CHAPTER 1: LESSONS FROM OBESITY 13
The Birth of Industrial Agriculture
In the twentieth century, agriculture went through profound changes, both
in the United States and globally. At the beginning of the twentieth century,
the rural farmer was the largest demographic in the United States. Nearly a
century ago, more than 50% of the United States population lived in rural
areas, and farming represented 41% of the American workforce.
4
Then, industrialization happened. The development of the Ford Model-T,
the tractor, pesticides, and other agricultural technologies brought a new
drive for efciency into America’s heartland.
It took a century to double food production from 1820 levels to those in
1920. It took just 30 years to double it again, between 1920 and 1950. It
took 15 years from 1950 to 1965, and 10 between 1965 and 1975. Food
production has continued to grow exponentially as science and the demand
for food has caused our agricultural industry to industrialize.
5
In the words of food activist Michael Pollan:
“In the past century American farmers were given the assignment
to produce lots of calories cheaply, and they did. They became the
most productive humans on earth. A single farmer in Iowa could
feed 150 of his neighbors. That is a true modern miracle.”
6
This drive and industrialization is necessary, actually. By 2050, the UN
estimates, we’ll need to double our food production again to maintain
projected population growth.
7
The miracle of abundance comes with a remarkable set of consequences.
Today, America’s heartland is empty; only 17% of Americans live in rural
communities. Efciency also means fewer jobs: if a single farmer can feed
150 neighbors, it means you need fewer farmers. Today, less than 2% of the
United States population is directly employed in agriculture.
Another signicant consequence of industrialization is a rise in occupational
health hazards. Agriculture is now one of the most dangerous professions
in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control,
8
agriculture is
dominated by giant factory farms with livestock packed at huge scale. It’s
what allows just four companies to produce 81% of the cows, 73% of the
4 http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib3/eib3.htm
5 Scully, Matthew. Dominion (p. 29). St. Martin’s Grin: 2003.
6 http://longnow.org/seminars/02009/may/05/deep-agriculture/
7 http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/gaef3242.doc.htm
8 http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/agriculture/
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