The Business of Food (1)Traditional Family Farms versus Agribusiness Farms Past: small farms, sell produce locally Present: huge farm businesses, export produce worldwide large farming corporations are able to sell farmers products at lower prices. This means less profit for the local farmer smaller farms can’t survive since there product is being sold at low cost. Many small and family owned farms have to fold farmers may be employed by the large company for low wage or immigrant workers are hired and paid low wages money is taken out of the local economy

The Business of Food food selection decreases. Produce grown depends on durability during shipping quality may suffer - preservatives, additives, and genetic-engineering may be used to prevent spoilage. More than half our tomatoes are harvested and shipped green, and then artificially ripened the soil quality degrades from basic misuse and improper care large farms use greater quantities of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers that can cause environmental damage export of products around the world from large farms burns great amounts of fossil fuels adding to our global warming problem

The Business of Food Farm Aid – started as a benefit concert to raise money for family farms in the US supporters include Neil Young, John Mellencamp & Willie Nelson

The Business of Food (2) Traditional Fishing Versus Aquaculture aquaculture refers to the growing of plants or animals under controlled conditions in water aquaculture is a fast growing food production industry fish pens are good examples of aquaculture in Newfoundland local examples include: blue mussels, steelhead trout, Atlantic salmon

The Business of Food (2) Traditional Fishing Versus Aquaculture Benefits as the Earth’s population increases, wild stocks cannot meet the demand for food remove fishing pressure from wild stocks. This is debatable because these fish are often fed with wild species. provides economic benefit to local areas (industry in NL)

The Business of Food (2) Traditional Fishing Versus Aquaculture Concerns animals that are closely packed are susceptible to disease escape of pen fish into the ecosystem which may interbreed with wild stocks feces and uneaten food build up below pens and may damage the ocean bottom