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Why do we bring in outside food?

Why do we bring in outside food?. James Dunn Agricultural Economist Penn State University. Recent Food Scares. Chinese pet food with melamine California spinach Mexican green onions Mad cow disease Bird flu Genetically modified foods.

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Why do we bring in outside food?

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  1. Why do we bring in outside food? James Dunn Agricultural Economist Penn State University

  2. Recent Food Scares • Chinese pet food with melamine • California spinach • Mexican green onions • Mad cow disease • Bird flu • Genetically modified foods

  3. Reasons to Buy LocalCincinnati Enquirer – August 7, 2007 • Support local businesses • Food safety • Fossil fuel use • Taste • Nutrition

  4. Does Eating Local Food Save Energy? • No long-distance transport • Where do you buy it? • How much driving around does this entail? • How much do you buy per trip? • Long-distance transport of food doesn’t use much energy per pound • Full semi-truckloads often travelling partly by rail • The Economist cited research that half of energy use in food transport is by consumer • If you preserve food to keep it through the winter it uses a lot of energy ( even commercially)

  5. Some questions • Could we feed ourselves with locally grown food? • Is locally grown food safer? • Do we need to import food? • Is food from elsewhere riskier than domestically raised food? • Is our food safe? • Is it riskier than 10 years ago?

  6. Could we feed ourselves with locally grown food? • No! • And if we tried it would be prohibitively expensive • And we would have very little variety • Lack of specialization would sacrifice all economies of size • We are surrounded by cities and very little farmland • Lots of labor needed – immigration issue

  7. Is locally grown food safer? • Probably not! • Bigger, specialized farms can concentrate on details • Small, multi-product farms have too many balls in the air • Food safety problems are because of mistakes

  8. Do we need to import food from abroad? • Not necessarily • We would lose variety in our diet • Food costs would go up • No bananas, coffee, tea, chocolate • No grapes in the winter • We export enormous amounts of food • They won’t buy our stuff unless we reciprocate

  9. General Characteristics of U.S. Agriculture • U.S. has about 5% of world’s people • 17% of cotton • 43% of corn • 60% soybeans • 6% of land • 22% of apples

  10. Economies of Size in Farming • Larger farms can specialize more • Use equipment better • Spread management over more units • Get better rates on shipping and purchasing • For crops, maximum size hit limits because of distance • For animals, limit very large

  11. Agriculture is regionally specialized • Corn belt • Wheat belt • California fruit and vegetables • Pennsylvania dairy • Infrastructure needs enough producers • Processing plants, machinery dealers, handlers all need volume to compete

  12. Is food from elsewhere riskier than domestically raised food? • It is hard to say • Maybe. We have less control and they have less accountability • Lots of our problems come from the US • Meat problems • Spinach

  13. Is our food safe?Is it riskier than 10 years ago? • It is much safer than before • 24 hour news makes us more aware of problems elsewhere • Biggest food risk by far is in preparation • Lots of food poisoning at home and in restaurants

  14. Long-term vs short-term risk • Short term – food poisoning • Long term – pesticide residues, carcinogens, GMOs? • Biggest long-term food risk by far is what we eat and how much – obesity, heart disease, diabetes

  15. My own view • I buy at the farmer’s market to a degree • Local sweet corn is vastly better • Like to buy local if it makes sense • I do not buy organic food • I love the variety of food available – bing cherries on New Year’s Day, strawberries year round • Wallner’s Garden

  16. For consumers the good old days weren’t all that good • Canned beans and corn • Apples, oranges and bananas in winter • Lots of potatoes, onions, and carrots • No fresh fish • Food was more expensive • Much less fresh produce • Much less variety

  17. Real price indexes of food, farm milk, and retail milk

  18. What would happen if we had to buy local • Expensive food • Limited selection • Poor quality • Farmers in poverty – multi-product farms ended for good reasons • How about New York City?

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