Why would I go organic when I can use
inorganic stuff to get quicker and apparently better results? In referring to
inorganic stuff I have in mind the use of chemical fertilizer for example in
growing food. Chemical fertilizer has been used in growing foods to feed the
millions all over the world. Chemical fertilizer is used in growing corn,
tomato rice etc. Chemical fertilizer is used in growing food because it gives
quicker results, and increased produce. Foods grown with organic fertilizer are
slower in showing results.
We had a palm tree (African palm tree)
in our house. It had occupied space for a long time without bearing fruit. Then
my mother got the idea of consulting a friend of hers who was an Agriculture
officer. The result of that consultation was that the officer came and sprinkle
chemical fertilizer around the palm tree. Lo, and behold, the palm tree started
bearing fruit. The natural nutrients by themselves could not nourish the palm
tree to bear fruits up until that time.
But then be reminded that we eat food
to be nourished. As living organisms we eat food to sustain our material lives.
We need carbohydrates, protein, vitamins etc. to get energy to potter about,
and for protection from diseases. So you see the vital importance of food. We
eat to live. We do not live to eat.
To produce good food for you and me,
and indeed other living organisms to live off, plants require nutrients from
the ground. The quality of nutrients in the ground determines the quality of food you get. The quality
and kind of nutrients in the soil ultimately determines the state of your
health. Plants must have a soil to grow from to produce the food living
organisms need for energy and life.
Because plants use up nutrients in the
soil, the nutrients need to be replenished. Sometimes some soils are deficient
in certain nutrients not necessarily because they have been exhausted by
plants. There is therefore the need for a balance of inflow and outflow of
nutrients. There is a system called nutrient cycle which ensure the nutrient
flow balance in soil, naturally. I have just said that when the palm tree in
our house did not bear fruit we used chemical fertilizer to make it bear fruit.
What the fertilizer did was to supplement nutrients that were not sufficient in
the soil or supply nutrients which the soil lacked to get fruits produced.
But at what cost is inorganic
fertilizer used?
Though inorganic fertilizer brings
quicker results and increased produce it has negative effects on the natural
environment. The following are some of the negatives:
- It upsets the natural nutrient cycle I have mentioned earlier.
- It kills some organisms engaged in the processing of materials for absorption by plants in the nutrient cycle.
- Water can carry nutrients in inorganic fertilizer to levels plant roots cannot reach, and into water bodies
- Inorganic fertilizer can burn plants
- Inorganic fertilizer leaves toxin into the soil
- Inorganic fertilizer produce are laced with toxins.
- Production of inorganic fertilizer emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere e.g. carbon dioxide
Organic fertilizer in the right
balance maintains and retains balance in the nutrient cycle and soil because it
has a harmonious chemistry with the natural environment, unlike inorganic
fertilizer. Organic fertilizer has a comparative advantage over inorganic
fertilizer as far as the natural environment goes.
The use of organic fertilizer in
maintaining a sustained harmonious chemistry in the natural environment ensures
the furtherance of the advancement of a balanced and natural environment as
espoused by this blog.
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