You hear of GMO seeds, fertilizers and all other types of discussions about industrial agriculture I’m sure. Here are what I think the main issues are with both plant and animal food production.
Plants
- Monoculture planting of 1,000’s of acres
- Importing new GMO seed from foreign source every year
- Spraying the GMO plants with Glysophates and other weed killers, pesticides, and insecticide
Animals
- Packing them in warehouses
- Unhealthy feed such as grains for Cows
I am optimistic so far with the market’s reaction to the decline of food quality. Through the hurdles fighting against the subsidized Cheetos aisle; natural food producers are managing to increase production to allow convenient access everywhere. I’m able to find grass fed milk in Jewel for the first time. You see the costs difference, but make sure to remember the subsidies the other products have received in the last umpteen years.
Direct access to sustainable farms is also growing with the Community supported agriculture model and Farmer’s Markets.
The next wave of innovation will be direct production in your home. Small cheap computers and low cost lighting will bring full automation of fresh salad every night grown in the kitchen.
It’s going to be a rough job working the dried up monoculture fields. However, there are plenty of permaculture methods that can make that an easy process.