It examines the cons of organic farming, showing the other side
when it is most often promoted as a better solution to conventional agriculture.
Tuomisto HL, Hodge ID, Riordan P, MacDonald DW. 2012. Does organic farming
reduce environmental impacts? - a meta-analysis of European research. J. of
Environmental Management. 112: 309-320.
This article examines the specific environmental impacts of both organic and
conventional agriculture. The results from the study show that organic agriculture has
mostly positive results. Organic agriculture has positive impacts per unit area; however,
per product area impacts are not the same. It is found that organic farms have high soil
matter and less nutrient loss, but ammonia and nitrogen leaching emissions were higher
for organic crops. Also, organic crops require less energy for production, but at the same
time need more land. Overall, it was found organic farming has a lower impact. This
article is very relevant to my topic in the fact that it explains the reason for the existence
of organic farming. The big question is why chose organic? This article explains the
overall positive environmental impacts organic agriculture can have and, therefore,
strengthens my argument.