Food Products Of The United States

Former president George Washington once said, “Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man,” (George Washington Quote). Since Washington’s presidency, countless advancements and developments within the agricultural industry have allowed the United States to grow, develop, and become one of the most prosperous countries in the entire world. Nevertheless, this prosperity is also marked by several key historical events, such as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, which have caused the core values and traditions that this great nation was built on to slowly disappear. Today, the majority of Americans have no knowledge, understanding, or appreciation for the agricultural industry, causing them to take for granted the basic necessities they rely on each day. This disconnection has created a gap between producers and consumers, which is known as

America’s vast food supply has increased. Foods that were once hard to come by can be found in almost all the grocery stores across the nation. In the article “What’s Eating America”, by Michael Pollan, who is a professor of journalism, explains how the bounty of food came about. He writes about the creation of synthetic fertilizer and how it was used to fertilize crops and essentially make all the foods today. He writes about the harmful effects that are occurring as a result of the chemically made fertilizer. In another article called written by Katherine Spriggs, a student from Stanford University, she writes about the benefits of buying local versus becoming dependent on the import of food. She feels that buying from local farms

Pollan writes , " The way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world. Daily, our eating turns nature into culture, transforming the body of the world into our bodies and minds.” (Pollan,386 ). In the book “ Farm city “, Carpenter, who started an urban farm deep in an Oakland ghetto. She showed what is important about food, and what is lacking in our food culture. She pointed out the issues of local food by demonstrating that it could be done on anywhere, even if your community is full of gangsters. She started raising her own food and learned about animal husbandry, her neighbors, and herself. Furthermore, eating less corn-fed meat, or shifting corn toward more efficient dairy, poultry, pork and grass-fed beef systems, would allow American to get more food from each bushel of corn. The US government should encourage American farmers explore other methods for growing corn, including better conventional, organic, biotech and conservation farming methods that can dramatically reduce chemical inputs, water use, soil losses and impacts on

The increase in corn production and acreage that comes from FAIRA is yet another slap in the face to the American farmer. By allowing for increased corn production on top of the already surplus of corn that domestic farms already produce, the government is actively lowering the price of corn on the market, making it less profitable for farms to grow and forcing a lot of farms to close down. In the Great Depression era, the United States government under President Roosevelt took to subsidizing and buying up excess stores of corn to maintain crop prices and prevent the collapse of the farming industry in the United States (Pollan 49). This protects farmers and allows them to make a living while also providing reasonably priced crops to feed the country with. The Nixon administration began the trend of deregulation in the 1970s, preferring a free

In the period 1865-1900, technology, government policy, and economic conditions all changed American agriculture a great deal. New farming machinery had a large role in the late 19th century, giving farmers the opportunity to produce a lot more crops than they used to. The railroads had an enormous influence on agriculture. They were able to charge the farmers large fees, expenses that farmers barely had enough to cover, in order to transport their goods throughout the expansive country. The booming industry also changed American agriculture, creating monopolies and gaining incredible wealth with which the farmers simply could not compete. Economically, the monetary policy along with the steadily

In the period 1865-1900, technology, government policy, and economic conditions all changed American agriculture a great deal. New farming machinery had a large role in the late 19th century, giving farmers the opportunity to produce many more crops than they had ever been able to previously. The railroads had an enormous influence on agriculture. They were able to charge the farmers large fees, expenses that farmers barely had enough to cover, in order to transport their goods throughout the expansive country. The booming industry also changed American agriculture, creating monopolies and gaining incredible wealth with which the farmers simply could not compete. Economically, the monetary policy along with the steadily dropping prices of

Following the Civil War, a second industrial revolution in America brought many changes to the nation’s agriculture sector. The new technologies that were created transformed how farmers worked and the way in which the sector functioned. Agriculture expanded and became more industrial. Meanwhile government policies, or lack of them for a while, and hard economic conditions put difficult strains on farmers and their occupation. These changes in technology, economic conditions, and government policy from 1865 to 1900 transformed and improved agriculture while leaving farmers in hardship.

In an effort to help boost the economy, the government provided cheap federal farm policies which allowed many people to take on the job of farming. In order to maximize profit,

Throughout the 19th century, the American market saw drastic changes in infrastructure and production. The agriculture sector was no different, as new technologies and modes of transport led the way for farmers to sell goods and work their land, easier and faster. New laws and regulations also paved the way towards cheaper food throughout America. However, as prices dropped, and production flourished, a minority of Americans suffered the consequences of starvation, while farmers suffered low gains. The agricultural picture of the 1800s paints an image of new technologies and a transformed transport sector, which gave way to lower consumer prices and hardships for farmers.

In the time period between 1865 and 1900 technology,government policy,and economic conditions really changed American agriculture. The technology made farming more efficient,and more profitable. Government policies both helped and hindered farmers with helping them transport their products,but they also “stole” from the farmers to help make the government more money. The economic conditions helped farmers with selling more products,and helping cities grow;along with starving families almost to death. All of these coming together really changed American agriculture.

Martin Jr. argue that the Agricultural Adjustment Act was instrumental in improving lives of farmers in southern United States and was effective in ending the downturn in farming economics occurring in the early 1930s. The main goal of the Agricultural Adjustment Act was to fix the farming crisis by raising crop prices, and it is indisputable that the Act succeeded in this. For example, the price of wheat almost doubling from 55.1 cents per bushel in 1932 to 106.0 in 1935, only three years (See Appendix). This was also evident in many other crops such as cotton and peanuts. From this evidence, it is obvious that the Act did achieve its goal of increasing crop

The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) restricted the production of crops. The AAA encouraged farmers to not only limit, but also to “destroy their crops” in an effort to help the economy (“Farm Relief”, 2002, p. 10). While the government attempted to support unsuccessful farmers, landlords took advantage of the opportunity to make a profit. The AAA’s scarcity program allowed for landlords in the cotton-growing regions of the South to force sharecroppers and tenant farmers off of the land (Watkins, 1970, p. 193). As some landowners were outraged at the thought of ruining their produce, others went through with the

In the early 1990s, the farm economy in the heartland of the United States was weak. Farmers in North Dakota produced hard, amber Durham wheat and exported 75% to Italy for the production of high quality pasta. Prices for raw wheat fluctuated radically, depending on weather and growing conditions. Many farmers were having difficulty meeting payments for the expensive farm machin- ery required for crop production. Small family farms were disappearing and non-farm jobs in the area were scarce. Although consumers were paying record prices for food, many farmers felt that processors, who converted the raw grains into finished products for sale in

The early 1900’s was a time of turmoil for farmers in the U.S especially farmers in the Great Plains region. When World War I ended, farmers began to over produce crops so they could sell them at a low price. With low prices at an all time low all the citizens wanted crops which helped farmers make a large profit. Of the ninety-seven acres, almost thirty-two million acres were being cultivated. As the farmers ran out of space to farm, caring only about profit, they started plowing grasslands that were not made for planting. As time went on, year after year farmers kept plowing and due to the lack of rainfall soil began to lose its fertility. With infertile soil and dry land, the wheat crops began to die and eventually started to blow away with the winds. During the 1930's, the Great Plains was plagued with a drought, a long period of dryness, which brought demise to many of the farmers in the region. The drought started in the

American farmers found themselves facing hard times after the Civil War. In the West, the railroad had opened up enormous opportunities. Farmers were now able to cultivate land that had previously been to far from the Eastern markets to make a profit. However, that opportunity came at a price. The farmers increasing dependence on the railroads and other commercial