MARK CHUA AND MATT SUSSMANE

Food Production and Consumption

The Purpose and Significance of the Food Industry

Group of collective businesses Lots of MoneyWhat is Food?Health and Environment

Factory

IndustrialConcentratedMajority RuleBig CorporationsProcessing and Chemicals Two percent of livestock

farms now raise 40 percent of all animals in the US

In the United States, 79% of pigs are raised on farms with 2,000 pigs or more.

Organic and Sustainable

Environmentally friendly

Lack of processing and preservatives

Organic vs. SustainableA 22-year study

conducted by the Rodale Institute determined that organic farming operations use 30% less energy than conventional farms

Sustainable farms Industrial farms

Betters local communities and their economies

More food per acre of land

Provides jobs

Hidden costs Hurts local markets

and businesses OverproductionRigged allocation of

subsidies Destroys

competition

Sustainable vs. Industrial

Pros Cons

Inexpensive and plentiful food

Convenience for the consumer

Contribution to the economy through the process

Environmental and Social Costs

Damage to fisheriesHealth riskHeavy use of fossil

fuels

Pros and Cons of Industrial Farming

1995-2009 List of Subsidies

National Summary Analysis, by Ken Cook

$245.2 billion in subsidies 1995-2009. Top Recipients 1995-2009 Top Recipients in 2009 62 percent of farmers in United

States did not collect subsidy payments - according to USDA.

Ten percent collected 74 percent of all subsidies.

Amounting to $156.2 billion over 15 years.

Top 10%: $29,675 average per year between 1995 and 2009.

Bottom 80%: $579 average per year between 1995 and 2009.

Corn Subsidies**  1,639,547   $73,775,277,671

2 Wheat Subsidies**  1,374,499   $30,726,213,559

3 Cotton Subsidies**  264,850   $29,715,272,513

4 Conservation Reserve Program  855,784   $26,057,941,270

5 Soybean Subsidies**  1,044,247   $22,776,514,081

6 Disaster Payments  1,321,411   $17,883,953,290

7 Rice Subsidies**  69,990   $12,551,853,937

8 Sorghum Subsidies**  615,604   $5,904,106,527

9 Dairy Program Subsidies  157,978   $4,799,603,993

10 Livestock Subsidies  797,725   $3,455,429,926

11 Peanut Subsidies**  91,565   $3,402,012,935

12 Env. Quality Incentive Program  242,943   $3,397,617,130

13 Barley Subsidies**  352,891   $2,462,713,557

14 Tobacco Subsidies  394,780   $944,104,22 4

15 Sunflower Subsidies**  61,675   $819,268,301

16 Canola Subsidies**  20,465   $355,045,686

17 Wetlands Reserve Program  4,914   $332,946,182

18 Apple Subsidies  8,586   $261,540,987

19 Oat Subsidies**  639,941   $260,883,878

20 Sugar Beet Subsidies  9,071   $242,064,005

National Subsidy Statistics

The Loss of Fossil Fuels

Overuse of fossil fuelsA lot in – A little outIndustrial Practices Too concentrated Inefficiency

The U.S. and Beef

How much beef does the U.S. consume?High beef production (by pound and by $)

http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lsddcbs.pdf

Florida’s beef production

How are cows raised?

Small farmsLarge number of

cowsConditionsOnly raised on cornWhat do other

people think?

Eat Mor Chikin?

How are chickens raised?http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/campai

gns/factory_farming/

What about the chicken farmers?

1995-2009 Lists of Subsidies

$2.37 billion in subsidies 1995-2009. Florida ranking: 28 of 50 States Top Recipients 1995-2009 Top Recipients in 2009 90 percent of farmers in Florida did

not collect subsidy payments - according to USDA.

Ten percent collected 70 percent of all subsidies.

Amounting to $1.06 billion over 15 years.

Top 10%: $20,984 average per year between 1995 and 2009.

Bottom 80%: $543 average per year between 1995 and 2009.

1 Disaster Payments  19,857   $885,722,872

2 Cotton Subsidies**  2,450   $190,863,049

3 Peanut Subsidies**  4,923   $184,840,601

4 Env. Quality Incentive Program  3,597   $67,341,887

5 Livestock Subsidies  8,278   $56,455,467

6 Conservation Reserve Program  3,752   $52,971,047

7 Corn Subsidies**  6,813   $46,717,461

8 Dairy Program Subsidies  429   $39,302,662

9 Tree Subsidies  2,287   $36,309,353

10 Wheat Subsidies**  4,016   $14,232,170

FL Subsidy Statistics

What Can We Do?

Farmers marketsBuy directly from farmershttp://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=HomeOnlineRestaurants

Works Cited

U.S. Department of Energy. “Fossil Fuels,” (accessed August 29, 2006). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Introduction," in Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2004 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 2006): 1-3. Ibid: 3-4. The Union of Concerned Scientists. The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuels, August 10, 2005 (accessed September 7, 2006). Ibid. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Latest Findings on National Air Quality, September, 2002 (accessed October 2, 2006). Clayton, Mark, “ Can Hybrids Save US from Foreign Oil?” Christian Science Monitor, May 19, 2005 U.S. Department of Energy. “Fossil Fuels,” (accessed August 29, 2006). Heller, Martin C., and Gregory A. Keoleian. Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the U.S. Food System. Ann Arbor, MI: Center

for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan, 2000: 42. Horrigan, Leo, Robert S. Lawrence, and Polly Walker.

"How Sustainable Agriculture Can Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture." Environmental Health Perspectives 110, no. 5 (May 5, 2002) (accessed August 29, 2006).

Heller, Martin C., and Gregory A. Keoleian. Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the U.S. Food System. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan, 2000: 42.

Ibid:40. Manning, Richard. "The Oil We Eat: Following the Food Chain Back to Iraq." Harper’s, July 23, 2004. Heeter, Chad, "The Oil in Your Oatmeal: A Lot of Fossil Fuel Goes into Producing, Packaging and Shipping Our Breakfast," San Francisco Chronicle,

March 26, 2006. Clancy, Kate. Greener Pastures: How Grass-fed Beef and Milk Contribute to Healthy Eating. Cambridge (MA): Union of Concerned Scientists, 2006:

13. Murray, Danielle. Oil and Food: A Rising Security Challenge, May 9, 2005 (accessed September 1, 2006). Ibid. Pimentel, David, and Marcia Pimentel. Energy use in food processing for nutrition and development (accessed September 1, 2006). Heller, Martin C., and Gregory A. Keoleian. Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the U.S. Food System. Ann Arbor, MI: Center

for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan, 2000: 40. U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service.  Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS): Monthly Summary, July 12,

2006 (accessed August 29, 2006). Heller, Martin C., and Gregory A. Keoleian. Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the U.S. Food System. Ann Arbor, MI: Center

for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan, 2000: 40. U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. "Energy Management," Conservation Resource Brief, February 2006: 5. Ibid, p.5. Ibid, p.6. Comis, Don, Hank Becker, and Kathryn Barry Stelljes. "Depositing Carbon in the Bank: The Soil Bank, That Is," Agricultural Research Magazine 49

(no. 2), February 2001: 3. Soil Conservation Council of Canada . "Global Warming and Agriculture: Fossil Fuel" Factsheet volume 1, #3. January 2001. Jerardo, Andy. "Import Share of U.S. Food Consumption Stable At 11 percent," Electronic Outlook Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Economic Research Service, FAU-79-01, July 2003: 2, 5-6.

We got some more sources…

Peterson, Willis, L. "Are Large Farms More Efficient?", Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, January, 1997. (Accessed online October 23, 2009)

Norberg-Hodge, Helena; Gorelick, Steven. "Bringing the Food Economy Home." ISEC. September 2002. Chism, John W.; Levins, Richard A. "Farm Spending and Local Selling: How Do They Match Up?" Minnesota Agricultural Economist.

No. 676, Spring 1994. Swenson, David. "Economic Impact of a Diversified Small Farming Operation in Woodbury County". Department of Economics, Iowa

State University. (accessed online January 21, 2009). Weida, William J. "Considering the Rationales for Factory Farming," GRACE, February 2004. Chism, John W.; Levins, Richard A. "Farm Spending and Local Selling: How Do They Match Up?" Minnesota Agricultural Economist.

No. 676, Spring 1994. Weida, William J. "Considering the Rationales for Factory Farming," GRACE, February 2004. Norberg-Hodge, Helena; Gorelick, Steven. "Bringing the Food Economy Home." ISEC. September 2002. Harrison, Jeff, "Study: Nation Wastes Nearly Half Its Food." University of Arizona, 2004. Center for Disease Control. Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity on the United States.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. July 24, 2009. Vol. 58, No. RR-7. World Watch Institute. "From Rio to Johannesbourg: Ecological Farming - Reducing Hunger and Meeting Environmental Goals."

June 2002. Environmental Working Group. Farm Subsidy Database, "United States: Subsidy Summary." Environmental Working Group,

(accessed January 21, 2009). Environmental Working Group.  Farm Subsidy Database, "Payment Concentration." Environmental Working Group, (accessed

January 21, 2009). USDA Economic Research Service.

"Market-Led Growth Versus Government-Facilitated Growth: Development of the U.S. and EU Organic Agricultural Sectors." August 2005

Environmental Working Group, Farm Subsidy Databate, "Farms Getting Government Payments, by State, According to the 2002 USDA Census of Agriculture." EWG, (accessed October 3, 2006).

Environmental Working Group.  Farm Subsidy Database, "Total USDA - Subsidies by state, 2006" Environmental Working Group, (accessed January 25, 2009).

USDA Economic Research Service. Understanding Rural America: Rural Change, February 1997 (accessed August 16, 2006). Warren, Allen. "Organic vs Industrial Agriculture: Can we have the best of

     both?" http://lifemorenatural.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. "Factory Farming Impacts." http://www.cwac.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. Cook, Ken. "The United States Summary Information." http://farm.ewg.org. N.p.,

     n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2010.