- Buy Local
from a Family Farm . . . .
Data from the USDA
indicate 90 percent of all U.S. farms are considered small
family farms, with sales of less than $250,000. These farms
account for 68 percent of all farm assets and produce 25
percent of the agricultural production. Small family farmers
own 61 percent of farm land. With an average farm size in
2007 of 449 acres, it is clear that industrial farms
continue to increase in size dramatically through
consolidation..
- Buy Local,
Save a Farm . . . . North Carolina lost 1,000
farms during 2005, tying Florida and Tennessee for first
place in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. These latest numbers continue a trend in North
Carolina, which lost 3,000 farms in 2004, also tops in the
nation. "North Carolina is a leading agricultural state, but
losing farms is one category where I dont want us to be No.
1", said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. "Farm
loss has become a chronic problem here. Weve lost more than
6,000 farms and 300,000 acres of farmland since 2002".
- Buy Local, Get Farm-Fresh Taste . . . .
A USDA funded survey
found in a response to several questions about their meat
purchasing habits, the consumers surveyed ranked price
as the 7th most important attribute. Food safety,
quality of meat, USDA inspection, tenderness, juiciness and
farm-fresh taste all ranked ahead of price. (Find
complete survey results at
www.farmprofitability.org)
- Buy
Local, Get Better Nutritional Value . . . .
A University of Texas
study reports that since the 1950's, commercially grown
produce has declined 6% in protein, 9% in phosphorus, 15% in
iron, 16% in calcium, 20% in vitamin C, and 38% in
riboflavin.
- Buy Local, Know your
Farmer,
Trust Your Food . . . . The United States last
year imported about $10 billion more in food, feed and
beverages than it exported, according to Census figures.
Even as imports grow in volume and diversity, the number of
FDA inspections is shrinking: agency inspectors physically
examined just 1.3 percent of food imports last year (2006), about
three-quarters as much as in 2003 -
inspectors
sampled just 20,662 shipments out of more than 8.9 million
that arrived at American ports.
-
Buy Local, Save Food Miles (the distance food travels from
farm to plate) . . . .
According to
ATTRA, the food industry in the United States accounts for
10% of our fossil fuel use - of this 20% goes towards
production and the remaining 80% is consumed for processing,
transport, home refrigeration and preparation. Download the
complete article at
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/foodmiles.pdf
-
Buy Local-Artisanal vs. Industrial-Products . . . .
According to Allan Nation (Stockman Grass Farmer), "Artisan
(small-scale) agriculture seeks to satisfy the passionate
minority, while Industrial agriculture simply seeks out ever
bigger markets."
Buy
Local, Small Farms Are Not Subsidized
. . . . According to USDA, 77%
of all farmers and ranchers do not collect government
subsidy payments in North Carolina. Among subsidy
recipients, ten percent collected 91 percent of all
subsidies amounting to $2.54 billion over 11 years. The
bottom 80% the recipients saw only $85 on average per year.
(Find details at
www.ewg.org/farm).
Footnote: Recently, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Byron
Dorgan (D-ND) introduced an amendment that would place a
limit of $250,000 on the amount of farm payments an
individual can receive. Grassley said, "This proposal has
always been popular and the reality is that with 72% of the
payments going to 10% of farmers, we've got a serious
problem on our hands."
- Buy Local,
Wait For COOL . . . .
Country-Of-Origin Labeling
will eventually be implemented in the USA, but industrial
agriculture will continue to lobby hard against such
regulation. According to the
consumer advocacy group Food and Water Watch, 82% of
Americans want country-of-origin labeling for both food
safety and family health reasons. Consumers Union found even
stronger sentiment: 92% of those surveyed said imported-food
labels should identify the country of origin.
-
For 14 Reasons "Why You Should Buy
Fresh, Buy Local", download a "Buy Local"
.pdf
|
FranklinCountyFarmFresh.com
