tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post111935141459168558..comments2024-02-03T07:12:06.620-05:00Comments on U.S. Food Policy: Agricultural experimentationusfoodpolicyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17098394318544229984noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-56936100154103484082010-09-14T10:38:29.419-04:002010-09-14T10:38:29.419-04:00The farm may be feeding 125 people, but which peop...The farm may be feeding 125 people, but which people? What type of food? Is the corn and soybeans even used for food?<br /><br />I'm not being sarcastic or antagonistic. Those are my questions. Let's remember that the farmer is not the bad guy. He is doing what he loves the best way he knows how, while supporting a family.Andrea Wilsonhttp://whatsupwithfood.tumblr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-70740899051718922202010-09-03T14:17:21.560-04:002010-09-03T14:17:21.560-04:00@Mike - the number comes from the National Ag Stat...@Mike - the number comes from the National Ag Statistics Survey. Farmers comprise 2% of the population. They provide some/most food for 100% of the population. Some food is imported (Chilean grapes, Australian citrus, Columbian coffee, etc.). The report can be found at http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_Subject/Demographics/index.asp<br /><br />@Greg - Yes I agree organics are a specialty market. But before the allusion that conventional ag farmers mislead the public, remember that the organic producers do the same as well. The general public believes that organic means "no pesticides applied." We all know that this is not true, but I have never heard any organic grower association/market board try to properly inform people on actual organic grower practices.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-9989072756387679572010-09-01T10:11:30.315-04:002010-09-01T10:11:30.315-04:00This is a nice post with nice photos.
I like to g...This is a nice post with nice photos. <br><br />I like to get both sides of the story too, but being from a farm in Nebraska and watching their news closely for many years I can tell you that the Ogallala aquifer is not replenishing itself equal to the amount of irrigation being extracted to produce, mostly, corn ethanol which is now being exported abroad.<br><br />"Would reform of federal ethanol policies alter prices of farm commodities and change the optimal use of his land from intensive corn production to more sustainable uses?"<br><br />These sterile fields have stripped most of the wildlife from them as well as native botanics. The corn being produced is overproduction. He is "feeding" large pickups and SUV's.Kalpahttp://bigpictureagriculture.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-56642127265429088542010-08-27T10:28:49.315-04:002010-08-27T10:28:49.315-04:00125 people? How is this number determined?
With t...125 people? How is this number determined?<br /><br />With the amount of food waste, excess calories, and novel uses for corn such as compostable packaging made from corn not grown with compost, I might expect that a reduced yield might not have an effect on how many people are fed.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15728054461362548016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-32881400134786997022010-08-27T08:32:38.546-04:002010-08-27T08:32:38.546-04:00The term "specialty market" as describin...The term "specialty market" as describing organics is right, but not in the dismissive way that many non-organic commodity interests now use it. They are no longer unable deny the long-term ecological impacts of dependence upon annual synthetic fertility and pesticide inputs, thanks to research from the two locations the author visited, and others.<br /> Yes, organics is special: it is the solid ag sector made of up of people who chose to trade in an economy that includes many of the real scientific dynamics that remain "externalities" only because of perverted economic incentives driven by the need for cheap inputs (to benefit grain processors) and increasing use of inputs (to benefit their manufacturers).<br /> Organic production systems, adapted locally through farmer and landgrant research, focus on optimizing the benefits of healthy soil and biodiversity. The best of them are the pioneers to the way forward into a post-cheap-oil food & fiber production system.<br /> Living within the limits of well-stewarded biological resources is the only sustainable way forward. Farmers who do this are indeed "special." Many who do not admit they are trapped by the "convenience" of chemical no-till, using chemical and genetic products against their better judgment--and long-term self interest. <br /> Research can help with transitions to organics, but it's also a matter of choosing to embrace the impacts of one's practices -- on the health to people, land and climate -- and finding buyers willing to pioneer with them..Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01540600637039987834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-33522078263812834442010-08-24T17:44:22.478-04:002010-08-24T17:44:22.478-04:00I spent July driving across the country, and while...I spent July driving across the country, and while much of the land we passed was covered with huge corn farms, it was so refreshing to see some small family farms growing a wide range of crops. I feel very hopeful that the country's 'food movement' toward more sustainable farming practices and purchasing is really growing!Ameliahttp://www.eating-made-easy.comnoreply@blogger.com