Time Magazine is Wrong

This week, Time Magazine is running an article that is blatantly wrong about American agriculture. In the article "America's Food Crisis and How to Fix it". The author states that we are pollutants of the environment and that we are factory farms that are pushing government subsidized crops down the throats of our over medicated animals.

I think he is dead wrong. We in America, have the safest and most affordable food supply. We have so many regulations that when we do use pesticides and fertilizers we have to fill out paperwork. How many times has the average joe had to fill out paperwork to get a weed out of his yard with the weed killer he picked up at the Home Depot or local garden center. The regulations that American farmers and ranchers use in growing the food and fiber that the average joe eats and wears is by far more than any other country in the world. The American farmer can now feed 143 people and in 1940 it was only 19. In the last 40 years, the price that the farmers and ranchers have received has been declining. Just because a person pays $12.00 for steaks at the store does not mean that the rancher received $12.00. In fact farmers and ranchers make about 19 cents from every dollar spent on food. This means that farmers in the US need to be larger and more efficient to provide the public with the safe and affordable food or they will go out of business. We complain about our gas prices and being dependant on another country for our energy. Can you imagine what we would pay if we were dependant on another country for our food?

Today's agriculture isn't what it was even 20 years ago. You will find family farms and ranches that are large and incorporated- in essence they are the factory farms that people complain about. The way farmers and ranchers operate are economically viable to survive but they are also ethical, scientific and environmentally sound. Why would someone use a method that would be harmful to the land or animals that they are dependent on for their livelihoods. Farmers and Rancher for the most part live and work on and around their operations with their families. They feel an obligation to their heritage but also to their community and children's future.

I would encourage people to read the article and then respond to the author about his very slanted and artificial story about the American farmer or rancher. And possibly invite him to another country to visit their farms and ranchers to see how it is in reality.