Understanding the History of Organic Farming
In talking about the history of organic farming, perhaps one of the most significant events that is critical to the development of this agricultural technique is the Word War II. The technological innovations during the war were important in the development of agriculture too. Mechanization were used for large scale irrigation as well as for tilling the land.
Ammonium nitrate which was used by the military during the war were then transformed as a cost-effective source of nitrogen for fertilizers. DDT which was employed by the military to deal with disease-carrying insects on the field were turned into insecticides for farming. All of these technological advances were significant in the unfolding of history of organic farming.
However, prior to World War II, there are already people who are looking into the potentials of organic farming. The ideas of these people were nevertheless crucial in the history of organic farming. For example, Sir Albert Howard who is considered to be the father of modern organic agriculture, published his book ‘An Agricultural Testament’ in 1940. Again in 1940, Lord Northbourne coined the term ‘organic farming’ in his book ‘Look to the Land’.
As the use of these new agricultural technologies became more widespread all over the world, some people questioned their long term implications and did studies about them. In 1962, Rachel Carson published the book ‘Silent Spring’ which talked about the dangerous effects of DDT and other pesticides to the environment, which later on became the cause of the banning of DDT by the US government in 1972.
During the 1970′s, environmental groups started promoting the consumption of locally grown foods. During 1972, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was established in Versailles, France, which seeks to promote the development of organic agricultural knowledge among its members. During 1975, Masanobu Fukuoka released a book called ‘The One-Straw Revolution’ and it became very popular all over the world. The book highlighted the importance of natural farming methods that utilizes minimum human labor and interference. These are the events that made a considerable impact on the history of organic farming.
