Though not discernable to the average consumer’s eye, cultivation and production methods make all the difference in the food one consumes. Generally speaking, there are three methods: conventional, organic, and low-input. Conventional refers to the mainstream method. that rely on the use of chemicals. Organic, as defined by the American National Organic Standards Beard, is “an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity.” In layman's term: no chemicals. Low-input is probably best understood as a hybrid                  d of the former two. 　　Faced with the consumption demands of an exponentially growing global population, twentieth-century agriculture turned to science. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides ensured high yields. Without such intervention, say proponents of conventional farming, food shortages would not have been limited to the continent of Africa-by mid-century they would have been global in proportion. Thomas Malthus's prediction in the eighteenth century that population growth would outstrip the growth of food supply was nixed thanks to science, And though the number of humans has exceeded the environment's normal carrying capacity, scientific methods have given the human race extended lease on life. 　　But for how long? Much has been achieved with the application pf science to food production, but not without a price The organic farming movement was initially sparked by philosophical motivations among fanners in industrialized countries' those at the core were farmers who disgraced with the capitalist market forces driving agriculture. Though this remains us a peripheral concern today, environmental side effects have taken center stage. For one, water safety has been threatened, In the United States alone, mere than 45 million Americans use drinking water polluted with unsafe levels of pesticides. 　　The debate relating to farming methods has become heated in recent years. Global population growth does not appear to be slowing down, and organic methods cannot meet the consumption demands that conventional methods do. Quite the conundrum.