Sunday, January 22, 2017

Why corn is king when it comes to sustainably feeding a growing population

A few weeks ago there was a nice article in the Washington Post about a misguided vision emphasizing vegetables vs row crops as the focus for a sustainable food system:

We need to feed a growing planet. Vegetables aren't the answer. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/we-need-to-feed-a-growing-planet-vegetables-arent-the-answer/2016/12/15/f0ffeb3e-c177-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html

I recently re-watched Food, Inc. One of the most egregious and misleading themes I get from that movie is that farm subsidies and our 'industrial' food system leads to a monoculture of mostly corn and soybeans that threatens both our health and environment. The WaPo article clearly explains why a shift away from row crops or commodity based cropping systems toward more vegetables is both non-pragmatic and more threatening to sustainably feeding the world.

There are a number of myths about commodity agriculture, monoculture, farm subsidies, and large scale agriculture, unfortunately many retailers and food products companies know how to exploit them.

See also:

 What's the big deal about farm subsidies? Four big questions about big ag, subsidies, food, and GMOs

Big Data + Genomics ≠ Your Grandparent's Monoculture

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