Organic farming has been introduced with the goal to operate in a resource-saving and animal-friendly manner and to produce high-quality food. In view of the economic and ecological problems that were triggered by the increasing industrialization of agriculture, organic farmers broke new ground.
What distinguishes organic agriculture?
In principle, organic farming should be managed largely independently of external means of production in as closed material and energy cycles as possible. The number and type of animals kept and the crops grown in crop production should ideally be coordinated with one another and adapted to the specific conditions and possibilities of the respective location.
For example, there is the requirement of “area-bound” animal husbandry: only as many animals should be kept as can be fed with the feed of the respective farm. At the same time, the amount of manure produced, i.e. the excreta of the animals, should be coordinated with the nutrient requirements of the cultivated areas and plants. It serves as a valuable substitute for easily soluble mineral fertilizers. These, like chemical-synthetic pesticides, are largely prohibited. Because organic farming does not aim at maximum yields that are wrested from animals and nature. On the contrary, it is about using and promoting the natural processes and interactions that are taking place anyway.
This applies also when buying bags, you need to read nomatic travel bag review to choose the one that best suits your preferences.
Keep animals appropriate to their species
Organic farmers strive to keep animals as species-appropriate as possible. Therefore, among other things, much more space than in conventional housing and regular exercise are required. Keeping laying hens in cages is prohibited, as is fully slatted floors for pigs. Feeding purely for maximum performance is prohibited; Instead, the animals should be provided with feed that also takes their species-specific needs into account (e.g. mandatory straw bedding or sufficient hay for cattle).
The guidelines for keeping animals healthy are primarily based on prevention and restrict the dispensing of chemical-synthetic drugs – this is intended to protect the environment, the food and ultimately the consumer from residues.
Organic farming uses processes that exist in nature by carefully exaggerating. Interventions that fundamentally change the principles of natural order – especially if the consequences are associated with high or unforeseeable risks – are rejected. This way, it can help the environment.