Mega Farming Corporations Taking Over the United States and Offering Low Quality Food
In the last 100 years the amount of farms rose to a peak of about eight million in the 1940s and now has fallen to about ¼ of that in the last 80 years. This is at the same level of farms we had in the 1850s when our population was 10x as small, so what is the reason? Well the ultimate reason is family farms hardly exist in the United States anymore, while massive corporations have consolidated as much as they can. Not only are these mega farms being protected by the government, but many of them are treating the crops and livestock in terrible conditions and running a monopoly on the food we eat.
The majority of people in the country can not afford to shop at organic markets or buy from small locally grown farms. In fact most people in the country aren’t eating enough fruits vegetables and produce that they should. With the amount of cheap artificially created junk out there, people are making the choice that makes the most sense on their wallet. Corporations that own mega farms need to compete with low prices, so they have turned to cutting costs anywhere they can, which includes offering you a worse and potentially harmful product.
Livestock farms lock the animals up like prisoners and give them no space to move or even defecate. Often the animals are treated so terribly that when they are slaughtered their meat suffers as well. In order to combat this, they are being pumped with growth hormones that many times long term extensive data is not available on, and create a Frankensteinesque monster. Fruits and vegetables get the same treatment and are treated with so many types of chemicals to make sure they don’t die, that the food we are eating hardly resembles the same foods of the past.
The mega farm corporations continue to buy up competitors and treat their product with no regard for those who purchase it, because they know they have a monopoly on the business. In addition the government subsidizes these massive farms to grow bigger and continue to push out terrible food. If you want to actually eat healthy food not grown on one of these mega farms, you have to go to specialty supermarkets and you pay the price for it. Supermarkets like Whole Foods may offer better alternatives, but at prices sometimes as high as 4x the amount you would pay elsewhere, it is hard to justify the purchase.
In addition to getting subsidies, the mega corporations also lobby lawmakers to continue to protect the low level food they are allowed to peddle. In many countries, importing meat products is illegal because of how low the quality is. First world countries will literally not feed the so call food we are peddling them because it is complete garbage. This should be very frightening if you have a family that you are raising and cooking for. The decline of the small farm has hurt the quality of the food in our country dramatically and while it may have increased the availability and lowered the price, the quality reflects that. Next time think twice about the food you are buying and where it actually comes from.
Thanks to @Elyaque for the badges
I think it's a push to even use the word "farm" to describe these places. "High Margin Bulk Sustenance Production" is more fitting.
There needs to be some sort of law that uses a quality scoring system to place price caps on the prices these places can charge, based on Livestock treatment and living conditions.
This score should be tagged to the product, so that when end consumers buy the meat or produce, they know what grade of produce the company they bought from is selling.
Agreed. The use of the term 'factory farm' could simply remove the word farm, and just call them processed food like substance factories.
If I thought I could do it I would become a vegan because of the unethical treatment of these animals
Have you also considered the unethical treatment of plants, and the destruction of the land on which they are monocropped, and by extension the unethical treatment of humans who are being fed grains we are ill adapted to, and grain fed meat which was not meant to be so? The subject is vast in it's depth.
This is a really good analysis, how incredible would be to give this corporations some kind of punishment.
Thanks for sharing it!
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Thanks for posting. The farm subsidies, depleted soil, poor nutrition, chemically laden “food” all contribute to the health “care” system. People get otherwise avoidable diseases and Big Pharma bails them out. Then the pharmaceuticals get flushed down our toilets and fill the water table. More disease. More profit for the system. But we can change things - just like with alt coin, we can educate ourselves and choose alternative health.
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The best way to avoid low quality food is to buy directly from local farmers and to support them. I have noticed high quality restaurants in Seattle normally source their foods from local farmers.
I agree @halfscreen and it's an affordable way to go! I for one do my research and am happy to pay high prices for the best quality food....it's the best possible investment.
exactly!
Oh, we love in such a dangerous time:(
you probably meant live, but I like the poetic spin that your mistake made.
"Love in the time of Cholera".
Makes you think about all the food we eat. But I wonder, is there any other way to produce enough food naturaly for all the population ?
Yes. Through appropriation of land use for small farms and people buying from farmers instead of large grocers.
I'm particularly curious to observe the disruptive effect of 3D-printed food as it enters the market place.
Gonna be a whole different ballgame...
Specifically how is quality defined in this context? What attributes of the food are different in the organic vs mass produced food. Does a tomato know if its happy and therefore taste better? Note the author of this remark is in no way connected to the food industry except as a consumer.
I am however a well traveled consumer and have had my fair share of "runs-in" with bad food in the world grown by local farms. In the US, incidences of food poisoning like Chipotle make the national news and nearly ruin the corporation. In most of the rest of the world it barely causes a murmur. I would argue that the highest element of quality is not to make you sick. But in the US we disregard that because we take it for granted. The next is to have enough food to feed us (well most of us could use a little less) but even your article pointed out that our system needs to produce 10X the amount of food. Can the Organic local farmers feed Houston?
This topic will always attract strong feelings but I can honestly say that when I walk into an ordinary supermarket in the US, I see fresh food of a variety and quality that I seldom see overseas and I can eat it without fear.