Robert J. Collier University of Arizona

Transcription

1 Robert J. Collier University of Arizona

2 Abundant, Economical Food Country Percent of Income Spent on All Food United States 9% United Kingdom 22% Japan 26% India 50% United States (1908) 50% Source, USDA, 2007

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4 Technology on US Farms 1950 One of every two farms did not have a phone. One in four farms did not have electricity. Sachs, Jeffrey, Common Wealth, New York, Penguin Audio, 2008

5 Michael Swanson

6 Dilution of Maintenance: Increasing Productivity Reduces Environmental Impact lb Source: Capper, et. al., 2009, JAS DBM 0304

7 Evaluating Returns to Agricultural Research Expenditures on agricultural research generate new knowledge that eventually leads to improved technology that is adopted by farmers. Technology adoption increases average productivity (the output of crop and livestock commodities per unit of land, labor, capital, and intermediate inputs employed in production). Higher productivity of agricultural resources leads to lower costs, higher production, and/or exit of some resources (such as labor) from the agricultural sector. Given physiological limits to per capita demand for food, higher agricultural production leads to lower commodity prices, passing some of the technology induced cost reductions on to the food industry and consumers. Thus, benefits of productivity enhancing agricultural research are shared between the farm and nonfarm sectors of the economy.

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13 CHALLENGES Decline in agricultural research capability Decline of consumer confidence in food safety Role of labeling practices Attacks on animal production and research Consumer concerns about agricultural practices Role of labeling practices Attacks on animal production and research Growing Food Shortage

14 Loss of purchasing power and the decline in scientist years supported by Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) and state appropriations for research using domestic species.

15 Food Labels Nutritional labeling of food is of great value to the consumer Labeling of milk for production practices or misleading labels hurt dairy products and dairy consumption Hormone free milk Antibiotic free milk

16 New Technology Risks This will only increase the price of the food. We must not meddle with nature. This process changes the properties of the food. Possibly dangerous substances could be formed. This process may be done carelessly. Accidents could happen. This will diminish the nutritive value of the food. Milk Pasteurization

17 Consumers Have a Poor Grasp of Food Production Systems Estimated that 70% of processed foods on grocery store shelves contain ingredients and oils from biotech crops Only 34% of consumers indicated that there are any foods produced through biotechnology in supermarkets. From survey reported by Hoard s (early 1990 s) 23% of consumers do not want milk from cows milked more than 1x per day 35% did not want milk from cows housed on concrete 42% did not want milk from cows fed fermented feeds

18 Animal Welfare Concerns Societal expectations placed on the industry have changed Consumers are far removed from production agriculture The concept of trust has changed Agriculture must add ethics and values to science Science based answers are no longer the only answer Recent survey indicates value similarity and ethics drive consumer trust

19 Animal Agriculture and Ethics Don t give up the high ground. Advocate ethics: doing the right thing (which means building from science). Address the issue of animal quality of life. Why not Farmers for Ethical Treatment of Animals(FETA)? W. Ray Stricklin University of Maryland College Park

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21 Technology Crop In 1950, total world production of all major cereal grains was about 620 million tons; in 2000, it was more than 1.9 billion tons. (With conventional technologies) we d have had to cut down approximately three times as much forest or plowed up three times as much grazing land to produce a harvest equivalent to That s how much land high yield technology saved for Mother Nature. Norman Borlaug, Father of the Green Revolution

22 Corn Yields Continue to Advance Actual Breeding Plus Cultural Practice Gain Biotech b=194.7/ Average Corn Yields (kg/ha) Open Pollinated b=1.0/0.02 Single Cross b=113.2/1.81 Double Cross b=63.1/ Average Corn Yields (bu/ac) Year Source: March Crop Science. Ref# 46:

23 Technology Sustainability GM crops have also facilitated the use of reduced tillage or no tillage farming systems, which results in more plant residue being stored, or sequestered, in the soil. This carbon sequestration saved the equivalent of almost 14 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide emission This equates to removing 6 million family cars from the road. Graham Brookes and Peter Barfoot, 2008

24 Technology Beef If U.S. cattle producers were to attempt to produce the current beef supply with 1955 technology, we would need a cattle herd about 80% larger than that of today. Gary Weber, PhD, executive director of regulatory affairs for National Cattleman s Beef Association.

25 Technology Dairy Total milk production has increased by 50% since 1950 while the number of cows declined by 62% Impact of milk testing and processing on dairy product safety Carbon footprint of a gallon of milk is 37% of what it was in 1944

26 Environmental Impact For every 1 million dairy cows supplemented with POSILAC, "9% reduction in demand on natural resources, energy, and carbon footprint" : Less Land: decreases the land area required by over 750 square miles, over twice the size of New York City. Less Water, Fuel and Electricity: saves enough water, fuel and electricity to supply more than 9,000 homes for a year. Fewer Gases: lowers greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the carbon footprint of more than 375,000 average family cars Less Manure: Reduces the manure generated by approximately 3.0 million tons every year Source: Adapted from Capper, et. al., 2007 Cornell Nutrition Conference

27 Consumers Want Economical food Abundant food Sustainable agriculture Safe food

28 What to Eat? Not Will I Eat?

29 Abundant, Economical Food "For God s sake, I ve always said, Use all the organic fertilizer that s available, but don t come around Third World nations telling them they can produce all the food they need with organic fertilizer. (If we tried to substitute manure for chemical fertilizer) we d have to increase world cattle population by about six fold...it s a lot of nonsense, and it comes from people who ve never produced one ton of food in their entire lifetime." Norman Borlaug, Father of the Green Revolution

30 With Technology Consumers Get Economical food Abundant food Sustainable agriculture Safe food

31 Global Demand Requires More Food

32 Sustainability The world cannot sustain (the current) level of growth without new technologies. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of Columbia University s Earth Institute (Focuses on sustainable development)

33 Demand Outstripping Supply In seven of the last eight years world grain production has fallen short of consumption. These annual shortfalls have been covered by drawing down grain stocks, but the carryover stocks the amount in the bin when the new harvest begins have now dropped to 54 days of world consumption, the lowest on record. updated 11 January 2008.

34 How to Feed the World? NEW YORK (Fortune) Backyard vegetable gardens are fine. So are organics, slow food and locavores people who eat produce grown nearby. But solutions to the global food crisis will come from big business, genetically engineered crops and large scale farms. Jason Clay, World Wildlife Fund, May, 2008.

35 Summary Allowing producers the freedom to use licensed, approved technologies ensures the consumer will have a safe, healthy, sustainable and economical food supply for years to come!