Food Miles

The food miles video we watched in class was very interesting and thought provoking. The positives included the supporting of local farmers. This makes them money and keeps their farms afloat. Supporting local farms can also be linked with supporting more humane farming.  A problem many people have with corporate agriculture in the present day is the cruelty and efficiency with which they go about their business. Slaughters normally take place without compassion and in a fashion that maximizes the bottom line. Local farmers tend to take better care of their livestock and give them more freedom and care while they are living. Another pro is the reduction of a carbon footprint that is left when people keep food local. Not as much travel is necessary. It could also increase the jobs in this country with more positions opening for agricultural purposes that were normally outsourced to cheaper nations with less strict wage laws. Cons include the increased price of the goods due to the decreased efficiency and availability of the product. Small farmers cannot produce at the same rates as corporate entities and the price increases. This leaves less room for people of lower income to afford food which is counterproductive. Also, this would leave many people to not have access to the type of food they want. For  instance, bananas and oranges don't grow in Minnesota. People in Minnesota would then not have access o these lovely fruits that they love to eat. Locally grown food can also be under less scrutiny by the federal government when it comes to health codes. It is easier for the government to keep track of the health codes of large corporations but it would be nearly impossible for them to keep tabs on hundreds and maybe thousands of local farms.

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A major problem with agriculture today is the prevalence of nitrogen fertilizers. These fertilizers hurt the environment and cause issues with natural ecosystems. Huge problems exist with the shortage of water in California and leads to hundreds of layoffs when it comes to laborers. Laborers have little job security and can therefore be let go with little or no backlash to the farmers. The water shortage forces farmers to leave much of their land fallow which is what leads to lay offs. Over the past several decades, yields have risen due to an increase in development of irrigation and water transportation. Smarting farming has also increased yields. Illegal immigration still stands to be a large problem in farm labor in the present day. The U.S. government is leaning on farmers to hire legal workers which increases wages and decreases profits for already poor farmers.

Open Letter To Presidential Candidates

Open Letter to 2016 Presidential Candidates,

Times are hard in the United States this year. This fact is no less true in rural areas, yet they tend to attract far less attention then other issues. Rural populations account for nearly 20% of America's population and they are the backbone of this country. Over the past college semester, I have done a lot of research on the topic of agriculture in rural America. I found that there are serious issues when it comes to this topic that need to be addressed in the coming years. This is an important topic because of how important agriculture is in the country. A small percentage of people create food for the majority of the other citizens. Agricultural laborers are marginalized, poorly paid, and many are illegal immigrants. A solution to this problem needs to be developing advanced agricultural equipment to more efficiently cultivate crops. The reason for this is to increase efficiency and to make agricultural jobs more specialized. These new careers involving technology will require education and experience. This solution would decrease the need for illegal immigrants and increase the need for skilled labor. Another problem I am seeing is the vast lack of water that farms have access to especially on the pacific end of the country. Drought has ravaged the land and forced small farmers to leave much of their land fallow. A solution to this problem is a cheaper and more efficient form of water importing from other parts of the country. This is vitally important as this land provides the nation with access to a specific type of land that allows us to grow crops not available in other parts of the country.

Thank you,
Louis Grilli

This article discusses alternate loan methods for farmers when they don't receive traditional paychecks like many of the average work force do.