Farming from Family Farms to Industrial Food Production

the change

the family farm A family farm is a farm owned and operated by a family In developed countries the family farm is viewed sentimentally, as a lifestyle to be preserved for tradition's sake, According to the United States Department of Agriculture, ninety- eight percent of all farms in the U.S. are family farms

Natural Farming: Family Farms

the family farm A family farm is a farm that: 1. produces agricultural commodities for sale in such quantities so as to be recognized in the community as a farm and not a rural residence; 2. produces enough income (including off-farm employment) to pay family and farm operating expenses, pay debts, and maintain the property; 3. is managed by the operator; 4. has a substantial amount of labor provided by the operator and the operator’s family; 5. may use seasonal labor during peak periods and a reasonable amount of full-time hired labor.

Family farming is a rapidly decreasing trade. Family farms today are struggling to survive. There are seven hundred and fifty thousand less family farms since 1981: an equivalent to 1 million jobs lost. In over 70 years, 7 million farms have become 2 million, causing the rate of self employment in agriculture to decrease as well. As new generations sell off the family farm and migrate from the rural country to the city. these farms are shut down - they are not replaced by new farms and young farmers. Though farming is highly romanticized throughout history as a traditional culture that represents old America..... the ideal is not necessarily accurate.

What are some reasons? With a lack of access to markets, the benefits from farm programs go to larger farms. Family farmers are unable to attract new investors. With a high cost of equipment (averaging an initial cost of about $200,000), investors are necessary. However, the average age for famers has risen to 58 years old, with only 6% of the farmers being under the age of 35. What investors look for in businesses is the probability that their investments will succeed or not. Failure is viewed as more common in older people, especially in a line of work that requires intense physical labor, such as farming. Though farmers do receive consumer dollars for the food they produce, their income is often offset by inflation. 1980, a farmer received $.37 for every consumer dollar spent on food, * a net income equivalent to that of the Great Depression. 2012, the farmer receives $.20 for every consumer dollar spent on food

Corporate Farming Modern Food Production CORPORATE FARMING CORPORATE FARMING encompasses the production of animal and plant foods as well as the transportation for marketing. The "farmers" are actually large corporations who are absentee farmers and have no stake in the surrounding environment. the most food, in the smallest space, in the fastest way, with the least cost possible, The idea behind corporate farming is to raise the most food, in the smallest space, in the fastest way, with the least cost possible, without much consideration for the animals, the community or the environment limits the diversity A problem with large -scale food production is that by reducing the actual number of companies that produce our foodit limits the diversity of the food being produced, if one of these agribusinesses should stop functioning, a great deal of the food chain could be threatened.

FOOD inc. - Chicken Farm

Corporate Farming Modern Food Production Industrial farms cause smaller farms to go out of business by mass producing food. Efficiency is they key to production, despite the use of unnatural chemicals, genetic engineering, and inhumane methods of treating livestock. Increased amounts of food mean that food prices can drop and make it easier for consumers to feed themselves and their families. With a growing population, the government supports industrial farming. Industrial farming has become a big business.

Agribusiness Modern Food Production agribusiness crop production, seed supply agrochemicals distribution processing sales. agribusiness is a generic term applied to businesses involved in some or all of the following agricultural production systems: crop production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrochemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales.ctiod supply agroch distributbusinessesctiontract d supply, agrochinerand distribut, marketing, a VERTICAL INTEGRATION

Corporate Farming Modern Food Production US governmenteliminate the small family farm. The US government is now engaged in a war to eliminate the small family farm. The family farm has been under pressure for a long time by larger and more powerful commercial interests as well as the their collusion with government. lobbying Congress to harm or impede the family farm operation They do this by way of lobbying Congress to enact regulations that are designed to to harm or impede the family farm operation.

industrial food system: fast food and ethics