Organic Farming vs. Conventional Farming The Kansas State Collegian article “Organic Farming Healthier, More Efficient Than Status Quo”, by Anurag Muthyam, was published on September 3, 2013. The Kansas State Collegian is an online, and paper newspaper on the Kansas State University campus. Muthyam is a library assistant at Fielder Engineering Library in Manhattan, Kansas and is involved in an internship at Advise Technologies. It is here that he specializes in computer software (“Anurag Muthyam”). Muthyam’s hobbies include, computer architecture, operating systems, digital and Analog Circuits, web development, programming, and machine learning. (“Anurag Muthyam”) Throughout, the article was an argument covering the topic of organic farming …show more content…
He does this one way which is by stating that organic farming is healthier for the environment and for the people. The evidence that he provided to show how organic farming is healthier included that in conventional farming the ground water is easily contaminated due to leeching of excess nutrients. (Muthyam, par. 4) In addition, he stated that “dangerous chemicals like pesticides were developed to kill life forms during wartime; these should not be applied to our crops to promote an outdated method of growing our food which places mankind in a vulnerable position.” (Muthyam, par. 8) In this quote he is showing how the dangerous chemicals and pesticides are harmful to our environment, and therefore explains why organic farming is the better method. Muthyam also incorporates logos into his article by stating a reason that organic food is good for the long term sustainability of our population. Evidence to back up this reason included, “If organic methods were used, we would see an increase in the healthiness of the top soil, which could lead to produce high in antioxidants.” (Muthyam, par. 4)This quote directly from the text helps the audience to see another benefit of why organic farming is the better method of …show more content…
To relate, he argued the reason that conventional farming will generate a $40 billion annual loss due to the dependency on chemical fertilizers and how they destroy the topsoil. (Muthyam, par. 4) This helps the reader to understand that according to Muthyam, not all conventional farming is cheaper. Muthyam is saying that conventional farming may be cheaper at the store, but overall it is not making profits for our economy. In addition, he corrected the misconception that organic farming will not feed everyone by including reasoning such as stating “We could feed our entire population through urban agriculture alone. Grow food, not lawns!” (Muthyam, par. 6) Ronda Janke, professor of horticulture said, “Lots of people are realizing it now, and that is why surveys show at least 70 percent of Americans are buying at least some organic foods.” (Muthyam, par. 7) This citation is included to help readers be persuaded to buy some organic foods, because everyone else is starting to. Muthyam wants his audience to understand that most people are starting to see the importance of organic farming, and he shows the importance by backing up his claims with evidence from outside sources that are credible, and can be easily