Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Farming and Food Evolution in the US as Explained in 40 Pics


What’s wrong with the state of farming and food in America?  Vox writers Ezra Klein and Susannah Locke posted a collection of maps, graphs, and charts that tell the story in an enjoyable way. You should go take a look at all 40 images, but here are a few of my key takeaways.

The Story Begins with Strong Agricultural Roots

In 1922, the meatpacking firm Armour and Company published the festive map at the top of this post. (Here’s a larger version for those like me with old eyes.) Statistically questionable as admitted by the company, the map provides an overview of agricultural products — livestock, seafood, crops — popular in each state at that time. Armour’s Food Source Map boasts: “The Greatness of the United States is Founded on Agriculture.” America was a land of farmers and ranchers.

Since Then, We’ve Lost Farms and Farmers

In 1840, almost 70% of American workers were in agriculture. By 2000, that number had dropped to 2%. Yes — 2%! Farms have disappeared too. Between 2007 and 2012, we experienced a net loss of 90,000 farms across the country. Having said that, farming output has increased as a result of agricultural supply and productivity improvements. The losses will continue, because our farmers are getting old. In 2012 about a third of them were older than 65.

Cows and Corn are King

The maps in the Vox collection provide us with views of USDA data showing which animals are raised and which crops are harvested in what US regions. Today, cows are raised everywhere. Who’s eating all that meat? As a country, China consumes the most, but America and Australia are among the top meat eaters per capita. According to the Vox article, “Each person in the US is consuming roughly 250 pounds of meat — that’s about three quarter-pounder burgers a day.”



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