No Farms, No Food

Today's post is going to be completely unrelated to writing, just so you know. Randomness will ensue.

I was watching this thing on Planet Green last night, and they were saying that in 2050 the world's population will hit 9 billion people, and there is growing concern over food shortage.

Food shortage!

I grew up around farms. Farmland as far as the eye could see. But now I'm thinking about growing populations, and the human race striving for better technology and higher wages, and blah blah blah ( I'm not the type of person who usually sits around and thinks about this) and it's no wonder food shortage is a possibility! Who wants to be a farmer anymore? Farms are usually family owned, handed down from generation to generation but with the way things are, can a farmer afford to live a comfortable life?

When I was a kid, my family bought milk in glass jugs right from the neighboring dairy farm. Now the FDA is trying to say we can't drink unpasteurized milk (even though more health risks are related to pasteurized than not).

Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout-out to farmers everywhere and say thank you. Without farms, we don't have food. Farmers work from sun-up till sun down, some of them seven days a week. I raise my Elvis coffee mug to you, Mr. Farmer.

Happy Thursday.

6 comments:

Angela Ackerman said...

I'll second that shout out.

This is where fuel made from Corn is a good bad thing. Good because it takes pressure off the oil industry and slows the eventual shortage, bad because it takes food out of people's mouths.

We (those of us lucky enough to live in developed countries) don't often think about stuff like this, but in third world countries where things like corn is a staple in the diet with few alternatives...farms turning their crops into fuel instead of food causes a real danger to many.

Tom M Franklin said...

we're big fans of our local farmer's market. buying directly from the farmers puts the money directly into their hands and gets us better, fresher produce.

besides, i like looking into someone's eyes and showing my appreciation for the work they do. i think it makes a huge difference.


-- Tom

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I think it's terrible that local family farms were forced out by corporate-type farming. The food quality suffers when the goal is quantity and shipping time, instead of ripeness and freshness. I try to shop farmer's markets whenever I can. Thanks for this post.

Lacey J Edwards said...

I agree with all of you. Where I live, in New York City, we don't have a lot of local farm stands. I buy a lot of produce from a locally owned market, and I pick it up from the stands every time I go to PA.It's ALWAYS better quality than what you find in mega supermarket chains.

Hearing that we might have a food shortage in 40 years totally shocked me. Made me realize just how spoiled our country is.

Angela, I hadn't thought of the corn fuel. That's a really good point. I think the best alternative fuel source for us would be water, if that's possible. I'm not a scientist, but it seems like there could be a way to make a hydro-electric engine.

But then we'd probably end up with a water shortage. *sigh*

Lacey J Edwards said...

Yes, I realize "water shortage" sounds impossible, but when you think about third world countries and how little fresh drinking water they have, it's not that far-fetched. Is it?

Anonymous said...

Great post, L.J. As a writer living on a farm, it doesn't seem random at all ;) Know where your food comes from and thank your local farmers. Especially this summer, because it's frakkin' hot out there!

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