Why The U.S. Isn’t Growing Enough Food

[@jamram9924]

As a child of Mexican immigrants, we grew fruits and vegetables in a garden to supplement our huge family food pantry. I have fruit trees in my back yard just because of the practice my parents used.

[@Elgringo2180]

Americans are waaaay too lazy for that

[@patricialongo5870]

As a country the USA doesn't need to have enough food, that's a socialist, left wing goal. That's not privatized food industry at all. Americans votes for industry, not public food.

[@danielhutchinson6604]

Chicano Heritage is a Family Affair, recopies passed down through Generations, and traditions that provide food for everyone. I just ran into a friend who is opening an Eating Place with Grandma's Tortilla recipie. Great Tortillas.....

[@jasminejeanine2239]

I grow 800lbs in the city. I just plant butternut squash in the yard and potatoes in bags.

[@danielhutchinson6604]

@@jasminejeanine2239 How do the Potatoes taste?

[@seaskyguy]

The US is not growing food. It is growing cash crop.

[@brodriguez11000]

Amazing that growing food is a business isn't it?

[@okamijubei]

Hemp?

[@ExtinctionLife]

ethanol and ultra processed products aren't food. @@brodriguez11000

[@noneshere]

Most of US society grows grass on its property soils, not foods. Even funnier, when they do grow a garden they go to the store and buy animals manures instead of animal feed pellets to amend the soils. US society has lost its basic primitive knowledge completely.

[@Beyonder8335]

You clearly don’t know what these terms mean. Cash crop is food. All cash crop means is that you’re selling the crop directly for money instead of feeding it to livestock.

[@banksiasong]

Stunned at how you managed NOT to mention the role of Monsanto. Bravo to the single farmer who sheepishly mentioned “climate”.

[@yl861]

Sterile seeds are vile. Here in Mexico, even against USMCA rules, we need to prohibit them because those modified genetics are polluting native corn. That's a crime against nature, and it's dangerous for genetic diversity (ironically, the source of all biotechnology)

[@SoloRenegade]

climate is not an issue. in fact CO2 levels are giving record yields year after year.

[@jamesharkins6799]

You are mistaken. too much rain or too little rain is an issue. Weather patterns are changing. Crops are failing.​@@SoloRenegade

[@SoloRenegade]

@@jamesharkins6799 "Crops are failing.​" nope, we jut had excellent harvests yet again this year. What do you farm?

[@kotenoklelu3471]

​@@SoloRenegadethere was draught somewhere in USA recently.

[@KA9DSL]

John Deere isn't letting farmers repair their own farm equipment, that's one of the problems. Farmers losing money.

[@brbento]

Fight for the right to repair!

[@jasons2054]

Quite frankly most farmers cannot repair most modern farm machinery. It usually is a electronic issue that needs tools only the dealership techs have. Most farmers call out the dealership tech.

[@DuisteinAffe-qo4ie]

In the USA Deere now allows it, but it's long overdue.

[@notaforte]

Look at the USA map, the ice age is crawling south. They need to invest in green houses to control the climate

[@steven2183]

@@jasons2054 not to mention that many of the modern tractors are more complex than they need to be... just like the auto industry, I'd imagine they make most of their money on service and repair than actual sales.... planned obsolescence and dependency are baked in at the detriment of consumers... that people have to 'fight for the right to repair' their own property is absurd...

[@Fuqinidiots-eg7pr]

A big part of the problem is that everything in the US gets reduced to a line item on a ledger. Just look at the language used on this subject. Corn grown for fuel and alfala grown for feed is referred to as "commodities" while fruits and vegetables grown for food are called "specialty crops". Not a good place to start in my opinion.

[@d.s.5820]

This is irrelevant.

[@J.T.Horacek]

They are listed as commodities because grains (corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum) are traded in bulk. They can be stored for years as part of food security. And are traded with futures contracts. They're also much more economical to transport via those barges on the Mississippi as it connects all these interstate markets to the globe. Fruits and vegetables tend to have a shorter shelf life in comparison. More complicated to store, etc.

[@Beyonder8335]

Just because you don’t see it on your plate doesn’t mean it didn’t contribute. You still have to feed the livestock for meat dairy and eggs, as well as supply ingredients for cooked foods, like wheat being turned into flower and such.

[@archiecharny]

Well said. Amazing how easily language is manipulated; most of the public is sadly uneducated in critical thinking.

[@brenthud2170]

Welcome to capitalism!

[@WhizzingFish12]

Every person with a little lawn and some sunshine should have a garden. Its good exercise, peaceful and rewarding, better for the environment, and much better tasting.

[@noconsentgiven]

You gotta cover your crops though because its something in the air/ rain that makes some plants bust out with fungal infections and instant nutrient deficiencies. Some of the weirdest stuff I've seen.

[@WhizzingFish12]

@@noconsentgiven I've gardened for several decades now, and much of the fungal/diseases issues are because most crops now are selected for maximum yield, not disease resistance. Older heirloom varieties, grown in good soil with lots of compost, spaced correctly, and rotated each year, do great and need little to no fungicidal or insecticidal treatments.

[@noconsentgiven]

@WhizzingFish12 Its happening to the native trees and bushes as well not just in the garden. It happens after every rain. Some plants takeoff, but the plants that suffer usually come back after I fertigate them though 🤷‍♀️.

[@newmobile1455]

who has time to tend to a garden when the American dream is to work 16+ hours a day

[@marlagorena972]

@@newmobile1455you have to change what you prioritize.

[@milattx]

If you have a yard, plant a fruit or nut tree. Even if you sell the house later, it will still benefit the environment. In many instances, it costs less than $50 to buy a tree and produces a lot when they are mature.

[@bonnielovely]

in red states there are already trigger laws in wait for them to make the local government responsible for how you grow your crops

[@AdvicefromFrank]

The problem is some homeowners associations will not allow fruit trees to be planted because of the attracts animals. Bureaucracy tends to make everything more difficult and complex for normal people.

[@AndresBonbon]

​@@AdvicefromFrankI am not normal. I think farmers are over paid and that's because I have worked for them. I am out of work right now because it's seasonal but good pay and work a few months and be ok for a few years. It's crazy how well you can get paid and the farmers make even more.

[@Gomitasd]

@@AdvicefromFrank what the heck is a homeowner association??

[@thejohnsonsnaturalliving1549]

I totally agree. Sometimes I wish each house in my neighborhood had a fruit tree so we could all share what we harvest!

[@albusha5150]

The biggest problem with US foods is that they are extremely heavily commercialized! You drive for hundreds or even thousands of miles and you don't even see a single fruit tree along the road. Few years back I was in Pennsylvania and saw these beautiful houses with barns and not even a single fruit tree around. I come from a little country called Albania and as you drive there you can just get out of the car walk uphill or downhill and you will find a fig tree or plum tree etc full of fruits that belong to no one and you can eat as many as you like. Literally every Albanian family who owns a house with land have fruit trees in their land and of course they grow veggies too.

[@eliflynn7282]

They tell starving people that it's their fault they're hungry. Get out and work they say. They don't mention that they've cut down and destroyed millions of fruit trees and lobby against millions of people growing and canning their own food. We live in a food wasteland here in the states, it's all owned and if you don't pay them, you don't eat.

[@james_l4337]

Increase Tornadoes More dependency for masses on corporation feeds When tough time comes, depression, create even more trouble No reliance for majority on land, unable to be as independent

[@albusha5150]

@sekhmet747 Totally agreed. Perhaps in California is different but most of the country begs for change. America is vast and has huge chunks of land which can easily be turned into farmland. By the way Bill Gates owns some 250+ thousand acres of farmland. Someone should tell him that with his land millions of Americans can be fed but not with GMO foods rather organic.

[@albusha5150]

@@james_l4337 And it must change. Hopefully the new administration will change it as they have promised.

[@EnlightenedMinarchist]

I like how peoples' argument to things they dont like is always, "But muh other countries do things differently." Dude, this is AMERICA. NOT the rest of the world. We are our own country with our own way of doing things? Dont like it? Move to these other countries you romanticize so much.

[@davidw1576]

Thanks CNBC for a great topic and it deserved more public attention

[@marlagorena972]

They did a bad job by ignoring most of the challenges food production is facing.

[@agya2042]

Stop subsidies for corporation and help our small farmers!🇺🇸

[@sparkysmalarkey]

Who are they going to sell to, they won't make near as much profit serving locals. That is how we got here in the first place, we would have to stop prioritizing profit and start accepting what we can get serving each other primarily. Do you think that is possible, I don't.

[@badbad-cat]

No. Learn to live the capitalist way

[@caysekhan5553]

@@badbad-cat Corporate welfare isn't capitalism.

[@someguy2135]

One more reason to boycott animal products. They would be much more expensive if it weren't for the massive subsidies for animal agriculture, including growing animal feed like corn and soybeans. Worldwide, almost 80% of soy is fed to farm animals and only about 7% of soy is consumed directly by humans. Plant based food products should be able to compete on a level playing field. That includes the fruit and vegetables mentioned in the video. There are many other reasons like climate change and deforestation.

[@armandoventura9043]

It's a bit difficult since many measures are seen as "communist", and it's better economically speaking for American businessmen to sell abroad anyway

[@DawnRK3204]

Thank you to all those who grow our food.

[@danielhutchinson6604]

It is a smaller group every year. The ability to remain effective at creating a Farm Operation is limited by US Policy. The production of Agricultural Commodities has replaced the ability to produce food for those around us.

[@wyleecoyotee4252]

Who will pick it now?

[@patricialongo5870]

We don't grow our food as a country because that's socialism. As a leftist I understand starvation as important to capitalism and that you always pick capitalism.

[@patricialongo5870]

​@@danielhutchinson6604collective problems demand individual solutions? Let them be hungry, they hated socialism enough to pick hunger.

[@danielhutchinson6604]

@@patricialongo5870 Until the late 1960's and early 1970's Farms were common sources of Food for the People around them. Every Small Town had a Creamery, some had Flour mills. Farmer were close to the People who bought what they produced. They began to force Small Farms to shut down, due to low Produce Prices and High Land Cost. Small Towns began to fade away next as the Post Offices and Railroads were removed. Now the USA is a Broken Commodity production facility with Currency that has no apparent Value. That is Progress..........Right?

[@PayItFWD]

There will be a time soon where subsistance living will have to sustain people. Farmers are the backbone of food security. They are under appreciated.

[@xiphoid2011]

I'm an immigrant from china. When I heard that the US government pays farmers NOT to grow crops, it just blew my mind. That's just ridiculous when prices of food is going up.

[@brodriguez11000]

Well the devil is always in the details. Growing food isn't like churning out cars even if they both have business in their name.

[@carolr7823]

You don't want farms growing too much of certain foods because the price of that crashes and then the farm goes bankrupt.

[@GIedits-vf7re]

@xiphoid2011 this ridiculous practice has been going on since the 1930s. Subsidy farming has always been a corporations game

[@jasons2054]

@@xiphoid2011 They used to to a point back in the 1980s and 1990s with the old farm program and deficiency payments. That program had wuite a few rules. The only program now (small grains and corn/soybeans) is prevent plant. If you are too wet or theoretically too dry and can't plant by a certain calendar date, you can get paid so much per acre depending on crop, yield history and location. You can plant afterwards but get a crop insurance penalty each day after the date. I would like to hear about these paid not to plant programs.

[@okamijubei]

Really? I thought Mao does something similar in the 1950s and 1960s which leads to a great famine

[@DaCompostKing]

We need to recognize that food waste is a huge problem. Americans do grow a lot of food but the selection process and distribution networks don’t allow that food to reach those that need it.

[@rolback5055]

Never heard of a single American dying of starvation in my 60+ years. So distribution is not the problem.

[@chiyerano]

@@rolback5055 More and more Americans are becoming increasingly food insecure, though.

[@seymorefact4333]

BIG PICTURE IS...TRUMP AND BIDEN placed tariff and Sanction against China. ALL ON fake Natl Security! China retaliated and cancelled HUGE farm contracts. Now South Americans and Russian are enjoying HUGE HUGE profits. American farmers were begging Trump and Biden. Even saw Xi when he went to SF last year. IT ALL STARTED WITH TRUMP AND BIDEN MADE IT WORSE!

[@dustintacohands1107]

Walmart ruins fruits

[@growtocycle6992]

Hence why biofuel and corn syrup is made... Shelf stable

[@Authentic-Israelite]

EVERY neighborhood should have land to have community gardens so we can feed ourselves with easier to grow crops like tomatoes and lettuce. The farmers can grow some of the bigger needs like fruit, corn, etc. We can also have community chickens to get eggs etc.

[@nancyobrien2854]

you don't need a lot of land to grow vegetables. You can grow a tomato plant in a 5 galllon bucket on your patio/ balcony/ fire escape. Most vegetales (not fruit trees) can be grown in a 5 gallon bucket or smaller container. I usually do a google search on how deep of a container is needed for whatever plant I want or how deep does the root grow of whatever plant. Other times I have run across a container that I wanted to use, that search would be what will grow in a container with this depth.

[@gabrielladegollado]

My daughter has 10 chicken which give her 14 eggs per day on Average. I am so lucky to have access to her eggs

[@welcometototalitarianism812]

​@@nancyobrien2854Great advice. Thank you.

[@PJWestfield]

We, as Americans, have been spoiled in the last 30+ years on what is available in our supermarkets. In the 80s, you only saw what was "in season". In the 90s, we started seeing what was "out of season" and now, we get watermelon and other "fresh" fruits and vegetables year 'round. People actually complain when they can't find something that wouldn't normally be "in season".

[@Thebeekeeper568]

People are not complaining. Farmers are and yet they get free money from the government.

[@mattburrito]

i thought usa was more evolved and better than this

[@sandorski56]

One of the benefits of "Globalization".

[@duncanmoore3780]

People are not educated on how seasons work and what is produced therein- this is by design, they want buyers and feeders, not doers and thinkers.

[@poorwotan]

Hello from Puerto Rico. If you go to our supermarkets, you'd think that apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. were as "local" as bananas and pineapples. lol

[@SpriteoftheDnieper]

Let me add this new perspective: in WWII, our country pushed "victory gardens". And it worked. Not everyone needs a full farm or to be fully self-sufficient, but if everyone with a home was growing at least a portion of their own food, especially fresh produce, that'd make a huge dent. It might also clue people into just HOW MUCH BETTER fresh, local, actually ripened produce tastes! Let people grow some small vegetable gardens or boxes and fruit trees in their front and back yards. No need to subsidize large machinery and labor -- just let people garden outside after work. Perhaps subsidize community seed libraries or gardening classes. Pass a law enabling this. HOAs have overtaken this ability, for many. Overly stringent city/county codes are also an issue. Nobody moving onto a house with a whole acre, surrounded by houses with small animals and crops, should be complaining about those things after moving in, or at least, they shouldn't be listened to and honored over the right of others to use their property and feed themselves.

[@Weathernerd27]

Again what about the young people. Most of them are priced out of the housing market and its kind of hard to have a garden big enough to do any good when you're only housing option is a Van, room in a house full of strangers or tiny run down apartment with no yard.

[@pattibennett8774]

I'm going to re-open the garden in my yard. My partner always planted the garden. Unfortunately he was diagnosed with a serious illness last year so it went fallow. My tiller is out for repair and I've got several like minded friends who want to join me. I'm hoping the tiller is able to be repaired. If it isn't, I want to get a new one ASAP. Tariffs will send those into unaffordable territory for me.

[@Authentic-Israelite]

Agreed. Each city should have multiple city gardens and each new home developer should save a few plots for community gardens. Either each house can have a plot or the neighbors can work together to plant and harvest. If we grow the easier crops like tomatoes, let and peppers then farmers can grow the harder, more intensive crops and larger animals.

[@SpriteoftheDnieper]

@@Weathernerd27 I'm with you and wish it was better! I do know that there are (sometimes) community garden plots available, or tiny yards (that an infuriating landlord almost always forbids you to touch?!) or balconies you can put potted plants in for houses split into multiple apartments (and apartments with roommates), and then I've also seen some more, well, more talented roommates than myself manage to have a hanging tomato plant by their kitchen sink, or more commonly just some herbs. Definitely think community gardens should be more popular, or even the ability to plant/maintain/eat from food in the front next to the sidewalk. Basically, make the aesthetic trees and gardens edible, and allow people who actually live there (renters included) able to garden as they please. Could also go on a whole rant about rich people treating HOUSING like a goddamn stock option and ruining our lives, but that's for another thread.

[@lawyer1961]

In Brazil, there are no subsidized crops, but farmers have a special low interest credit. Food is a strategic matter. Every country needs to produce a minimum that will be necessary to be safe.

[@eklectiktoni]

Most of those farms belong to the same handful of major companies. Local, small-scale farmers are almost completely pushed out of the industry now.

[@patrickbateman1660]

Good. Larger farms are more efficient and are the reason why food prices are low.

[@thelostcosmonaut5555]

​@@patrickbateman1660 you think food prices are low? Where? Let's not mention the terrible quality of the food these corporations push out.

[@theidealbt]

This false, most farms are family owned.

[@cheekybastard99]

That's what they want you to think, recently lived in rural Iowa and farmers are the most lazy and entitled and wealthy bunch you'll ever meet, they have their own tax code, barely contribute to local property tax and insist on having their needs meet by the local municipalities, they're mostly multi generations of inherited wealth and even better most of them barely understand they're own industry consultants and come in and tell them exactly what to spray and when, supply the seed and chemicals. They're actively destroying the top soil to plant crops for gas tanks, the closer you look at it the worse it gets.

[@michaelgallagher7872]

Major corporations own more acreage. They are also the recipients of most farm aid by total dollars. If you think Senator Grassley, et al, give a damn about small farms you are sadly mistaken.

[@RandomGuy-k7m]

I personally seen over 100 pounds go into a trash compactor at a grocery store today. That might be part of the problem.

[@leanordials8008]

Dang that's sad.😮

[@buckeyedav1]

And even sadder that they couldn't hook up with a farmer with pigs, pigs don't care about expiration dates. Anna In Ohio

[@jamesmurphy9426]

Holiday Season waste so much food They still make food that wouldn't sell like potato salad fish Not much fish sell around the holiday season

[@justareplica]

Yep, also people don’t realize we waste more food than we eat. So it’s not just one issue it’s many issues piled on top of each other.

[@halholland1637]

I would caution against trying to grow JUST enough. Remember Stuff Happens.

[@Rebecca-fq5zd]

I wish I could get some folks to walk the creeks with me where I live. I've been doing it for many, many years and have watched what farming does to the wildlife, waterways and the land.

[@Mark-if1yu]

Am lost what do you really mean to say we should let Mexico and China feed us?. They dont have water way and wild life?. You people reasoning is so stupid sometimes. We don't have to use the hard chemicals we do. Your not the most powerful country or richest country if you can't feed yourself. Do you believe if there was a global famine Mexico or China is going to sell us there food?. But again a lot of comments are not real people and some are special interest and some are foreign spy gently guiding us to our distraction.

[@jimwoodard64]

I grew up on a farm, and we dealt with this crap and saw the writing on the wall, even in the 70's when I was a teen. We were a small dairy in upstate, NY. We produced a few thousand pounds (yes, milk is sold by the pound) of milk per day and the milk truck would come and take our milk every other day. Sounds like a lot to someone who doesn't do this for a living, but that's only a couple hundred cows being milked by machines, but having to truck those machines between each pair 2x's a day. We saw the corporate farms throwing millions of dollars into farm stations that could milk tens of cows at a time with auto timers and computer controlled devices that only required the farmer to put the milker on. The milker would auto shut off, then release the cow and allow the next to come in, so the labor was cut significantly. That was a boon, but at what cost? The cows weren't milked as well and a dairy farmer knows what happens when the cow isn't milked properly. They traded efficiency for speed and lower labor costs. Also, these farms got more subsidies, which caused us to have to increase costs to try to keep up. We were what one would call an 'organic' farm these days. We didn't spray our crops with pesticides (didn't have time for that if we wanted). Our cows were allowed to graze in the warmer months, and we bailed hay and siloed corn for the winter months. The only food we bought was grain to give the cows extra protein for butter fat as the price per pound was based on the butter fat content of the milk. Less butter fat = lower price paid to us. A corporate farm receiving subsidies could increase their butter fat, demand higher prices; but again at what cost? The government created the very problem of cows, pigs, and chickens being shoved into small areas where they can't graze or free range by subsidizing this behavior. Again, to keep costs down, a corporate farm can maintain lower acreage and shove more livestock into that area and force feed them while they stand and lay in their own feces day and night! If an inspector came into our farm and milking area and saw those conditions, we'd be shut down in a heart-beat! We had to clean constantly. We raised our own calves, bred our own milking cows, raised our own bulls, raised our own crops, provided fields the cows could graze in and that requires fields that are un-grazed so the grass could grow back and rotated the grazing. But the small farmer had no voice in government and no one cared. Now, we have methane out the wazoo, because that feces is not being used to replenish the land that grows the crops and is just being released into nearby rivers and streams. Again, the government subsidized this practice!! I can't stress that enough. We traded with other farms and our tractors would bring fertilizer into the local farms (like the one you mentioned in the beginning, I knew those guys back then) and we'd spread fertilizer and they would in turn give us fruits and vegetables to eat. We'd trade milk and sometimes older 'beef cows' for chicken and pork. We hunted our own game so a turkey, goose, or venison was only available when we could get one. Fun fact: the amount paid to the average small farm for milk was exactly the same in 2003 as it was in 1983 when I left the farm to join the US Navy. My step-father had to sell all of the cows and the farm now sits in ruin. Much of land we used for corn and hay was leased, so when we went under, so did the people who depended on our farm for leasing. We did apples for a while, but some of the facts about apples weren't shared in this video. They are an adaptive species and won't interbreed after a time. That's just a scientific fact. So apples are not only volatile because of environmental factors, they are also effected by winds and bees that pollinate the crops. The bee population in the US has also been on the decline, and that affects fruits more than what was discussed here. We had bee keepers maintaining the population, but that has subsided as well. Our farm was near the south of Lake Champlain and north of Lake George, and Champlain feeds directly into the Hudson River through Whitehall, Comstock, and Hudson Falls. Small towns your listeners have never heard of, but the source of much of the water that places like NYC depend upon for power, food, and water. Yet those people are looked at as hicks and uneducated by the city folk who have never left the comfort of their community except to come up and swim in those clean lakes and watch the foliage fall. Had a corporate farm been built there, think of the devastating effects on those lakes and tributaries that feed the beauty of the Hudson River. We NEVER released fertilizer into the waterways. It was always spread onto our land for use by crops. It was always tilled into the soil. We had to rotate that land as well, to keep it from becoming barren of nutrients to produce feed for the livestock, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Look at a map of NY and you'll see that the majority of voters are in the cities (typical of any state). There is an entire section of NY State that is known as the "Adirondack Park". Laws prevented us from going corporate there, and that's a good thing, but the downside was that they didn't subsidize us to the extent that larger farms took advantage, and you see the outcome. Now that land is just a place for golf courses and lakefront property for city dwellers to "enjoy the view", and the town I lived in that once thrived is nearly 70% below the poverty line. Land taxes and laws that subsidize the cities are bleeding the residents dry and causing homelessness and destroying the very life's blood that once fed the people who look down on these people. The recent outcomes of the elections come as a shock to those who have never milked a cow, picked apples from sunup to sundown, shoveled manure, bailed hay, or bent over to pick berries all day. Instead, they want grapes for their wine (drive I-90 from Albany to Niagara and look at the number of grape farms along the way). Yes, you'll see some cows and a smattering of apple orchards, but mostly grapes. Drive route 40 North from Albany to Hudson Falls and look at the number of farms. When I grew up in upstate NY, there were farms all of the way, and now there are two or three. There's one beekeeper left. I live in southeast VA now, and all we have are pigs and peanuts. What was farm land has become overgrown with people. Go to CA and ask how much water is diverted to the most useless of foods there. CA used to be filled with farms, and it's now becoming nothing but vineyards and avocado farms. In 1985, John Irving penned "The Cider House Rules" and soon after John Mellencamp released "Rain on the Scarecrow". This isn't new. Irving's novel speaks to the migrant workers and Mellencamp's song speaks to the devastation of losing family farms. These both speak to a systemic problem created by our government through pressures from large corporations. The small farms are a microcosmic reflection of when a Walmart comes into a town and destroys the small businesses that were once there (also something that happened in my little town). Many people don't like the "make America great again" slogan, but they aren't the ones who are seeing what's happened over decades of spending on ridiculous programs that don't tackle the root causes of hunger, poverty, obesity, declining health, and education. Instead, the government looks at programs that only effect the four years someone is in office. I'm reminded of when a commanding officer would come to a ship and "shake things up" to make it their own. The rest of us knew that it would all change when the command shifted. That's what's happening in the US. Special interest groups are destroying us in the name of profits for gains of the few while the little people suffer. Then the media (like yourselves) blame uneducated people for voting for real change. No, people are voting with their hearts in hope of real change that will reach the root causes. Maybe they voted wrong, but they want to try. The pandemic and crushing of the supply lines taught many in the government nothing. We should have been self-sufficient enough to weather that storm, but we were crushed under the weight of being reliant on things that could easily be built and created here. I'll never forget in school in the 70's and a teacher saying, "do you realize that zero televisions are produced in the US?" I watched Troy, NY, once known as "the collar city" destroyed by clothing production being moved overseas. This isn't new! Yes, we need to take a step back. Not in our social policies, but in policy that will bring production of necessities back to this huge, expansive, environmentally and socially diverse land we call America. As you take notes with a Ticonderoga pencil, remember that's named after my hometown. The pencils were actually produced in PA, but the graphite came from Ticonderoga, thus the name. The Dixon on the pencil? I know members of that family personally. I've sat at dinner with Chuck Schumer and we discussed a lot of what is wrong. He works hard. I'm a life-long democrat, but even members of the party (I will leave them nameless) see that it has lost touch with the very people who turned their backs on them this election. Why? Because the party has turned its backs on them. As Bill Maher has pointed out again and again, the party has become a group of elitists who forgot their hippy heritage. They wave flags of various colors, but they actually do nothing but grandstand or institute unsustainable policies to address the root cause of the problems that they created themselves.

[@username3766]

Nice mini-essay. 👏

[@blizzunt420e]

The reality is we grow more than enough food, but it’s bought up by big corporations who then put it in the underground storage caves. I don’t know if it’s in Utah or Nevada, but there are huge storage caves underground in. I believe they’re old salt mines or granite mines, but there are literally miles and miles and miles of these tunnels under ground and they use the natural cool environment as food storage and they bulk store tons of food so they can regulate the market and tell us that we have food scarcity the reality is we grow more than enough food… Bill Gates just wants to eat his garbage food and want us to think there is food scarcity so that everyone turns to Bill Gates for the answer with his Frankenstein garbage food… Don’t be a science experiment for the billionaires say no to GMO

[@craigmott7150]

grew up on a farm in NJ same time frame. by 72-73 government regulation and folks with sensitive noses had driven many farms out of business. by 75 most local farms were gone.

[@jasonallman696]

Good luck with that "Make America Great" thing

[@cfhfan2000]

Perfect example of getting what you vote for. This guy wrote a novel about all the things wrong with our systems and then admitted to being a lifelong Democrat…….. YOU voted for your own demise

[@moomie1634]

Big reason why corn and soybeans have been prioritized for so long is that Iowa went first in primaries for so long. If you wanted to win Iowa, you had to be pro ethanol subsidies.

[@rolback5055]

That’s what the environmentalists were pushing for alternative replenish-able fuel. Now they want electric cars fueled by electricity made by non replenish-able fuel. See what happens when you listen to the democrat party morons?

[@someguy2135]

And subsidies for farm animal feed like corn and soy. I agree that we should end the use of corn for biofuels, but we should also quit incentivizing animal agriculture considering the impact on our environment, wasted resources, water pollution, ocean dead zones, deforestation, biodiversity loss, zoonotic disease threat and antibiotic disease threat.

[@bradmiller6507]

And the laws in Iowa are hostile to small farms.

[@Jimraynor45]

Like most people, the people of Iowa are willing to give themselves a benefit even if it comes at the expense of others.

[@poorwotan]

From crops not ideal for ethanol due to lower sugar content...

[@gabetalks9275]

If we want to start farming abundantly and sustainability, we must transition from monoculture to permaculture. Permaculture allows to farm more crops on less land, and in a sustainable way that restores the ecosystems that monoculture has destroyed. Monoculture destroys our freshwater supplies, erodes our soils, and kills our insects, which slowly destroys our airable land and leaves with no water left to feed our crops or ourselves. It's an endless creedy cycle of self-destruction that only benefits the chemical and big tech industries. We desperately need the urbanism and permaculture movements to team up if we want to create a truly sustainable future.

[@Taphfy]

Non GMO non Monsanto crops? Like every country south of the United States. Good luck with that.

[@christineperez7562]

No we do not. We need to have families grow their own gardens again.

[@eos_2366]

Terrible idea. That will result in favoritism towards corporate farming. As you reduce land, you’ll have less diverse farmers with less diverse commodity. Ultimately, it’ll continue the demand for cash crops. What farmers need is for government to loosen some unnecessary regulations. I am an environmentalist, but this is not the way.

[@gabetalks9275]

@eos_2366 You must not be familiar with permaculture then. The whole of permaculture is biodiversity. Growing a diversity of crops together instead of wasting acres upon acres of land on a single crops, leading to freshwater waste, soil degradation, and the mass extinction of our insects and the poisoning of our bodies from pesticides and herbicides. Nature is meant to compliment each other, but monoculture goes completely against this. Growing crops through biodiversity, allowing the crops themselves to support each other allows you grow higher yields on smaller land plots, bringing the farms closer to the cities and saving the rest of the freed up land for rewilding.

[@eos_2366]

@@gabetalks9275 sounds neat in writing but it wouldn’t practically work. We know what would happen is that people will use the freed up land for development and expand urbanization. It’s what end up happening to a lot of farm land here, they used it to build a huge Amazon warehouse. Why do you think big corporation are pushing this way of thinking?

[@oClockyy]

Everyone should start growing their own food on their land asap, I started with figs, blueberries, raspberries,serviceberries - just planted pawpaws, - want to start getting into bigger fruit such as stonefruits, support local farms as best as you can with what you can afford

[@worldofdoom995]

I agree, at least make a small garden or organize a community garden.

[@damnyankeesdaughter5427]

Some can’t because of zoning restrictions and HOA rules, your property may look untidy and it’s not pleasant for your neighbors. SMH

[@worldofdoom995]

@damnyankeesdaughter5427 yeah, good point

[@damnyankeesdaughter5427]

@ I started growing things when the economy got bad. It made me consider the people who couldn’t, like people in apartments, elderly, disabled, etc.

[@oClockyy]

@@damnyankeesdaughter5427 100% forgot that HOA's has become so common, people need to get back on owning their property 100% without a third party controlling what they can or cannot do on their property - understandably it helps with the "chaos" of which one person might be with their property and unorganized but I'm not going to let a third party organization control the "biggest" purchase within my lifetime "You'll own nothing and be happy"😁

[@colemislevy7576]

As a small farmer in Florida, it’s hard to deal with disease, hurricanes, and production costs.

[@brodriguez11000]

Climate change is going to throw a wrench in everybody's workings. A new farm bill is going to have to account for that.

[@mattburrito]

too bad florida has high crime rates corruption im from california we have crime problems here while other states suffer the same

[@ExtinctionLife]

I hope you're in Northern Florida. The future does not look good for your state.

[@brodriguez11000]

And climate change.

[@zoeyrochellezhombie829]

It's about to get a lot worse when trumpturd gets rid of fema.

[@RoseNZieg]

in my experience, it's not that farmers aren't growing food. it's the logistics cost to get food to the market. urban development is horrible in some places, that food are not grown locally within a 15-minutes drive.

[@rickzane6433]

Wait till cheap labour becomes scarce... That's gonna make things worse.

[@bobsap1723]

So your stupid ass is okay with slave wages as long it’s not you getting paid slave wages . Thanks for confirming that tool .

[@larshagen9944]

yeah many wont do manual labor cause its "dirty" work, wait till prices and cost skyrocket on vegetables

[@buckeyedav1]

We need to bring back the Chain Gangs.. get those prisoners out there in the fields to do our crops. I remember living in Florida in the 60's and my parents working in the Groves picking oranges and grapefruits ( they were poor white people not illegal immigrants, we were white and worked with black people in the same situation. Anna In Ohio

[@juanignaciofranco3614]

And the tariffs, if they thought food was expensive now, wait until those tariffs hit the prices imported goods

[@slimpickens01]

That's when you bring in teenagers and young adults to work an honest pay. Also don't forget the corrupt Prison system that hire out prisoner's to corporations in agriculture.

[@GabrielHernandez-sn3el]

High fructose corn syrup is used to replace sugar in most processed food because it’s cheaper than importing sugar cane from a producer like Brazil. Us Americans pay for it twice. Once in the poor health outcomes, and in higher sugar costs via tariffs. Bad farm practices are literally killing us.

[@WaspvsHornet-rp7ue]

I was shocked to see the life expectancy of an American compared to other developed countries. Something is causing the reduction in life expectancy and I guess it could be diet and lifestyle.

[@michaelgallagher7872]

The issue with sugar is tariffs. To make Florida sugar producers richer, we put very large tariffs on foreign sugar. So, we get stuck with high - fructose corn syrup. Without the sugar tariff the price of cane sugar here would drop like a rock.

[@cb.7648]

i live in a area that has a lot of agriculture, mainly just cherries and apples. as i’ve grown up i’ve seen many orchards be plowed and turned into luxury housing. this year, Costco bought a huge apple orchard and haven’t done anything except for destroy the orchard. it’s been almost a year.

[@Barbara-jn2gw]

😩

[@MDW82]

Sounds like Central California. Where I was raised. Farmers were bought out to build unaffordable homes.

[@andyjohnson3790]

40% of all corn grown in the US is used to make ethanol even though its only about 7% of the US fuel demand. The land to grow more fuel is being used to grow fuel for our gas guzzling society, and is highly subsidized

[@bayouboyentertainment2106]

Drive thru Iowa it's almost all what we call Junk Corn lol

[@PacesIII]

And if you want 4 ears of edible corn, it will cost $8 and it's packed in such a way it gets moldy. Every once in a while you'll find cheap corn at $0.50 an ear, but it's becoming more rare.

[@albarjas8360]

Don't forget high fructose corn syrup 🤡

[@growtocycle6992]

I think that you will find that most of this corn is by product, which is essentially inedible, even to livestock. The main issue is livestock, they consume the vast bulk of the crop

[@LycanFerret]

​@@growtocycle6992 Considering me, my family, 8 of my friends and their families all only consume meat and dairy and do not touch vegetables, fruits, grains, sugars, or nuts, I'd say it's not a problem. We combined consume 23,000lbs of meat and 3,500 gallons of milk in a year.

[@stainlesssteellemming3885]

US Consumers: I can't find locally grown food in my supermarket Also US Consumers: They want HOW MUCH for local apples? More US Consumers: I want fresh, locally grown all year round regardless of being in season locally, at the cheapest possible price, Everyone: It's the governments' fault

[@PerformanceProjects]

Where I live there is a market that actually grows their own veg and fruits in green houses behind the store. They bake their own breads, make their own meals and pastries. A beautiful sprouted grain loaf of bread baked from scratch that morning is $7. A Trader Joes just opened across the street. Where is the parking lot full? not the market supplying fresh whole foods. Everyone like to blame the government, but the US consumer will always buy the largest quantity at the lowest price. They will chant and yell about boarders and China, but in the end they wont support ther local growers because "its too expensive".

[@dorokaiyinvil5705]

They're so dumb they can't even understand how or why lol

[@sergiokieri3137]

I always try to buy California grown foods but I am lucky to live in the state that actually grows variety.

[@raymondkidwell7135]

Used to be able to buy local watermelon grown in florida or georgia on the side of the road for two or three dollars. Store watermelon would be like $8. Now they import mexican watermelon and sell it at the store for $3 put locals out of business. In this case a small 10% tariff would help without increasing prices much. Let mexico have cantelope, avacadoes etc tariff free we dont grow much here but something like watermelon was historically a big crop in the south being killed by cheap imports nafta.

[@Raytracer96024]

Tbh most (if not all) ameriKKKans are greedy

[@NI-ko5kt]

The tariffs Trumpet placed back in 2016 really hurt farmers

[@earl-d4n]

he's an idiot but he WILL NOT HURT the corporate farmer

[@b195-l5s]

Family farms can't make it in this economy. Developers buy the land and build as many houses that fit. See it every day, once the land is gone.

[@jdredwine7224]

Single family housing is part of the problem.

[@sarkaranish]

Sounds like the family farms need to pivot their business model. Lots of family farms where I'm at host many events and do Halloween and Christmas decorations which boosts revenue. This is capitalism, adapt or get left behind.

[@armandoventura9043]

​@@sarkaranish The United States has not been capitalist since the 1929 crisis, since then the country has turned to a hybrid of corporatism and fascism

[@Thebeekeeper568]

​@@jdredwine7224it all boils down to greedy multi million cooperations.

[@irose4066]

I thought it happening in my coutry only.....all over the world farm lands are converted to building....

[@xro1983]

The U.S. isn’t growing enough food because of CORPORATIONS

[@lukekibbles]

Corporate greed ruins everything

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

Enabled by... government policy!

[@francismarion6400]

​@lukekibbles It's the Democrat/Fascist plan. Monsanto is in Bidumbs cabinet.

[@bftjoe]

corporations grow whatever is most profitable, end corn and all other farm subsidies.

[@omonkkonen6676]

Farms should be corporations. Add value themself and not only raw materials.

[@beth8775]

I'm glad I planted some fruit trees in our backyard a few years ago.

[@dianaweimer872]

It is sad to go to a farmer’s market and not see fresh produce. I stopped going because I don’t want to buy over priced jams and jellies from produce that was purchased at the local grocery store.

[@christinacody8653]

In many cases, I’ve seen farmers markets where the people selling the veggies may

[@fdhfdsy4y4]

Farmers markets in my country can be extremely hit or miss. Last one I went to you a had to pay just to go in. Most stalls didn't have any prices displayed . The fruits and vegetables were the same as anything you'd find at the grocery store but much more expensive or again more often no price at all. I went to one and a majority of of the stalls just sold stuff from China/AliExpress. Think bootleg clothing, random plastic gadgets and toys. Blatant knock off products and scams Typically no schedule in advance for what stalls will be there too.

[@magesalmanac6424]

Well you clearly gotta go to a “real” farmer’s market, not a glorified craft fair

[@jaysmith1408]

We had a joke at our farmers’ market, that this one vendor had the largest greenhouse in the state. It went all the way from (township) the fifty miles downtown to the warehouse district.

[@5points7019]

I'm planning on being a produce vendor next year at our towns farmers market. They said I should have been there this last summer bcs people were saying there wasn't enough or any produce there. I grow mine as clean as possible (no sprays, chemicals) and was pricing competitively on local swaps. I'm excited about next season! I have a small backyard in town and everything grows like crazy. There's no reason we shouldn't have a bonkers amount of food available

[@huntersmith674]

Corporations, investors (not the good kind), greed, lobbyists, increased population, energy costs... What else did I miss? I mean, its the same story everywhere!

[@temujin1645]

Increased population ???

[@chawlagrv]

greed is the root cause of all of them.

[@peterdeacon4085]

Increasingly unpredictable weather, more droughts, wildfires, flooding, soil erosion and degradation may also be relevant factors.

[@okamijubei]

What increase population?

[@ronaldhunter5894]

increase population will soon be dying out. We can no longer live this way. People don't/can't have kids for money issues. we no longer have love for one another. We let in immigrants just to mis-treat them instead of accepting them. Our food even grow has less nutrients than ever before. THIS IS AN LEVEL EXTINCTION EVENT. This is every movie we have watched and didn't want to believe would happen because our lives were already tough as it is. THE RICK ARE KILLING US!!!

[@VanguardShags]

As a homeowner, if you can, try to grow some food of your own. If you are smart in how and what you plant, it can be quite cheap and easy. Our house in Dearborn, MI is in an older 1940s neighborhood with thousands of other houses, often a bit smaller sized and on relatively small lots. We started planting within our first year of living here. First, we added two dwarf persimmon trees to our back yard (Maekawa and Fuyu (Jiro)...they cross pollinate), then prioritized getting various perennials in the ground that grow well in our region, including grape varieties, strawberries, black raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, arctic/hardy kiwis, thyme plants of different varieties (they grow like crazy, and we've since propagated them into 30 plants, and even line our front yard walkway with them - thyme is one of the most care-free plants you'll ever own), oregano, lavender, several varieties of asparagus, green onions, chives, leeks, horseradish, a dwarf cherry tree and more. Our annuals include tomatoes (super-easy to grow here - I'm particular to grape and Sun Sugar varieties), daikon radishes, perilla/shiso, lettuce, cucumbers, squash, cilantro, rosemary (have to bring it inside for the winter if I want to keep it alive), kale, garlic (we harvest most but leave some for the next year), and other stuff I'm forgetting right now. This doesn't even get into the flowers we grow and even a bit of region-appropriate milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) - that last one is for the Monarch butterflies, which also are crazy for zinnias. Point is, if we can do this much with a 6000 sq foot YARD, other homeowners likely can too...provided you can make a little time, do a bit of thoughtful planning, and don't live in some horrid HOA community that bans such things.

[@willardSpirit]

What's crazy is 1/3 of our food production simply goes to waste

[@someguy2135]

Using so many resources and land to grow crops for farm animals is inherently wasteful since we feed more nutrients to those farm animals than we get from eating them.

[@hi-tych]

Truth.

[@representin614]

A third of our corn crop ends up in gasoline blends and our taxes get spent to make it economically viable.

[@BigPoppa-Monk]

@@someguy2135 Completely false.

[@chiyerano]

@@BigPoppa-Monk They just stated in the video that most of the crops, especially corn and soy, go to animal feed, ultra processed foods, and biofuel production.

[@DaveReynolds-y3v]

Unfortunately (Don't all the comments start this way) farming, like so many issues, is used for optics by politicians with no real discussion of the issues at hand. Then when in congress they accommodate the largest donors and apply a band aide to the rest.

[@KyJack13]

@@DaveReynolds-y3v great example of this is rural internet. Tens of millions has been gifted to large telecommunications companies and still no true broadband in rural communities. If it were not for Elon’s Starlink we, along with all our neighbors and millions of others would not have broadband. Starlink was a game changer for rural America

[@winnaung1238]

Glad to see bring this up how important farmers are for the nation, please bring up the another important topic like how important truckers are for this country we are alll facing the same problem!!!

[@TheLoneWrencher]

Complaining residential properties next to farms are an issue, ie. "It's 10PM why are you mowing?"

[@eyoeltewdros1]

I think the point of the contention is that when you have residential building around farm lands, it’ll fundamentally change the economy around that farmland forcing you to evolve into things like brewery’s and veggie picking to make money. Thus reducing and eventually eliminating the initial purpose of the farms to begin with

[@carlycaye90]

in the height of summer 10 PM is yardwork time 😂 wearing our headlamps

[@KyJack13]

@@TheLoneWrencher I actually prefer bush hogging at night. It’s cooler and I find it really peaceful.

[@jogana6909]

US can live without agriculture. Comparatively speaking, imported food is not expensive.

[@sonsflower]

@@jogana6909our economy would plummet if we depend that heavily on others because global issues and long transportation problems will increase the cost of food dramatically, but if everything stays local the global climate has little affect.

[@pobrien864]

We need to stop subsidizing corn, soybeans and wheat production, and direct those savings to small farmers growing specialty crops and livestock on a regenerative basis.

[@cheekybastard99]

Except they dont want to do it.

[@growtocycle6992]

You have never had to experience famine in your lifetime... Do you know why that is?

[@phillmckill5562]

Just wait till they don't have cheap labour picking fruit and they have to pay American workers more.

[@chrisprice4373]

Why wouldn't they Mexicans been picking crops since I was born 1984 the 10 million that came in recently doubt they are picking crops

[@haastapasta9569]

The horror of paying farm laborers a living wage!

[@wyleecoyotee4252]

Hahahaaaa

[@wyleecoyotee4252]

​@@haastapasta9569 They won't do it at any wage 😅

[@Impozalla]

We are growing enough food but we don't have enough labor to harvest the food off the tree or the vines. I have seen thousands of acres of grapes and peaches just rot away because the farmer cannot find enough labor to harvest them.

[@doujinflip]

It'll get even worse under Trump as Republican policies scares off the immigrants we need to pick and process our food on American soil. US citizens don't have the price advantage of a strong USD exchange rate at their permanent home.

[@priestofronaldalt]

We'll need lots of cheap labor or major capital investment to fix that

[@Impozalla]

@priestofronaldalt no more immigrants, legal or illegal who will be doing the job of harvesting fruits and vegetables. Cheap labor out the window.

[@deborahdean8867]

I find that hard to believe, unless you're talking about since covid. Covid really hit the ag labor market bad. And companies,went out of business , get tied up in legal affairs, etc.. nobody could have done a better job of running the economy and getting away with it, especially since 2008.

[@RepentImmediately]

​@@Impozallaif your business depends on cheap labor, you're in the wrong business. Pay people well or get a job.

[@dbabakh8911]

We grow more than enough. The amount of waste is astounding.

[@sherrieandherbreynolds5882]

Exactly, ain't no starving , look at US obesity rate

[@zoeyrochellezhombie829]

Entitled to waste

[@lilafeldman8630]

Locust Grove! I'm from near there! So glad that we got featured.

[@MrWigg1es22]

Don't worry, everything is about to get WAY more expensive.

[@mahnamahna3252]

Good We've lost our way It's about time we stopped embarrassing our ancestors

[@seymorefact4333]

BIG PICTURE IS...TRUMP AND BIDEN placed tariff and Sanction against China. ALL ON fake Natl Security! China retaliated and cancelled HUGE farm contracts. Now South Americans and Russian are enjoying HUGE HUGE profits. American farmers were begging Trump and Biden. Even saw Xi when he went to SF last year. IT ALL STARTED WITH TRUMP AND BIDEN MADE IT WORSE!

[@Godbless1254]

FAFO season is coming 🙌

[@That.Lady.withtheYarn]

I already started acting like it’s the Great Depression… might as well get use to the behavior patterns now while we still have time so it won’t be a hard system shock to us when it does crash as a direct result of tariffs. Plus he’s going to cut those social programs that Ben been keeping family up Make do mend or do without. Come January soups and stews will be a regular thing to make my normal buying habit go farther

[@mahnamahna3252]

@That.Lady.withtheYarn tariffs will be a good thing for all of us. The obscene amount of consumer goods the US trashes is inexcusable. Just being spoiled brats and learn to appreciate what we have and support our locals.

[@blamdem3036]

Florida have the most unique whether condition to grow a wide variety of crops But the developers buying up the farm land.

[@kristingoettlicher3503]

So sad

[@HoneyButterBiscuits]

I agree. We grow avocados bananas, blueberries, citrus, coconuts, mangoes, and strawberries (just to name a few) in FL. A lot of blame has been placed on canker and citrus greening for low citrus production, but those issues only increased as housing developments around citrus groves increased. Acres around farm land should be protected.

[@Bob-w2b8j]

Every inch of it

[@Laney_75]

Ive seen many small farms in Pennsylvania unable to make it in the current economic conditions, end up bought by the Amish. At least its staying agricultural & as green space within that scenario. Still more needs to be done to support our small farmers & food diversity.

[@itsa11good23]

I grew up in a very rural farming community. Growing up I watched as more and more farms had to close down and consolidate and now there are maybe 3 to 4 people that own the vast majority of the land in the entire region. There were companies that supplied farmers that have also gone out of business and now there are only a few left namely MPG tractors being the only division of MPG that is still active. I do not think there is enough support for smaller farmers. You have Republican lawmakers that will come to these communities, even come out of these communities and say they’re focused on making policy to help but then once voted in, they’re in the party system, they will back policies that only support large farm and not local farm. You have Democrats who just continually ignore the issue and don’t speak to that community. It feels like an endless battle to get policy won for small farm.

[@eklectiktoni]

Well said!

[@richardsimms251]

Excellent comments

[@untaayam21]

Farming is not that hard.... farmers are always whining

[@doujinflip]

Corporations are always winning, especially the ones that own farms.

[@carterwgtx]

Good, the farmers overwhelmingly voted for Trump - let Trump prove how much he cares about farmers now…ohhhh that’s right, the trade war he started during his first term resulted in retaliatory tariffs that seriously hurt farm income.

[@bonnielovely]

don’t forget the thousands of struggling small farmers that went out of business or were bought by corporations~ 💫

[@inthendwealldie]

Trump’s first term had a bunch of farmers filing for bankruptcy… and farmers have a quite high rate of unaliving themselves, being a farmer must be that severely stressful. There was a lot of bailouts as well, I recall nearly $30 billion dollars were spent on Trump’s farmer bailouts And the American soybean farmers out of all farmers suffered the worst, they permanently lost export markets. They received about $7 billion dollars from the USDA, and those soybean contracts the American farmers had didn’t come back, as other countries filled in the gap. These tariffs, Trump’s trade war didn’t help them at all besides the billions of $$$ in bailout money…

[@zoeyrochellezhombie829]

Vote trumpturd, you got screwed. BADLY.

[@kevinansley7353]

Idiot

[@Jackson_Christopher_Cross]

Of course THIS guy brings politics up lol

[@شعرکوتاه-ع7ظ]

You have provided useful and valuable information that has added to our knowledge and awareness. We should be grateful and thankful to you for collecting this useful information.

[@stevebeschakis9775]

We're offered a super-wide variety of fresh produce, but do we really demand it? If 75% of the produce varieties at my local supermarket were suddenly eliminated, and I was left with only 20-30 fruit and veg choices, I'd be completely happy. My store sells things I've never heard of and have no interest in. It seems like every time I go shopping, there are new apple varieties I never knew existed.

[@crash.override]

Yeah, can't figure why my supermarket bothers to stock Dragonfruit. Doesn't taste particularly special.

[@ppss.6302]

I can't give away the fruits and veggies I grow for free. The folks around here just aren't into that. Honestly, I can't picture anyone trying to make a living this way. Americans seem to love their convenient, soulnumbing products made from corn and soy way more than anything else.

[@kristingoettlicher3503]

It is sad. I sold my organic apples for cheap and people would rather buy a soda or a beer with their money.

[@ReckerFidelWOLF]

​@@kristingoettlicher3503addiction to processed sugars and carbs make people subconsciously do that.

[@cathycharron-folsom4504]

I agree as I see a lot of neighbors in Maine don’t eat anything but corn, potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Anything green is out the window. I find that people that move in from any other state like AZ, NC, CA, NY eat everything.

[@buckeyedav1]

@@kristingoettlicher3503 I love apples. I use to have a apple tree sadly it finally died, have a cherry tree but the birds get to them before I can. I planted both in the city. Anna In Ohio

[@Crowski]

People have this idea that home grown = toxic/risky. That somehow not using pesticides and growing as nature intended…isn’t safe? 😂

[@MyCofeeTime]

In the US, agriculture receives from the federal budget 195 billions. Military, 850 billions. No excuse for these struggles described in the video.

[@shaun469]

Not a farmer are you?

[@yasssgawwwd5643]

Vegetables and fruit being so readily available makes the united states valuable. Keep our farmers stress free and productive ❤❤❤❤

[@inthendwealldie]

With all the tariffs to come next year, 25%-100% tariffs, Trump’s trade wars, farmers losing access to other international markets, and likely plenty of farmers will be losing their hardworking Hispanic workers, who are on worker visas or no papers, they’ll get caught up in raids and get sent back regardless, as there aren’t many Americans milking cows and picking crop and fruits, etc., labor shortage, and so prices will increase. I think some or many of the farmers will be severely stressed, unless they expect another massive bailout from Trump to keep them afloat. Bunch of farmers filed for bankruptcy under Trump’s first term. And if John Deere moves production to Mexico, and Trump has a 25%-100% tariff on Mexico, then prices are definitely increasing Not to mention farmers tend to have a high su1cide rate, those family owned farms that have been owned for generations, if their crop fail, they felt like they let down their whole bloodline, debt rising, lots of guns nearby, if chronically stressed the farmers often unalive themselves. It seems quite stressful to be a farmer tbh, especially if they are struggling today, it’ll likely be worse next year 👀

[@2Pish]

Ban high fructose corn syrup, dismantle corporate farming

[@someguy2135]

And animal products!

[@mattburrito]

i want livestock for smoked meats

[@2Pish]

@@mattburrito small ranches, brother

[@calebmanuel17]

@@someguy2135especially fake animal products which tastes like real meat

[@Beyonder8335]

Corporate farming is almost non existent to begin with. According to the USDA 97% of farms in the US are family farms and they produce 89% of total agricultural output. Most of us farmers are on family operations.

[@jerrymoore8355]

I lived next to a mega farm. Corporate owned. He decided to put in a turkey farm not even a half mile from my house. I lived there several years before this. My son in law caught his workers literally reaching over the fence with ac track hoe and ripping trees down on my property. But the turkeys had such a foul smell we couldn't deal with it anymore! Couldn't even go outside, some days.

[@ExtinctionLife]

Mega farm or maga farm? Foul smell or fowl smell? Grew up on a small family farm, the 80s were brutal. The farms just keep getting bigger and Americans keep getting fatter and sicker from all the ultra processed crap passed off as food. If we subjected pets to the same living conditions as the animals in factory farms, we would be jailed. Big Ag is pathetic.

[@debbiemarquis3231]

What folks need to do is support their local farmers and canners..

[@shirleywilkes5412]

Thank you may God continue to bless and strengthen you!!

[@wunkle9523]

If farmers grew cheeseburgers and pizza they'd be fine.

[@someguy2135]

They kind of do that when they grow corn and soy. Only about 7% of soy is consumed directly by humans. Besides ending animal agriculture, we should also quit growing corn for biofuels. Animal farming gets a huge amount of subsidies. Especially if you include the subsidies for feed crops.

[@OKFrax-ys2op]

😂😂😂

[@okamijubei]

Kinda but lab meat are still experimental.

[@jasons2054]

@@someguy2135 What kind of subsidies do Livestock producers get? My relatives that raise cattle get no subsides to raise the cattle. The cattle industry is one of the few that is a free market, buyers and sellers.

[@someguy2135]

@jasons2054 coincidentally my nephew owns and operates a cattle ranch but we've never discussed that topic. "Yes, the United States government provides subsidies to livestock producers:    Livestock and seafood The USDA has spent at least $72 billion on subsidies for livestock and seafood producers since 1995. This includes:   Disaster payments: Over $32 billion in disaster payments, including the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP)   Pandemic relief: Over $15 billion in payments to offset the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic   Commodity purchases: Over $20 billion in livestock commodity purchases   Dairy subsidies: Nearly $5 billion in dairy subsidies "- AI Google search (sources on request)

[@dmac7128]

Subsidies if they were used as originally intended make a lot of sense. They were a product of the New Deal in the aftermath of the "Dust Bowl" years when a combination of drought and bad farming practices led to the crash of agriculture sector of the economy. Subsidies were a tool used to promote responsible land management by paying farmers NOT to grow certain crops when appropriate and stimulate production of foodstuffs that were in short supply. The problem now lies with the consolidation of farms into a few powerful companies and the disappearance of independently owned and operated family farms over the last 40 years, and through their lobbying of Congress, these corporations perverted the system into what we see today. Aside from that, specialty crops, many of which can only be farmed with manual labor. That's why many fruits and vegetables are more expensive. Those foods are sensitive to changes in the labor market. And if the next administration carries through with its promises, those foods produced with manual labor are going to get a whole lot more expensive. And if you throw in a few more tariffs on imported agricultural products like soybeans, that will also raise the cost of basic cereal crop foodstuffs.

[@someguy2135]

I did a quick search and was amazed that the US imports a huge amount of soy despite growing so much here. It isn't for human consumption, btw. Only 7% of soy is directly consumed by us. Almost 80% is used as farm animal feed, which is wasteful and harmful to the environment, including climate change.

[@Lee-yb2zr]

I've said this for years. Start your own garden and learn to can. It's not that hard. Really it's not. It's only been 50 to 60 years that Americans haven't grown their own food. That astonishing. This is what they have wanted. You to rely on them. You've given up your own freedom.

[@PeterBarrett-s6f]

Here in New Zealand farming had subsidies dropped in 1985 but still managed to improve but have to compete with subsidies from overseas

[@seanlander9321]

@@PeterBarrett-s6f Same in Australia, but at least NZ has the European market, they prohibited trade with Australia from 1973.

[@hokeypokeypots]

I've noticed that fruit doesn't taste as good now as when I was young. Think it's because everything is picked unripe and never really ripens up properly even when you get it home. So, in essence, you're paying more and taking the loss by throwing out fruit that goes bad before it ripens so that farmers and supermarkets don't take a loss. A lot of veggies today don't taste good....and have no nutrients, too. They're raised in greenhouses...out of the rain and sun, so they're 'fake' foods that the agricultural industrial complex can make a hefty profit from selling to people In little bags...already cut up and 'processed'. It's no wonder that people would prefer to buy unhealthy processed foods. They taste better and are cheaper than fresh fruits and veggies that sre more expensive, but also unhealthy. Then there's the 'organic' scam. A lot of organic produce sits on the shelves until it almost goes bad because it's a lot more expensive than the already expensive industrial produce. This country has a lot of land, but 'gentrifying' it for high-priced condos and homes is more profitable than using it for farmland.

[@bonnielovely]

if you want tastier veggies, eat frozen ones which are picked when the plant is most ripe/too ripe to travel & sell. certified usda organic isn’t a scam. it goes bad on the shelves because it doesn’t have additives or a painted wax shell to make it look aesthetically pleasing. it’s more expensive because the entire process is regulated by certified usda organic standards (which is basic food quality standard for every other first world nation) a product that says “organic” isn’t actually certified organic unless it meets very specific parameters & earns the certification AND certified organic seal

[@coffeepaperJJ]

All this gmo food just doesn't taste good

[@Fuqinidiots-eg7pr]

It is also because the genetics are being selected for things like growth rates,size,disease resistance etc. instead of flavor or nutrition.

[@shaun469]

​@@coffeepaperJJwhat gmo food are you eating?

[@keydaniels]

Mass deportation is going to hurt US farmers of crops that must be hand picked.

[@wyleecoyotee4252]

The Americans can have those jobs back

[@eos_2366]

Let’s be honest, Americans wouldn’t work those jobs anyways.

[@tarden132]

@@wyleecoyotee4252 who would even being willing to work in harsh climate and little pay on picking crops not me or black or anyone else

[@victorcarr212]

Farm direct to table food should be the standard from this point forward. We need to rethink the super market and replace them with farmer markets or co-operatives. Prices would be reduced and the people would more power over what the buy and how much they spend. Fresh food, lower prices and less interference by the 1% percent.

[@richardlin2359]

Buy local, buy seasonal!!

[@ttopero]

What do you do for grains & legumes? How about from October to June?

[@stainlesssteellemming3885]

@@ttopero Buy when it's fresh, local, and cheap for fruit and veg. Then learn how to preserve things. For legumes, buy in bulk dried and learn how to cook them. But you can't insist on local produce then want stuff that needs a totally different climate.

[@sarkaranish]

Buy local, buy seasonal, but then you'll complain about food prices...

[@G0rdy92]

@@sarkaranishalso depends on where you live, if you live far enough north, your local variety is very limited, the season is very short and it’s probably going to be expensive . You won’t be eating very many fruits and vegetables l. Shoot I’m lucky enough to live right by the Salinas Valley that’s one of the major agricultural producers of the entire nation and even our season only really runs from March to Mid November at best.

[@sarkaranish]

@@G0rdy92 I live close enough to a local farmer but the family was incredibly racist towards me so I have decided not to do business with that farm. But I like this other local farm near me that sells honey which is awesome. But it doesn't change the reality that their honey is about 30% more expensive than the stuff you can get from Costco. people don't have 30% more to spend.

[@eleanorclub]

Thank you. This is very informative.

[@hobbesthebrainslug12]

Maybe we could grow enough food if megacorporations and government werent constantly suing farmers and stealing their land.

[@tomkinsonfarms1212]

The fact that I cannot sell a chicken I own at a farmers market in MI is a shame. It costs me more having it butchered at a USDA slaughterhouse than it does to feed the chickens. It’s wild man. I can do it myself for cheap. But the red tape keeps me from it.

[@KyJack13]

@@tomkinsonfarms1212 same for us in Ky. I’m hoping that Thomas Massie and Joel Salatin can fix this mess when they get into their new positions.

[@untaayam21]

Farmers always whining....find a solution... it's not that hard...

[@buckeyedav1]

For a time I was buying chicken from a homesteader, she was having the Amish process it for her ( very small scale) but unfortunately when the Amish found out she was selling it they doubled the price of their processing and the chicken price became too much for me to be able to afford. Anna In Ohio

[@untaayam21]

@buckeyedav1 that homesteader just make the amish doubting everyone after that...idiot

[@Guacamoc]

@ you really are bitter towards these people for no good reason, that’s the fifth comment of yours I’ve read where you’re harassing farmers

[@G.W.H.]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[@JeanNolan-sd5vn]

Support agriculture or eat dirt! No farms. No food.

[@kevinburke9940]

Grow your own. My dad, who fought in WW2, used to call it a ‘victory garden’.

[@MrBCorp]

Meanwhile in Australia we are doing all the things America probably wish they were doing. We make it hard to import fresh food into Australia and we tend to do it only when they are out of season locally. We eat seasonally. Our fresh produce is some of the best in the world. We pretty much have all climate zones available and can grow anything, given the right time of year. We always have locally grown avocados and our mangoes are considered some of the best in the world (I didn't know that until recent times when people from other countries started making KZbin videos about it). Also, there's something to be said about the change in seasons and, for instance, the cherry season happening, and everyone gets excited to eat fresh cherries. Unfortunately our farmers aren't well looked after by the government and they tend to get squeezed by the 2 main supermarkets, which have a shared duopoly.

[@yuluoxianjun]

there is only big farmers,no little planters.

[@sarkaranish]

Yep, the days of small farmers making an honest living is dead. The "small farmers" of today simply act like they're living that lifestyle but in reality make more money hosting events.

[@okamijubei]

​@@sarkaranishsmall farmers are not dead, they are kept in the dark

[@sarkaranish]

@@okamijubei in the dark...doing what?

[@KyJack13]

@@sarkaranish nope we are still out here. It’s possible to make a living but you are going to live and breathe your input cost and work some long hours. On the bright side I get to see and live in all four seasons and I get to care for both the livestock and all of the other animals that call our farm home. We are very blessed.

[@yuluoxianjun]

@@sarkaranish wait for be sold to big farmers

[@Juliehomevideo]

This is called people are under informed about stuff like this.

[@TheTransfarmationProject]

It is absolutely vital to support specialty crop farmers. We need to advocate for subsidies that support them and increase our national food security.

[@tomgabriel5150]

The most conservative wealthy farmers get millions in farm bill dollars to not farm their land, among other things. Welfare

[@francismarion6400]

@@tomgabriel5150 The biggest farmers are Democrats.

[@ExtinctionLife]

I grew up on a Midwest farm. Socialism is the single biggest socioeconomic threat farmers complained about. Pretty ironic isn't it?

[@francismarion6400]

@@tomgabriel5150 Democrats run Monsanto/Bayer.

[@tomgabriel5150]

@francismarion6400 nope

[@francismarion6400]

@@tomgabriel5150 In Bidens cabinet.

[@sarabeth8050]

Sending all the farm workers back to Mexico will not help. After that, imagine the food shortages. Imagine the unaffordable prices for food. Thanks to that idiot.

[@buchibabub1189]

Don't we have man power.

[@sarabeth8050]

@@buchibabub1189 Yes, the men who voted for trump need to step up, quit their current jobs to pick all the fruit and vegetables grown throughout the country after they get their demanded "mass deportation". Otherwise, they are not men but idiots.

[@miguelflores8631]

@@buchibabub1189If several hundred people apply; a few show you for the interview and some show up for work, it won’t matter because producers will still go down.

[@miguelflores8631]

@@buchibabub1189If several hundred people apply; a few show you for the interview and some show up for work, it won’t matter if the jobs available.

[@deborahdean8867]

You're the idiot. Since when did migrant agricukturalwork become illegal? Illegals aren't out busting their backs in any field. And you're illegals working here are working in restaurants, hotels, construction...... city jobs. You ought to know enough to know migrant workers are legally here. Deporting illegals wont affect them at all. Thats really dumb on your part.

[@andypandy9013]

I am currently living in the UK. I would say from experience that, depending on the commodity, food prices in the USA are about 25% to 35% more expensive in the USA than they are here. Which leads to this question: Why? 🤔

[@michaelgallagher7872]

Four corporations control 80% of beef produced here. Similar for chicken and pork. Agricorps control much vegetable production here. Reagan tried to destroy antitrust law enforcement and antitrust laws have been largely unenforced here until the Biden administration started enforcing them again

[@beaulieuRule]

first..we should have policies to prevent throwing food away.. outdated food should be free or offered to accredited places

[@trappedcat3615]

Sounds healthy. The Outdated Food Market.

[@joewolfmedia]

There is no money in that waste

[@sarkaranish]

We have policies to prevent throwing it away, it's the policy of profit margins. Unless someone is willing to take the risk of getting sued for selling outdated food, it will never work.

[@CapitalismDeathSpiral]

Americans NEED to be allowed to grow food everywhere for free! Governments should be giving free seeds by the billions to all its citizens who have land to grow food on their land. Fruit trees and nuts and berries should be grown along all highways, city edges, abandoned land and anywhere the land needs to be fixed from lack to of soil.

[@High_Mauntains]

So you are saying “Socialism “ ?

[@High_Mauntains]

It’s easier to bring to USA and make more money than hiring, training, picking, shipping here. Someone needs to make it. Who? Large corporations. Who are the law makers? Investors.. your thoughts are just like fly wings sounds for them..

[@High_Mauntains]

Higher the price, higher taxes.. just wait for February..

[@12345anton6789]

Who the hell would be stupid enough to eat anything that grows besides the highway with all that poison released from the exhaust fumes from cars and trucks

[@CapitalismDeathSpiral]

@ Egalitarian Equitarianism Naturalism

[@Atyomommahouse-p2m]

Most crops especially heavy water crops in California are sent overseas

[@adamoliver4094]

In California it's primarily specialty crops. Possibly it has more to do with climate than policies and subsidies?

[@mattburrito]

as a californian i dislike to say it but california is a dystopian state

[@Beyonder8335]

Climate is 100% the reason there’s so much specialty stuff in cali. The weather in the Central Valley is like a fantasy to us farmers in the Midwest lol.

[@jabreck1934]

Specialty crops???? Wtf are you talking about? California produces over 450 agricultural commodities including being #1 fruits, vegetables, citrus, and dairy.

[@adamoliver4094]

@@jabreck1934 Specialty crops means not corn, soybeans or wheat. What did you think it meant?

[@Beyonder8335]

@@jabreck1934 as a general rule, if the crop typically requires a lot of manual labor to grow (not many machinery options) it’s a specialty crop.

[@scarecrow2275]

The biggest problem American's face is corporate greed and corruption, if you banned lobbyists and monopolies, 90% of the issues effecting the lower 60% would vanish and if you really wanted to take your country back the next logical step would be jailing bankers and billionaires. New Zealand had the right idea, it just wasn't implemented properly. Another glaringly obvious issue in American politics is the whole two party system, it doesn't allow for checks and balances, you've got social corruption or corporate corruption, you need a middle party that has the peoples interests at hand, because lets face it, democrats and republicans are one in the same, nothing but liars and thieves. You folks need a purists, grass roots revolution!!

[@50brentk]

Not mentioned here is the fact that cash crops require lots of water and there are strict water rights throughout much of the West. I have a small 40 acre plot in Eastern Washington and as of right now, drilling new wells for irrigation is nearly impossible and several well drillers claimed that the process to get one takes 20 years. I got a personal well drilled and “legally” you are only allowed to irrigate 1 acre for personal use. Sounds like I am complaining, but it is very important to protect our ground water resources, so until we find a way to save water cheaply while also being able to use it, we are back to growing wheat and lentils.

[@SailorMooo]

I live in a farming community in Southern California where most farms have had to cut down their trees because they can’t compete with imported fruit costs. We used to be the avocoado capital of the world, now it’s just a bunch of stumps on the hillsides. The only way to make it in ag here now is to have a winery that people can pay big bucks to come to. Agritourism.

[@kevinb2469]

Grow more food directly for humans, not meat or chemical production.

[@zoeyrochellezhombie829]

Not everyone will be vegan or vegetarian

[@LycanFerret]

Me, my family, 8 of my friends and their families all only consume meat and dairy and do not touch vegetables, fruits, grains, sugars, or nuts. Combined we consume 23,000lbs of meat and 3,500 gallons of milk in a year, and we have eaten like this for almost a decade. Plants are merely nutrient devoid filler for the poor who cannot afford real food.

[@betty-jocarlo5980]

Thank you for feeding us. We should feed ourselves first then export the extra. Food imports should only be what we can't grow. Florida used to be the number one supplier of Oranges, Tangerines, Lemons and Limes. Farms were replaced with cement and asphalt so now our Orange juice is from Mexico.

[@ColeTrainStudio]

This is straight up untrue (not the small farmers getting screwed over, that's definitely true). In the US, the highest percent of garbage is food. Not food scraps, but packaged food. Americans and American businesses throw away 92 billion pounds of food every year. That's $473 billion in wasted food. Additionally, most farms do not produce food crop in the US. Corn and soy, the two biggest cash crops in the US by volume, are not for human consumption. They are used as animal feed or in ethanol. Factory farming and its death grip on lobbying is absolutely screwing everyone over.

[@aaronsmith1474]

And to think Trump is going to make this all worse. Smh

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

North America is in droughts during the growing season except on parts of the Atlantic coast. Small farms with no irrigation are all suffering and their perreneal crops have died.

[@matthews2018ify]

We need more green houses to grow fruits and vegetables year round

[@omfug7148]

The Dutch do this, I think that if solar can provide some of the energy needed it might be cost efficient.

[@VegasRoManiacReviews]

Millionaires complaining that other bigger millionaires getting the subsidies .. 🤣🤣🤣

[@untaayam21]

Thank you... someone seeing it.... farmers are nothing but a bunch of whiners

[@1991ROLEX]

Four orchards near us are gone, replaced by still more multifamily housing. All the many "truck farms" (farms within a short distance of a major city that grow produce, often times year-round with green houses) that once existed are all gone, and the land "developed" Farms are being forced out.

[@brandonhultgren5776]

Stop putting ethanol in our gas, diversify our farms.

[@someguy2135]

Also stop fueling animal agriculture with corn and soy! There are so many reasons to do so!

[@ProudTurkroach]

Nuclear is The future

[@sayfolman7752]

Agree American Should Invaded Other Country,If We Lack Commodity Because That What America Good At!!!!

[@mohdazminishak6387]

US is really a Strange country. Senate give more money to Israel to subsidize everything for the Israel people, yet the American do not get enough subsidies for their agriculture

[@patrickbateman1660]

Americans get too much agricultural assistance. There should be zero government handout

[@sayfolman7752]

It They Job To Provide To They Master 😂😂😂😂