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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 advances during the war were significant in the development of agriculture as well. The use of machinery were employed for large scale irrigation and for tilling the land. Ammonium nitrate which was utilized by the military for munitions where then used as a cheap source of nitrogen for fertilizers. DDT which was used as a repellent for disease-carrying insects by troops during the war, were developed into insecticides for agriculture.DDT which was utilized to control disease-carrying insects by the soldiers became a general pesticide for agriculture. All of these technological advances were significant in the unfolding of history of organic farming.

However, before the World War II, there are already people who are working on the potentials of organic farming. The works of these people were nevertheless significant in the history of organic farming. For instance, Sir Albert Howard, the person who is regarded as the father of modern organic agriculture, published his book ‘An Agricultural Testament’ during 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 prevalent all over the world, several people questioned their long term consequences and studied about them. In 1962, scientist and naturalist Rachel Carson published the book ‘Silent Spring’ which discussed the harmful effects of DDT and other pesticides on the environment, which subsequently led to the US government banning of DDT during 1972. During the 1970′s, environmental groups started promoting the consumption of locally grown foods. In 1972, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was created in Versailles, France, in order to promote the development of organic agricultural knowledge all over the world. In 1975, the book ‘The One-Straw Revolution’ by Masanobu Fukuoka was published and became widely read 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.

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