1. INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE, ORGANIC AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT Jennifer Sumner, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Rural Studies Program Presentation for Dr. Mark Sears’ ENVB*2010 class Food Production and the Environment March 1, 2004

2. “Eating is an agricultural act.”
~Wendell Berry

3. We do not, and no-one ever will, live in a post-agricultural society.
AGRICULTURE
the world’s major environmental interaction
began thousands of years ago with the cultivation of wild plants and the domestication of wild animals
involves not only the production of food and fibre, but also their distribution and the infrastructure for production and distribution at regional, national and global levels
accounts for 3% of GDP
We do not, and no-one ever will, live in a post-agricultural society.

4. INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE
Industrial agriculture refers to large-scale industrialized forms of agriculture that are capital intensive, highly mechanized, use large amounts of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and involve extensive monocropping and/or highly concentrated and intense livestock operations.

5. THE RISE OF INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE
Food production, distribution and consumption were radically transformed in the 20th century
Fully incorporated into the market system
Increased distance between producer and consumer
Production of industrial food
Externalized costs of production
The emergence of a globalized food system that picks and chooses among producing countries
The environmental race to the bottom

6. THE CONSOLIDATION OF INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE
horizontal integration - the expansion of firms into other geographic areas (e.g., the decreasing number of family farms)
vertical integration - occurs when a firm owns several different stages in the food commodity system, which increases its economic power
farm operators now have massive dependence on all manner of farm inputs and on ever-increasing outputs for foreign markets
industrial agriculture has functioned more for financial gain than for human need

7. AGRIBUSINESS It’s been a long battle by corporations
to turn agriculture into agribusiness.
Agribusiness - the sum total of all operations involved in the manufacture and distribution of farm supplies, production operations on the farm, storage, and processing and distribution of farm commodities and items made from them
Agribusiness and the state promote particular policies and production techniques favorable to the needs of large corporations
large use of external inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides and machinery
Turning food into agrifood

8. PROBLEMS WITH INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE
animal disease problems
mad cow disease, hoof and mouth disease
human health problems
pesticides, antibiotics and other contaminants in food and water
economic problems
cost-price squeeze
increasing input and machinery costs
decreasing world prices
debt

9. social problems economic stress affects: fewer family farms
the health of farm families
the vibrancy of rural communities
fewer family farms
the death of many rural communities
increasing unemployment and/or increasing off-farm employment
Almost 90% of American farm household income comes from non-farm sources
rural depopulation
North Dakota, Manitoba

10. Environmental Problems
Soil and water degradation/depletion
Lack of biodiversity
Habitat destruction
Death of wildlife
Export economy
Growth imperative
Herbicide-resistant weeds
GMO’s
Greenhouse gases

11. The environment is reduced to a source and a sink because economists cannot value what the environment is worth, merely its value in monetary terms.

12. Food Fights
Increasing consumer distrust of /digust with industrial food
Increasing obesity problems
Increasing allergy problems
International trade agreements vs. the public good
Consumer-led revolts
Slow food
Organics
babyfood

13. Organic Agriculture
Organic agriculture is an holistic agricultural system that seeks to learn from and mimic natural processes in order to
channel nature to the service of humanity
avoid problems rather than creating and then solving them
integrate enterprises to capture positive ecological and economic synergies
internalize costs of production

14. Definition of Organic Agriculture
Organic agriculture is a holistic system of production designed to optimize the productivity and fitness of diverse communities within the agroecosystem, including soil organisms, plants, livestock and people. The principle goal of organic agriculture is to develop productive enterprises that are sustainable and harmonious with the environment.
Canadian General Standards Board

15. Organic Agriculture
involves a total systems approach - not linear like conventional/industrial agriculture
goals
elimination of agricultural chemicals
reduced energy use
greater farm and regional self-sufficiency
smaller farm units and technology
improved conservation and regeneration of agricultural resources such as soil and water

16. Impacts of Organic Family Farms on Rural Communities
Economic
Social
Political
Cultural
Gendered
Environmental

17. Environmental Impacts of Organic Family Farming
Lowering the chemical burden on the environment
Protecting/stewarding the environment
An ethic of leaving the land better than they found it
Care for the soil like a living being
Promoting biodiversity
Domestic/wild plants and animals

18. Organic Agriculture Productivity
Smaller farm sizes are 2 to 10 times more productive per unit acre than larger ones
After transition, organic yields are comparable to conventional yields
What is productivity?
Yield – production per unit of a single crop
Output – the sum of everything a small farmer produces
Various grains, fruits, vegetables, fodder and animal products

19. Can Organics Feed the World?
Wrong question
Food production has kept pace with population growth
The problem of hunger is lack of access to food
Poverty
Landlessness
Food dependence vs food independence
Feeding the community / region
Foodshed
Food security and agricultural policy
Organic agriculture as a lens through which to look at food production and the environment

20. “Eating is an environmental act.”