Don't try to feed the world

Monday, January 2, 2012

A large segment of the population in the United States doesn't believe that American farmers are responsible for feeding the world, according to the Center for Food Integrity. Instead, the United States should be helping people in other countries to feed themselves.

The poll has broad implications, says CEO Charles Arnot. If consumers don't believe that U.S. agriculture has a responsibility to feed the world, it is hard to build consumer support for agriculture and intensive management practices such as housing and confinement and specialized feeding practices, as well as the use of genetically modified seeds to increase production.

Those polled felt that money should be spent helping farmers in Third World countries to produce more food.

Last year, Arnot warned that polls showed that, while consumers trusted farmers, they weren't sure that "industrial" styled operations were actually farming anymore. BF