Is growing organically just a fad or is it the future of farming? This hot topic was up for debate at the Ausveg 2015 National Horticulture Convention on the Gold Coast last weekend.
Organic produce versus conventional produce was debated for an hour at the 2015 Haifa Great Debate on Saturday. Haifa is a global supplier of potassium nitrate for agriculture and industry, specialty plant nutrients and food phosphates.
Dr Ian Musgrave, a senior lecturer in farm ecology at the University of Adelaide, argued that there were a lot of misconceptions among consumers about what is involved in organics. He also argued that synthetic chemicals were often better for the land than the organic certified chemicals.
According to Dr Musgrave, due to the high price of organic produce, and the smaller size of organic produce, buying conventional vegetables offered better bang for buck in terms of health benefits.
Katie Finlay, a Central Victorian organic fruit grower from Mount Alexander Fruit Garden, argued that consumers who shopped around and bought seasonally from organic growers often paid the same, or less, than they'd pay for conventional product in a supermarket.
She also said although the physical appearance of organic produce was often raised as an issue, this was not the case, and she disputed the notion that synthetic chemicals were better for soil health.
Finlay also argued that the cost of becoming certified would improve as the cost of organic certification would drop as more growers got on board, and this would also better balance the supply and demand curve.
