Food Myth Busters

Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

Page 3

1. And profiting, they are. Ellen Kullman, CEO of DuPont, the largest chemical maker in the U.S., expects profits to rise as much as 12 percent in 2012 to $42 billion due to growth in insecticides, genetically modified seeds, food ingredients, and biofuels. Jack Kaskey, "DuPont 2012 Profit May Rise 12% On Agriculture, Chemicals," Bloomberg Businessweek, December 13, 2011.
2. The corporations profiting from industrial agriculture run the gamut from Big Oil to commodity traders, pharmaceutical makers, pesticide manufacturers, feed processors, meat packers, and more. Every year, these companies collectively spend billions in marketing, advertising, and lobbying. Consider that the agricultural biotech giant, Monsanto, spent $1.1 billion in 2011 alone on its marketing budget, according to reporting in its 10-K. These companies also pool resources for collective marketing goals, forming front groups and trade associations like the Alliance to Feed the Future. For a list of member organizations, see http://www.alliancetofeedthefuture.org/ajax/sharer/AbouttheAlliance/Partners.aspx. Another marketing group is the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, with an estimated annual budget of $30 million or more and with paying corporate partners including John Deere, Monsanto, and Dupont. For a list of members, see: www.fooddialogues.com/about/alliance-affiliates. 3. See for instance Ross Choma, "Pharma, Utilities and Big Ag Lead Lobbying in 2012." www.OpenSecrets.org, April 27, 2012. For a history of the influence of agribusiness interests on policy making, see Wenonah Hauter's Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America. New York, NY: The New Press, 2012.
4. For research on the impact of one-crop plantings, or monocultures, on soil fertility see the work of the Pennsylvania-based Rodale Institute at www.rodaleinsitute.org. See also Deborah Koons Garcia's documentary, Symphony of the Soil at www. symphonyofthesoil.com.
5. To learn about the consolidation of the livestock industry and the growth of factory farming, see: James M. MacDonald and William D. McBride, "The Transformation of U.S. Livestock Agriculture: Scale, Efficiency, and Risks," U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, January 2009. For more on livestock factory farms, or CAFOS (concentrated animal feeding operations), and their impact on our health, the environment, animal welfare, as well as labor, politics, and economics, see: Dan Imhoff, ed., The CAFO Reader: The Tragedy of Industrial Farmed Factories. Healdsburg, CA: Watershed Media, 2010. 6. On the consolidation in ownership in the food system, see the work of Dr. Heffernan and Dr. Hendrickson at the University of Missouri, viewable at the Food Circles Networking Project at http://www.foodcircles.missouri.edu/consol.htm. See also, Phil Howard, "Consolidation in Food and Agriculture: Implications for Farmers & Consumers," The Natural Farmer, Spring 2006. 7. Resistance to pesticides is a widely known problem in chemical agriculture. See, for example, Cornell University Professor David Pimentel's study on pesticide residence, including: "Environmental and Economic Impact of Reducing U.S. Agricultural Pesticide Use," Handbook of Pest Management in Agriculture, Vol. I. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1991: 679-718. According to Dr. Pimentel, more crops are lost to pests today than in the 1940's, even though we use 33 times more chemicals with at least ten times higher potency. Crops genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate have also led to worrisome weed resistance. Today, over 12 million acres are choked with "superweeds," as some call them. See, for example, Marion Nestle, "Superweeds: A Long Predicted Problem For GM Crops Has Arrived," The Atlantic, May 15, 2012.
8. National Academies Press, The Use of Drugs in Food Animals: Benefits and Risks, Washington D.C.: NAP, 1999: 12-13. "The use of drugs in food animals is fundamental to animal health and well-being and to the economics of the industry." There are five major types of pharmaceuticals used in factory farming including: antiseptics, bactericides, and fungicides for skin and hoof cuts and infections; ionophores to facilitate digestion for ruminants like cattle and to protect against parasites; steroid anabolic growth promoters; antiparasite drugs; and antibiotics at a subtherapeutic level to promote growth or at higher level to address disease. Those are just the main drugs. Poultry growers, for instance, also use drugs with arsenic, like Roxarsone.
9. According to data captured by the USDA, synthetic fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphate, and potash) use in the United States has gone up 279 percent from 1960-2010; prices have far outpaced the rise in usage with increases of at least 500 percent. Phosphate and potassium chloride have seen prices rise twelve to seventeen times since 1960. See: Economic Research Service U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Data Set: Fertilizer Use and Price," 2010.
10. Contract farming accounts for nearly two-fifths of U.S. agricultural production today. The poultry sector has the highest rate of contracts, with 85 percent of growers under contract. At least half of the production of peanuts, tobacco, sugarbeets, dairy products, and hogs are now grown and raised under contract. Data from: Robert A. Hoppe and David E. Banker, "Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms Family Farm Report, 2010 Edition," U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, July 2010. To learn more about the effect of contract farming on farmer economic security, read Susan E. Stokes, "The Dilemma of Contracting: Risk Management or Risky Business," 2006. To learn more about how much farmland and farms we're losing, read the American Farmland Trust's "Farming On The Edge," Center for Agriculture in the Environment, 2007. Viewable at http:// www.farmland.org/resources/fote/default.asp. According to the Trust, we lose more than an acre of farmland every minute in
the United States.
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