1. Food Systems and Agriculture: Agriculture 101
Sarah Kinney, MBA, RDN
CSNA 2018 Summer Conference
June 13th, 2018

2. Overview What is a Food System? What is Agriculture?
Who are the people that grow our food?
Definitions
How do we talk to our customers about agriculture?
Overview

3. A food system is how we get our food
A food system is how we get our food. The food system includes all processes involved in feeding people: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consuming and disposing of food and food packages.
*Cornell University Cooperative Extension
What is a food system?

4. What is Agriculture?
Agriculture-The science or practice of farming, including growing crops and raising animals for the production of food, fiber, fuel and other products.
Humans did not begin farming until 10,000-8,000 B.C.
2.1 million farms in United States. 99% of those farms are operated by families.
One U.S. farm can feed 165 people annually.
Top three U.S. farm products: Cattle, corn and dairy products.
Many of the products we use in our everyday lives are byproducts of food produced by America’s farmers and ranchers.
Americans enjoy a food supply that is abundant, affordable overall and among the world’s safest.
*American Farm Bureau Federation

5. Farmers make up <2% of the US population, in 1862 90% of the population were farmers.
Farmers and ranchers receive only 15 cents out of every dollar spent on food at home and away from home.
*USDA and American Farm Bureau Federation
Who grows our food?

6. Conventional-Conventional farms tend to be larger, using technological innovations and growing a single type of high-yield crop utilizing synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. More food is produced with less land to ensure a more abundant and less expensive food supply.
Organic-Organic agricultural crops are grown from organic seeds without synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, irradiation or genetic engineering. While natural pesticides and fertilizers are primarily used, a limited number of approved synthetic substances are allowed if natural methods are inadequate.
GMOs-organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. In this process, scientists make targeted changes to a plant’s genetic makeup to give the plant a new desirable trait.
Biotechnology- The methodology used to create GMO plants.
Plant Breeding- Looking at a plant’s observable advantages – like growth, disease resistance and taste – then selecting and planting the seeds from those plants.
*USDA, FDA, WHO
Definitions

7. Antibiotics-Antibiotics are a sub-category of antimicrobials and are primarily used to kill and prevent the growth of bacteria.
BST- Bovine somatotropin is a protein hormone that is produced naturally by cows to help them make milk.
Grass-Fed or Grass-Finished Beef- This beef comes from cattle that spend their whole lives eating grass or forage.
Sustainability- An integrated system of plant and animal production practices that will, over the long term:
Satisfy human food and fiber needs.
Enhance environmental quality and the natural-resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends.
Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on- farm resources, and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls.
Sustain the economic viability of farm operations.
Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.
*AVMA, FSIS, FDA, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, USDA
Definitions

8. How do we talk about agriculture?