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Written by Suzanne Heibel   
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Tuesday, 04 November 2008

Why buy organic? A look at Externalities

People always seem to be talking about organic-this and organic-that, and all it really seems like people know about the word “organic” is that it represents something void of pesticides, that it is beaming with natural goodness, or it is somehow yoga-related. And yes, these things are true—except for maybe the yoga thing—but there is another reason to eat organic besides the goodness that it provides to just you. When you buy an organic product, whether it is food or clothing, you are buying something that is not contributing to the social, economical, and environmental demise of our world. That may sound like a heavy statement, but to be honest, negative things are occurring everyday as a result of pesticide usage.

What is an externality?

In general terms, an externality can be defined as the “side effects of an action that influence the well-being of non-consenting parties”.1 It is like if Little Jimmy lets one loose and two minutes later, you smell it and feel nauseated. Jimmy probably didn't mind the odor, but his actions influenced your stomach to feel terrible. That is a very simplistic (and hopefully amusing) illustration of what an externality is.

In all seriousness an externality on the national level can affect society, economics, and the environment. While externalities can have positive consequences, externalities stemming from non-organic growth are generally viewed as negative in all three aspects.

A very real example...

Non-organic farming uses fertilizers that are mainly comprised of nitrogen and phosphorous, among other things. (Note: These two ingredients are crucial for all plant growth, yet compost is just as efficient for growing crops, it just takes a little more effort which in turn drives up the costs; chemical fertilizers beat out organic ones economically, and that is why organic produce is more expensive and non-organic fertilizers are more widely used.) For this particular example, we will be using farm lands that are adjacently located to the Mississippi River.

When farmers distribute this non-organic nitrogen/phosphorous based fertilizer mix to their farmland, not all is absorbed into the soil. When rain comes, or the land is over watered, runoff of this excess occurs, taking with it eroded soil and unabsorbed nutrients. These eventually end up in water sources. In the case of the Mississippi River, nutrients are carried downstream and then dumped into the Mississippi River Basin and the Gulf of Mexico.

Hypoxic Zone

(courtesy of the USDA, see http://www.ers.usda.gov/amberwaves/november03/Findings/deadzone.htm)

Once settled, phosphorous and nitrogen cause eutrophication, or algal blooms, which is when water becomes over-saturated with nutrients, causing an excessive amount of algae to grow.2 The algae then die, sink, followed by the decomposition process that depletes the water of oxygen and ultimately kills off fish. This is in fact the most common result of industrial agricultural runoff and today the Gulf of Mexico has a “dead zone” where literally nothing grows but algae. This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the dead zone is larger than it has ever been, consuming a New Jersey-sized portion of the Gulf.3

The green and brown areas along the coast are areas of eutrophication


The green and brown areas along the coast are areas of eutrophication.4

The Externalities of Eutrophication

Environmental: Lack of life in a historically bio-diverse ecosystem is a very bad thing, environmentally speaking. Biodiversity is the signature of healthy ecosystems, and when nothing grows but algae it is a sign of an unhealthy environment. More so, something called a “red tide” exists in other areas like Florida and New England. This is an algal bloom caused by a specific type of algae (Karenia brevis) that is red in color and literally makes that water appear to be red. These types of blooms can move with the water and are transported by the wind and change of the tide. The Center for Disease Control reports that “K. brevis produces powerful toxins called brevetoxins, which have killed millions of fish and other marine organisms”.5 This “red tide” externality is caused by excess nutrient runoff from non- organic fertilizers.

Social/Health: Besides harming the environment, phosphorous and nitrogen caused algal blooms have very negative social effects. The American College of Chest Physicians reported in 2007 that these brevetoxins have the ability to travel through the air and cause respiratory problems in people.6 The CDC also reports that people who have eaten shellfish or shrimp with high levels of these brevetoxins “may suffer from neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, a food poisoning that can cause severe gastrointestinal and neurologic symptoms, such as tingling fingers or toes”.7 Besides serious human health issues, public recreational activities are also prevented which can decrease overall happiness and positive community interaction and social activity.

Economic: There is typically money to be made in areas with an abundance of resources. So when eutrophication kills everything off, shrimp and shellfish industries are crippled by the degradation. Exactly how much is this costing us? The Gulf of Mexico's fishing industry is worth $2.6 billion dollars per year, much of which comes from Louisiana, the U.S.'s second largest state fishing industry. However, since 2001, the number of shrimp fishermen licenses has declined 40%, a sign that shrimp fishing isn't going so well. In fact, the size of shrimp catches declined about 23% from the 1980s to the 1990s.8 With less catch and constant demand, the U.S. reverts to importing fish from other nations, adding to the economically destructive externalities of increased food transportation.

Energy-Use: Organic vs. Non-Organic

Food Miles: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published a report in 2007 comparing the energy uses of organic and non-organic farming. It was a tie: on average, industrial farming uses the same amount of food miles, packaging, and processing, whether it is organic or non-organic, so for this area they are relatively equivalent.9 For more information on food miles check out the Greeniacs Article http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsArticles/Food_Miles.

Inputs: Conventional agricultural relies heavily on energy-intensive fertilizers, pesticides, and concentrated feeds to maintain production.10 Organic farms refrain from implementing these energy-consuming methods. In order to make up for this lack of sizable inputs, organic farms must in turn implement other methods for balancing soil nutrition. These methods include crop rotation, because some crops are nitrogen or phosphorous fixers which can restore the levels of these elements if they have been previous stripped from the plants grown before them. Removing crops also breaks the life cycles of the pests as well as establishing naturally pest-eating populations.11

Organic farming is not devoid of inputs. Nonetheless, fertilizers must not contain synthesized compounds in order to be considered USDA certified organic.12

Organic wins on this front as well because they do not contribute to the “dead zone” mess in addition to using less energy than conventional farming.

Irrigation: Organic wins again on this one: because they put less junk in their soils, it is naturally healthier and requires less water due to the fact that it is better at absorbing the H20.

Labor: Because conventional farming uses intense inputs, less labor is required to guarantee production. Organic farming on the other hand calls for more man power to operate the farm. This can be looked at as a positive, however, because that means more jobs open for field workers as well as for skilled farmers.

Does organic have externalities?

Yes, but not as many as conventional farming. Organic and conventional agricultural do not differ on the transport and packaging of their products, therefore, they both emit green house gasses from their use of fossil fuels and plastics. Organic only implies that the food production is done with minimal environmental damage. Organic is not completely lacking in negative effects, yet oceanic dead zones and demise of the fishing industry is definitely worth alleviating with a switch to organic. You may pay higher prices for it at the grocery store, but the massive cost from the effects of harmful externalities will end up costing everyone a great deal more.

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1http://www.rri.wvu.edu/WebBook/Schreiner/glossary.htm.
2 http://www.epa.gov/.
3http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20080715_deadzone.html.
4http://www.marinebiology.edu/Phytoplankton/gom.htm.
5http://www.cdc.gov/hab/redtide/about.htm.
6http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/1/187.
7http://www.cdc.gov/hab/redtide/about.htm.
8http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a4Tb2AFv6CRk&refer=news.
9http://www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload/233069/energy-use-oa.pdf.
10Id.
11http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/field/news/croptalk/2002/ct_1102a6.htm;
http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/f/OrganicGarden.htm.
12http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/ofp/ofp.shtml.




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