Where have all the farmers gone?

1. Where have all the farmers gone? Brian Halweil

2. Farmers: An Endangered Species • Industrialized countries – fewer & aging farmers • Global South, Asia – increasing farmers, smaller land parcels • Since 1950 agricultural employment fell 80%

3. Urbanization • Falling incomes • Rising debt • Rural poverty • Urban migration -- seek more employment opportunities

4. Reality: • Marginalization of farmers, loss of extensive knowledge • Loss of community ties • Unemployment & health problems in the cities

5. WW II as Watershed • Pre-WWII farmers saved seed, used livestock manure as fertilizer, crop diversity functioned as pest control • Wartime chemicals converted to fertilizers and synthetic pesticides • Earl Butz: “Get big or get out” • Monocrop, fence-row to fence-row

6. The Food Chain • Vertical integration of the food chain • Corporations, processors, distributors, warehouses, supermarkets

7. The Squeeze of Food Cartels • Oligopoly control of the food system • Mergers, takeovers and alliances create extreme profits • Widening gap between farm prices and retail food prices

8. A Vicious Cycle • Increased production costs, declining profits, new technologies, increased production, oversupply, decreased prices Increased demand for technology Over-supply, declining prices = lower profits Increased outputs & expenses, declining prices

9. The Food Dollar • Today, farmers receive only 10 of the food dollar Farmer’s Processing, packaging, Share distribution, sales, etc.

10. Goldschmidt Study • Compared two small towns-Dinuba & Arvin - Alike in every way except farm size • Small farms have more complex farming systems, (vs. more simple on large farms) • Farm systems require thorough and intimate knowledge of the land—neglected by corporations • More efficient use of land, water, more ecologically sustainable • More efficient use of land, water, etc. 1) More biodiversity 2) Planting crops with differing drainage close together on land with varying topography - Neither can be done with heavy tractors

11. Goldschmidt, cont. • Small farms create stronger communities - support 20% more people - higher standard of living - 2 times as many business establishments - More participation in politics - More schools, parks, churches, newspapers & civic organizations • Small size alone is not enough – must have ecological awareness & motivation

12. Simplicity of Industrial Farms • Large farms appear more productive because yield/acre is based on only one crop rather than total food production per acre • The 2-crop (corn-soy) system is more simple • Increased dependence on fertilizer • CAFOS – more waste/day than Los Angeles • Nitrogen pollution & methane gas: 1) Manure lagoons 2) Run-off into Gulf of Mexico (The Dead Zone) • Loss of ecological diversity (our ultimate insurance policy) • Loss of knowledge and experience

13. Backfire: Tearing of the Social Fabric • poverty • social class distinctions • mental stress • breakdown of families ties • high rates of suicides • security threats