The Facts

We are currently facing a social and environmental global crisis rooted in the way we produce and consume food.

Agribusiness and biotechnology has turned our food production into a highly toxic machine that has little benefit for the public here in the US, as well as our international neighbors. The indiscriminant use of chemical products and heavy reliance on fuel consumption in current agricultural practices has caused irreversible environmental degradation including; the loss of fertile topsoil, polluted and depleted water tables, loss of biodiversity in plants and other living creatures, increase in greenhouse gases, and the exploitation of natural and human resources.

• There is a World Water Crisis where access to clean water is becoming increasingly privatized, especially in the poorest communities.
• On average, bottled water costs 900 times the amount of tap water.
• Agricultural use of water accounts for nearly 70% of the water used throughout the world, and the majority of this water is used for irrigation.


• The industrialization of raising livestock on factory farms or CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) requires enormous amounts of fossil fuel and water.
• 70 % of antibiotics in the U.S. are fed to poultry, swine and beef cattle for non-therapeutic uses, creating resistant strains of diseases.
• Concentrated livestock operations contaminate waterways, soil, aquifers, air quality and produce up to 18% of global warming methane.


• Agribusiness is pushing small farmers out of business locally as well as abroad.
• Our tax dollars financially support agribusiness in the form of billions of dollars worth of subsidies to the top producers. Government also supports big business with political backing through policies that further drive small farmers out of business.
• Currently less than 1% of the US population is farmers.


• Genetically modified organisms have been released into nature without proper testing for environmental impact or potential harmful consequences to human health.
• The legalization of seed ownership has placed the ability to cultivate plants for human consumption in the domain of corporate control, threatening plant species as well as the right for people to save seeds as they have done for centuries.

The effects of this agricultural shift from farmers feeding the world to corporations and chemical companies feeding the world, has also caused enormous health problems that we are facing here in the US. The subsidized corn, wheat, rice, cotton and soy is a great boon for processed food corporations that can produce a plethora of products using these few staple ingredients. These cheap foods high in calorie and low on nutrition are causing major health problems in our society.

• Diet related illness is now the number two preventable cause of death, next to cigarettes.
• Heart disease, obesity, type II diabetes are all on the rise and increasingly shortening the lives of our children.
• It is estimated that children born after the year 2000 will most likely be the first generation whose parents outlive their offspring.
• In 2008, health care spending in the United States reached $2.4 trillion.

Solutions

There is much we can do to ensure a healthy, clean and sustainable food system that protects our health, natural resources and human rights. Any size action makes a tremendous difference. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Get educated and share information with your family, friends and colleagues.
• Support your local, small scale food producers by shopping at farmer’s markets.
• Eat less processed food and more whole, fresh foods.
• Join a CSA, community garden or food co-op in your neighborhood or start one!
• Ask your local grocer or restaurant to offer local, organic, fair trade products.
• Eat less meat and make sure it’s humanely raised.
• Grow food wherever you can; on your rooftop, garden, window sill, fire escape...
• Support local health and wellness initiatives.
• Voice your concerns to your local representatives; write letters, make phone calls, sign petitions, etc.