Food Production - Research Paper Example

? One of the most pressing issues of our times is the sustainability of our food producing system. With a population hovering just below 6 billion, growing enough food for everyone on the plant is become a difficult task. Innovation and the development of new farming techniques have greatly increased our capacity to produce food. With a growing population, farmers and scientists are working diligently to get ever-greater quantities of staple products such as wheat, soybeans and corn from each acre. The genetic modification of crop seeds appears to hold promise for increasing yields as does irrigation and planting techniques that may bring acreage into cultivation that currently is not employed. The problem with these technological approaches to increasing harvests is they have created a system of food production that looks to productivity as the only measure of success. Our current system of “factory farms” is highly productive but we are ignoring the environmental damage, the loss of nutrition and quality of our foodstuffs and the ethical concerns raised by the current feedlot method of raising animals for food. The true cost of our current industrialized method of food production can only be realized when we factor in all of these variables. The “Green Revolution” of the 1960’s was truly a historic turning point for global agriculture (Kidd and Kidd). For the first time, populous nations such as India and China could feed themselves with the use of new farming techniques such as no-till planting and the administering of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers to the land. More food was being produced than ever, but at what cost? Globally, farmers needed to raise more crops than ever because they needed to use fertilizer to compete with corporate farms. The abundance created by the “Green Revolution” suppressed commodity prices. Farmers were feeding more people than ever, but they couldn’t afford to make a living farming because the return was too little. Farmers began to plant crops and graze animals in areas that were of marginal quality. As a result, more water was diverted from rivers for irrigation schemes and desertification overtook once productive farmland (Glantz). Added to these negative consequences is the fact that pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers began to pollute the ecosystem. We have learned much about how to limit the damage caused by these powerful chemicals over the decades, but that does not change the fact that entire ecosystems, such as the Chesapeake Bay estuary, are constantly under stress as a result of out current agricultural practices. A final negative consequence that our current mechanized method of farming creates is an over-dependence on fossil fuels. Massive tractors and harvesters are employed to such an extent that a rise in gasoline prices now equates a rise in food prices. We have found ourselves in a precarious situation once again. Before the “Green Revolution” we had hunger due to a lack of productivity. Now our factory farming system is creating a situation where the costs of production are putting the cost of food out of reach of many people. We have hunger because of a lack of money, not a lack of productive capacity. Another problem that our current method of industrialized food production is causing is a drop in the nutrition found in the foods we eat. Many diseases and ailments have been linked to eating highly processed food that contain dyes and large amounts of refined sugar. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is less common than in the past for several reasons. Processed foods are often more convenient to eat. They are packaged and often require a minimum of effort (or no effort at all) to prepare them for consumption. Fewer families sit down to eat meals together than they did in the past as well. Society has changed and the pace of life has increased for many people. As a result, processed foods of convenience such as fast food, has replaced more healthy foods such as vegetables and whole grains. But the problem of our food production system goes even deeper. Even if you eat healthy, home cooked food, such as salmon or beef and vegetables, you are probably getting less nutrition than you did in the past because of the way the salmon or beef was raised. Studies have shown that cattle raised in feedlots and fish raised in fish farms have less nutrition in the form of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids than do grass-fed cattle and wild caught salmon (Pollan). In essence, even if you try to eat healthier, the food we get from our industrialized farms still has less nutrition to offer than food produced in more traditional and sustainable methods. Another problem with our highly processed method of food production is that the quality relative to taste and flavor has actually decreased. This is important because the way our senses react to the food we eat largely determines our pattern of food consumption. Highly processed food obtains most of its aroma and taste from industrialized sources. Any time something is labeled as having artificial or natural flavoring added, the food has been altered chemically in a factory to make it more desirable in some way. The flavoring and food dyeing industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that attempts to entice us to eat highly processed foods as regularly as possible. The really insidious fact that we are not aware of this process stems from the fact that most of us don’t have anything to compare processed food to. We no longer are aware of how all natural food looks, smells or tastes. A good example of this is eggs. Nearly all of the eggs you buy in the supermarket are produced the same way. Hens are crammed into small cages and fed a special diet that maximizes their egg production. They get no exercise and never eat the food that they are genetically best suited to eat, namely grubs, worms and other insects. They are forced to eat a 100% grain diet. Their eggs, as a result, are all the same. But some farmers are now raising chickens in more natural way. Chickens are pastured with cows. The chickens find natural food that is attracted to the cow droppings and have to work to feed themselves. As a result, the eggs do not taste like they came out of a factory. They have firm yolks with outstanding color. Many chefs around the world are demanding these sorts of naturally produced eggs because their quality is so much higher than eggs that come out of a factory (Salatin). A final concern with our current type of food production system is how animal rights and ethics towards animals fit into the picture. People have been eating domesticated animals for thousands of years. But the production line methods that are employed today are truly disturbing. The beef industry is probably the epitome of animal rights abuse. Many cattle are kept in pens and are never pastured. They never eat their natural food, which is grass. They are forced to eat a diet based largely on corn. This grain makes the cows sick so antibiotics and medicines need to be administered. These medicines can find their way into humans if the beef factory owners are not careful. From birth to slaughter, cattle in these factory feedlot operations are confined and abused. Some would say that cattle are made to be consumed. This may be true, but we all should address concerns over haw the cattle are treated prior to slaughter because cattle are after all breathing, living things. The mutilation of animals for the sake of productivity is another sign that our assembly line methods of food production are not going to work in the long run. At the turn of the 20th century, people were shocked to learn of the horrible conditions in the Chicago meatpacking district (Ward and Sinclair). The concern there was for the human employees of these meatpacking firms. At that time, most of the cattle they were processing had been raised in pastures and on open range. Today, the conditions in the meat packing industry have improved for humans, but have grown increasingly deplorable for the cattle. So what is to be done? We live in a busy, modern age that values productivity over all else. But what is the cost of this productivity? The environmental damage and poor quality food we currently have is not acceptable and will add to the real cost of our current food production system. A new revolution is needed. We need a revolution of conscience that will allow us to utilize technology in an ethical way so we can continue to feed all the people of the earth with natural, nutritious and high quality food. Works Cited Glantz, Michael H. Drought Follows the Plow: Cultivating Marginal Areas. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1994. Print. Kidd, J. S., and Renee A. Kidd. Agricultural versus Environmental Science: a Green Revolution. New York: Chelsea House, 2006. Print. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: a Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print. Salatin, Joel. "Chickens." Polyface, Inc. Web. 13 May 2011. . Ward, Selena, and Upton Sinclair. The Jungle: Upton Sinclair. New York: Spark Pub., 2002. Print. Read More