FROM FARM TO FORK:
WHAT THE FARMERS SAY ABOUT MODERN FOOD PRODUCTION
There is a growing awareness by the general public of the degree of sustainability of our food and
beverage products. Some say that while farming practices using the latest food technology are more
productive and cost-efficient, they also have negative economic, environmental and social effects.
Farmers are often referred to as the most knowledgeable stewards of the environment. They
understand the challenges of producing safe, abundant and high quality crops to feed an evergrowing population. Below is what they have to say about our current food production system:
Using Efficient, Cost-Effective Farming Practices
Critics suggest today’s cheap food prices hide environmental and social costs such as erosion of
soil, chemical contamination, water depletion, the loss of family farms, and impoverished rural
communities. However, sixth-generation American farmer Trent Loos offers a different
perspective:
“The American food system, starting at the farm, is the envy of the world in that no one else feeds
and clothes their nation with a higher percentage of domestically produced foods with fewer
resources impacted to get it done… if we accept that agriculture, unlike any other sector of society,
should go back 80 years in time we must understand that it would require 30 million farmers to
produce enough food simply to feed the people in America. Americans have become accustomed to
spending only 10% of their disposable income on food compared to what we spent in the 1930’s
when 25% of American income was needed to pay the grocery bill. And here is the real clincher,
why is it not a moral and ethical obligation to be as efficient with the natural resources as we know
how to be? Today’s food producers are the absolute leaders in “green” and yet we fail to tell the
story in that manner.”
- Trent Loos, 6th Generation US Farmer, June 12, 2009
Feeding the World’s Growing Population
With the global population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, investment in both genetically
engineered crops and organic farming is critical to helping ensure a sustainable food supply. The
late World Food Prize Winner Norman Borlaug explained this situation in a recent national news
story on how farmers will feed the world:
“People should be able to purchase organic food if they have the will and financial means to do so,
but not at the expense of the world’s hungry—25,000 of whom die each day from malnutrition.
Unfortunately, these distractions keep us from the main goal. Consider that current agricultural
productivity took 10,000 years to attain the production of roughly six billion gross tons of food per
year. Today, nearly seven billion people consume that stockpile almost in its entirety every year.
Factor in growing prosperity and nearly three billion new mouths by 2050, and you quickly see
how the crudest calculations suggest that within the next four decades the world’s farmers will
have to double production. At this time of critical need, the epicenter of our collective work should
focus on driving continued investments from both the public and private sectors in efficient
agriculture production technologies.”
- Nor man E. Borlaug, Texas A&M University, The Wall Street Journal, Farmers Can Feed
The World-Better Seeds And Fertilizers, Not Romantic Myths, Will Let Them Do It; July 30, 2009.
Mr. Borlaug won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to the world food supply.
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Use of Technology by Big and Small Farms
Some believe that returning to smaller, local, family-owned farms will achieve more affordable,
sustainable, and nutritious food than large-scale commercial farms. An interview with Mr. Wally
Riebesell, a supplier to the farming industry, offers a practical perspective:
Reporter: “Wally Riebesell sells farm chemicals and genetically modified seeds here at Mo Valley
Ag, in tiny Rock Port, Missouri. He's seen his customer base dwindle over the years as farms
consolidate. He says big city dwellers don't understand what's happened to agriculture. They want
a romanticized version of rural life. But they also demand cheap food.”
Riebesell: “They like small town America with small businesses and mom and dad running it, but
how much money are we spending on food?”
Reporter: “Not much compared to other countries. And Riebesell says genetically modified crops
have a lot to do with that.”
Riebesell: “But it takes new techniques to grow the volumes of grain to feed the country, and
America feeds the world.”
- Wally Riebesell, Missouri Farmer, NPR Weekend Edition Interview with Scott Simon (Frank
Morris Reporting); July 4, 2009
Use of Modern Farming Practices
For centuries, crop scientists have bred related plants or animal species with one another to develop
useful new varieties with desirable traits, such as better taste or greater crop yield. In addition,
modern food biotechnology techniques, such as genetic engineering, allow for more precise and
environmentally friendly development of crops and livestock. Missouri farmer Blake Hurst shared
his personal experience with using crops produced through food biotechnology in The American:
“Biotech crops actually cut the use of chemicals, and increase food safety. Are people who refuse
to use them my moral superiors? Herbicides cut the need for tillage, which decreases soil erosion
by millions of tons. The biggest environmental harm I have done as a farmer is the topsoil (and
nutrients) I used to send down the Missouri River to the Gulf of Mexico before we began to
practice no-till farming, made possible only by the use of herbicides. The combination of
herbicides and genetically modified seed has made my farm more sustainable, not less, and actually
reduces the pollution I send down the river. But farmers have reasons for their actions, and society
should listen to them as we embark upon this reappraisal of our agricultural system…we have to
farm "industrially" to feed the world, and by using those "industrial" tools sensibly, we can
accomplish that task and leave my grandchildren a prosperous and productive farm, while
protecting the land, water, and air around us.”
- Blake Hurst, Missouri Farmer, “The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-intellectuals”; The
American, July 30, 2009
Ethics and Modern Farming Go Hand in Hand
Opponents of modern, large-scale farming often say that new technologies harm the environment,
compromise animal welfare, and result in unsafe and less nutritious food. Chris Chin, farmer and
member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, responded to these claims:
“As a farmer, agriculture is my life calling, and I have dedicated my life to producing safe,
nutritious and affordable food…Our farm is our sustainable legacy and we have an obligation to
our family, neighbors, community and animals. We wouldn’t be in business today if we didn’t
provide our animals with a safe and healthy environment in which to grow. As a consumer, please
do not buy into scare tactics that aim to put modern family farmers and ranchers out of business…”
- Chris Chin, American Farm Bureau Federation; June 10, 2009
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For more information on modern food production, visit the Agricultural Practices & Food
Technologies page of the International Food Information Council Foundation Web site,
www.foodinsight.org.
International Food Information Council Foundation
October 2009
www.foodinsight.org
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