As population increases, so does demand for food

Food — its availability and its price — is becoming a major concern around the world, and this time it includes the United States where citizens have seldom had to worry about their food supply. We are more concerned over the second highest obesity rate in the world. The current situation is due to a confluence of nature-induced problems from droughts and floods to insect infestations. It is also rapidly increasing demand from third-world countries who all want the same lifestyle that we have always enjoyed.

Couple this with what appears to be a total disconnect in Washington, D.C., where most politicians seem to think this is America, not Europe, don’t worry, we’ll be all right. Glenn Maddy, our county extension agent for many years, used to say that almost starving gives you a different perspective on life. He promoted food production his entire life in this country and in Europe and Africa, after he almost starved to death as a prisoner of war in World War II. Rich Eshleman, of Eshleman’s Fruit Farm in Clyde, is of the same strain. Rich, a Vietnam vet, has basically adopted families in Uganda that he provides for and visits annually. He was there at this writing.

According to the United Nations, the world’s population is expected to grow 35 percent in the next 40 years. The global population is increasing by 210,000 people per day, and is expected to stabilize at 9 billion people by that year. That’s an increase of 2.5 billion people, or, the equivalent of another two Chinas.

American farmers — and farmers around the world — will need to double their production in the decades ahead, but it isn’t as easy as it sounds. With the exception of Brazil, the former Soviet Union and possibly China, much of the land suitable for agriculture is already being utilized. The UN estimates that arable land has the capacity to grow possibly another 12 percent in those areas that aren’t forested or erodable.

Urbanization is a major problem in the United States and China. China’s urban land area has been increasing by more than 2 percent annually for the past five years, and in the United States, an area the size of Indiana — 23 million acres — has been lost to development from 1982 to 2007. In Ohio, land in farms decreased 100,000 acres from 2009 to 2010 and is now at 13.7 million acres. Drive through rural Sandusky County and notice the lot size for many of the newer homes, much of it due to the necessary sewage regulations.

China has been aggressively acquiring farmland in Africa, either by leasing or outright purchase. It was attempting to use the same practice in Brazil, but the Brazilians recently enacted legislation limiting foreign ownership size, depending on the region. There are already 10 million acres under foreign ownership, much of it by American hedge funds.

Growing global food demand isn’t only caused by larger numbers of consumers, but by the content of their diets. As emerging markets develop, their demand for protein and meat increases and cereal demand decreases. U.S. citizens eat more than twice as much meat as the Chinese, and meat, fruits and vegetables are far more agriculturally intensive products than cereals and rice. The Chinese are rapidly changing. McDonalds and Subway are both projecting China to be one of their largest markets in the near future.

As the world-wide demand for beef products increases, the U.S. beef herd is expected to be the smallest since 1958, because of the surging price of corn and the soft economy. The Department of Agriculture projects “consumer beef prices will be the highest ever this year and probably will climb further in 2012.” Even cattle hides have reached a 10-year high as demand for leather products increases. Luckily, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke still says we don’t have to worry about inflation.

It isn’t over. The UN food agency recently announced that a drought was threatening the wheat crop in China, the world’s largest wheat producer. In addition, droughts in Russia, Ukraine and other parts of Europe, coupled with bad weather in the United States, Canada and Australia are ransacking global grain inventories. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture already expects the world supply of grain to decrease by 2.2 percent this year.

In spite of this, American farm exports have maintained their pace at helping support the economy. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently reported that exports reached an all-time high of $115.8 billion in calendar year 2010. He further stated that every $1 billion in exports supports 8,000 American jobs.

In Washington, the Obama Administration’s EPA is doing little to help. Obama called for an end to “dumb regulations” in his State of the Union address. This latest one is worse than dumb. The EPA has finalized a rule that subjects dairy producers to the same regulations that were created in 1970 to prevent oil discharges in navigable waters. The agency states that milk contains a “percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil,” therefore farmers are required to construct containment facilities like dikes or berms to mitigate dairy spills, and they must be in place by November.

It’s not required, but it may be smart for parents to begin keeping rubber gloves, boots and haz-mat coveralls handy in the kitchen should they have a milk spill.

news-messenger