USA Agriculture & FoodStructure of Agriculture

Since 2004: less than 1% of the USA population were farmers; 1920: 30%; in 1787: 90%

17% of the total labor force work in food-related industries23 million food-related jobs with 90% of the jobs off farms17% of the country's GNP

One farmer/rancher provides for 114 people: 92 in the USA and 22 abroad.With off-farm agricultural-related jobs, each farmer feeds only 16!

About 90% of farms (total 2 million) are family-owned.

USA Agriculture & Food

Most U.S. farmers produce crops for feed and fuel (biofuels) rather than as food directly.

Feed and FuelWhereas 45% of the global crops are for feed and fuel, 73% of U.S. and 82% of Midwest crops are used for feed and fuel (purple color on the map).

FoodIn contracts, whereas 55% of global crops are produced for direct food consumption, only 27% of U.S. and 19% of Midwest crops are used for food (green color on the map).

USA Agriculture & Food2% of farms with $500,000 or more sales operate 13% of the land6% of all landowners control over 50% of farmland[in Venezuela: fewer than 5% of all landowners control over 75% of farmland]

2% of farms with $500,000 or more sales generate 50% of gross farm sales9% of farms produce 73% of farm sales

USA Agriculture & Food10% of the largest & richest farms receive 75% of federal farm program payments

Between 2007 and 2011, 2,300 farm operators, who grew no crops of any kind, received $3 million!Between 2008 and 2012, $10.6 million was paid to farmers who were dead for over a year!Overall, farm subsidies account for about $20 billion per year from taxpayers.

In 2014, Congress abolished direct farm payments based on land ownership, but farmers now get more subsidies crop insurance and new payments based on past crops and productivity! Things really never do change as long entrenched special interests control Congress.

Federal government farm

subsidies per capita by county

20% of the largest farms received 80% of federal farm program payments.

Notable farm-subsidy recipientsRepublican from Iowa

since 1981

USA Agriculture & FoodVertical Integration in Agriculture: production -> consumption

An Example: ConAgra -- vertical integration and contract farmingIn the 2004 Presidential election, 82% of ConAgra’s political contributions ($197,252) went to the Republican Party [Source: The Hightower Lowdown, January 2005]

• top four firms processing of beef, pork, broilers, sheep, turkeys, and seafood.

• second largest food firm in the USA; fourth largest in the world with operations in 32 countries.

D) Retail Brands: Country Pride (fryers), Banquet, Beatrice Food (TV dinners and pot pies)C) Transportation: owns 1,00 barges, 2,000 railroad cars, 100 grain elevatorsB) Feed and Farm Chemical Supplies:

1) largest fertilizer producer and agricultural chemicals2) produces its own poultry and livestock feed

A) Production: 1) owns and operates chicken hatcheries

2) contracts with “independent” farmers to raise chickens

3) processes chickens in its own slaughterhouses

USA Agriculture & Food5 largest livestock commodity processors’ share of the US market

10 companies supply more than 50% of all food and drinks sold in the USA.

USA Agriculture & Food4 largest plant commodity processors’ share of the US market

USA Agriculture & FoodAdvertising and Creating Foods1) Pringles (first introduced in 1973) by Proctor & Gamble Problem: what is wrong with potato chips? 150 marketing research surveys: Consumers did not like broken, irregular, stale, and burnt potato chipsSolution: •use small and irregular potatoes – lower costs; lower value to farmers•combine with 6 chemicals (color, shelf life, etc.) and sugar•mush poured into potato chip-shaped molds•package in tennis-ball like cans (20% of the total product’s cost)•spent $5.4 million in advertisements; captured 75%+ of the market In 2009, Pringles argued before Britain’s Court of Appeal that the chips did not contain enough potatoes to pay the value-added tax!! In 2012, Pringles was sold for $2.5 billion to Kellogs, which is the fourth largest brand in the world.2) Fresh Horizons•advertised as 400% more fiber than standard breads•third largest ingredient is pulverized wood pulp•Canada banned it; FDA is testing if wood pulp is dangerous to health

3) Miracle Whip, advertised as the taste of mayo with half the fat: now contains less soya oil, which fattening and expensive, and more water, which is slimming and cheap!

USA Agriculture & FoodConsequences: farmers received 12¢ in 2012 for each food dollar spent; 35¢ in 1984; 40¢ in 1949 Annual return on investments: for farmers 4-5 percent vs. for food-processors about 20 percentItem Retail Price Farmer's Share

Box of cereal $3.71 4.6 cents

Loaf of bread $1.39 5 centsSirloin steak (1 lb.) $4.39 68 cents

Cheddar cheese (1 lb.) $5.91 $1.05

Potato chips (9 oz.) $1.99 3.3 cents

Head of lettuce $1.29 9 cents

Bacon (1 lb.) $3.29 40 cents

Source: Figures based on Washington-area food prices and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Small Farm Center.

Yet when asked to compare financial rewards received by different levels of USA food production system, 43 percent of the respondents thought food processors received the most,

32 percent thought farmers receive the most, and 24 percent thought supermarkets received the most financial reward. Source: American Farm Bureau Federation

USA Agriculture & Foodbest value

worst value

USA Agriculture & Food

poorer countries

richer countries

USA Agriculture & Food

Source: “The New Face of Hunger,” National Geographic, August 2014, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/hunger/

USA Agriculture & Food

Source: “The New Face of Hunger,” National Geographic, August 2014, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/hunger/

USA Agriculture & FoodFederal government subsidies to food corporations

McDonald got $1.6 million to help advertise their fast food products overseasSunkist got $78 million since 1986 to promote orange juice in AsiaAll U.S. agribusinesses and food corporations receive about $6.2 billion per year in federal subsidies (direct payments and indirect through federal taxes).

Food and Fun and Health• 1997 giveaway Teenie Beanie Babies increased sale for McDonalds’ Happy

Meals from 10 million a week to 10 million a day! [What were the health and toy-cost consequences?]

• 96% of USA school children can identify Ronald McDonald; only Santa Claus scored higher! [But Joe Camel (cigarettes) was banded because of its association with bad health!Nearly as many six-year olds correctly associated "Joe Camel" with cigarettes as they could link Mickey Mouse to the Disney Channel.]

• average four oz. hamburger patty consists of beef or fat tissue from between 55 to 1,082 cattle.

[Source: Colorado State University study, cited in The Economist, 9 March 2002]

USA Agriculture & FoodFood Waste around the World40% of all food produced in the USA was

wasted at home, restaurants, and stores –- about 100 kg per person per year or a total of 1 billion tons of food a year (or $165 billion in 2011), equal to 33% of the entire world’s supply of meat!

[In India, for example, 40% is wasted on or near farms.]

In 1974, USA wasted only 28% of all food.

Food TravelsIn 2000, U.S. food traveled 1,500 to 2,500

miles from farms to consumption (20% more than in 1980)

Source: Food First, Backgrounder, 2004; Coop America Newsletter, 2006; The Economist 2011; The Wall Street Journal, October 2012.

USA Agriculture & FoodSocially irrational but privately

profitable international food trade• USA exported $20 million of lettuce to

Mexico and imported $20 million of lettuce from Mexico.

• New York exported $431,000 of California almonds to Italy and imported $397,000 of Italian almonds to the USA.

• California sold $18 million of asparagus abroad while importing $39 million of asparagus from other countries.

Source: Food First, Backgrounder, 2004; Coop America Newsletter, 2006; The Economist 2011; The Wall Street Journal, October 2012.

Socially irrational but privately profitable international food-water trade• drought-stricken interior

California shipped more than 50 billion gallons of water (enough for the annual needs of 500,000 families) to China in the form of alfalfa to feed cattle there.

• for every two container ships arriving with manufacturing goods from China, one returns empty.

• it costs twice as much ($45/ton) to truck alfalfa from a Southern California farm to a dairy in the Central Valley as it does to ship it from Long Beach, CA, to Beijing!

USA

Agric

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Chicken parts sold around

the world

Source: National Geographic, October 2014, pp.56-57

USA Agriculture & Foodoverweight

hungry

The USA is the largest food producer, yet 35 million go hungry and nearly 66 percent are overweight!

Wealthier neighborhoods have 2-3 times as many supermarkets as low-income areas.White areas have 4 times more food stores than Black neighborhoods.

Source: Food First, Backgrounder, Vol. 10, No.1, Winter 2004.