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CAN OUR FARMERS FEED THE FUTURE WORLD? ABSOLUTELY! |
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During the week of March 18th through 24th, the nation celebrated National Agriculture Week. During the last 40 years, food production has grown faster than world population and there is every reason to believe it will continue.According to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization, world food production must double by 2025 to feed the world. We can do that. We have done it before. Our farmers and ranchers are extremely productive when we allow them to be. Americans spend less than 10 percent of their income on food. No country in the world can match that. United States taxpayers work three times longer to pay annual taxes than they work to pay for all the food they buy each year. Even then, about 27 percent (96 billion pounds) of that food is thrown away or wasted. In addition to food, agriculture provides us with many other products, such as: alternative fuels, pharmaceuticals, surgical sutures, ointments, latex gloves, x-ray film, gelatin for capsules, heart valves, lumber, paints, brushes, tar paper, dry wall, tool handles, lubricants, antifreeze, tires, upholstery, adhesives, solvents, detergents, paper, ink, film, shampoo, cosmetics, lotions, fingernail polish, toothpaste, crayons, textbooks, chalk, desks, pencils, clothing, baseball bats, leather equipment, and shoes. In addition to providing food security, cheap food, and thousands of other products, our |
farmers and ranchers contribute to the society in many other ways. They are the best stewards of the land. They provide food and habitat for 75 percent of the nation's wildlife. Ninety percent are still "family" farms and ranches that are producing the next generation of rural Americans.
Today's farmers and ranchers are better educated and more sophisticated than some traditional "business people". Today's agriculture is expanding into new products, developing specialty crops, and improving methods of producing and using traditional crops. Can they feed the future world? Absolutely! A farmer can harvest enough wheat for 70 loaves of bread in 9 seconds. All that we need is for the international politicians to get out of the way, and let our farmers and ranchers do what they do better than anyone in the world. Office of the Secretary of Agriculture :: Weekly News From Secretary Larry Gabriel http://www.state.sd.us/doa/secretary/news/Column_150.htm
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