The Farm Bureau’s rebuttal to Time Magazines “The Real Cost of Cheap Food” can be found at FarmWeekNow.com. It was distsributed Monday, August 31st issue, volume 37. Search “”frontal ag attack.”
This Farm Bureau is comprised of mostly commodity farmers who are at the heart of our quantity-over-quality food system. “The Real Cost of Cheap Food” examines consequences ranging from an obesity epidemic to environmental effects of chemical fertilizer. The Farm Bureau scoffs at the use of the word “epidemic” and argues that larger farms are not necessarily worse for the environment. Also, that family farms are actually still prevalent.
Todd and I believe and agree with the Farm Bureau on one thing: U.S. corn is grown by mostly family farms, not necessarily “faceless, uncaring entities” as the Time article claims. They choose to own or rent their land and make decisions independently of any employer.
These corn-growing families, however, have no control when it comes to pricing their product. Their corn (or soy) go into the same big bins as all the farmers in the area and is valued according to that weird and mysterious market called Futures. The buyers ARE faceless. And those are the corporations.
The average family farm today is not the picturesque Fischer Price image of cows and pigs and chickens. Very few family farms still integrate livestock on their land. Their land could mean one thousand acres all corn and soy. With a square of it for the farmhouse and machine shed. Corn and soy and corn and soy for the faceless buyers and the cows and pigs and chickens. Where are the cows and the pigs and the chickens? That’s also part of the Time article.
This Farm Bureau is comprised of mostly commodity farmers who are at the heart of our quantity-over-quality food system. “The Real Cost of Cheap Food” examines consequences ranging from an obesity epidemic to environmental effects of chemical fertilizer. The Farm Bureau scoffs at the use of the word “epidemic” and argues that larger farms are not necessarily worse for the environment. Also, that family farms are actually still prevalent.
Todd and I believe and agree with the Farm Bureau on one thing: U.S. corn is grown by mostly family farms, not necessarily “faceless, uncaring entities” as the Time article claims. They choose to own or rent their land and make decisions independently of any employer.
These corn-growing families, however, have no control when it comes to pricing their product. Their corn (or soy) go into the same big bins as all the farmers in the area and is valued according to that weird and mysterious market called Futures. The buyers ARE faceless. And those are the corporations.
The average family farm today is not the picturesque Fischer Price image of cows and pigs and chickens. Very few family farms still integrate livestock on their land. Their land could mean one thousand acres all corn and soy. With a square of it for the farmhouse and machine shed. Corn and soy and corn and soy for the faceless buyers and the cows and pigs and chickens. Where are the cows and the pigs and the chickens? That’s also part of the Time article.
You can read the whole Time Magazine artical: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458,00.html
Farm Week Now rebuttal http://www.farmweeknow.com/story.aspx?s=31108
-Julia
