The Rise Of Corporate Agriculture In The USA

The rise of corporate agriculture to dominate the Economics of rural and farm communities has been one of the most devastating events in the United States. As companies expanded many rural areas have suffered economically, politically, and environmentally. It causes bankruptcies and an increase on demands in social services, family farms to disappear. These farmers are unable to compete when the prices are continuously rising such as seeds, equipment, and fertilizers.

According to Far maid on May 25, millions of people joined in 436 different cities around the world to protest GMO and Monsanto. Monsanto is the world’s largest manufacturer of genetically engineered seed. It owns over 90% of all genetically engineered seeds. Monsanto uses technology to modify its crops, which allows Monsanto to patent them. The result of having patented seeds and crops, Monsanto owns and controls majority of the food supply. Farmers who use their seeds are required to sign contracts stating that they will not save or reuse the seeds. Otherwise, they can and will be sued. Monsanto use its 13.5 billion dollars to create loopholes and new laws that allow them to get organic farmers out of business and contaminate the environment and food supply with genetically engineered foods. The company is making so much money, that it can buy out its competitors and forming a monopoly over the world’s grain trade.

The seeds are popular because they boost yield on farms. The price of their products is based on advantage that’s being held over the natural seeds' product. Monsanto’s products are legally protected by the US Patents. Therefore, Monsanto products hold a big advantage. This provides the company justification to raise prices more than normal market prices. Farmers are now forced to use GM seeds because there are so few alternative sources of seeds remaining. The effect of this is that renewable agriculture is being lost the old practice of saving and replanting seeds from one harvest to the next.

Based on the information I obtained from the USDA agricultural marketing services, the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) is responsible for setting regulations for organic agricultural products that are produced in the U.S. or imported for sale, they are responsible for setting requirements for how organic agricultural products are grown, processed and handled, the NOP also sets labeling requirements for the products. Labeling requirements are based on the percentage of organic ingredients that is in a product. Any Organic operation must demonstrate that they are protecting natural resources, conserving biodiversity, and using only approved substances. In the United States, “organic” is a labeling term for food or agricultural products that have been produced according to USDA organic regulations.

According to the USDA agricultural marketing services, the USDA recognize four types of organic production:

1. Crops: “Plants that are grown to be harvested as food, livestock feed, or fiber used to add nutrients to the field.”
2. Livestock: “Animals that can be used in the production of food, fiber, or feed.”
3. Processed/multi-ingredient products: “Items that have been handled and packaged (e.g. chopped carrots) or combined, processed, and packaged (e.g. bread or soup).”
4. Wild crops: “Plants from a growing site that is not cultivated.”

Based on the information provided by the USDA agricultural marketing services, The USDA Organic certification confirms that the farm or handling facility complies with USDA organic regulations. Farms or handling facilities can be certified by private, foreign, or State entities, whose agents are accredited by the USDA. According to the USDA agricultural marketing services any farm or business that earns more than $5,000 a year in organic sales must be certified. Farms and businesses that make less than $5,000 a year are “exempt,” and must follow all the requirements. Before you sell, label or represent their products as “organic”, it must go through a 3-year transition period where any land that is being used to produce raw organic products must be left untreated with prohibited substances.

Operations pursuing certification must first submit an application for organic certification to a USDA-accredited certifying agent including the following:

1. A detailed description of the operation seeking certification
2. History of substances used on the land over the prior 3 years
3. List of the organic products grown, raised, or processed
4. A written “Organic System Plan (OSP)” which outlines the practices and substances intended for use during future organic production.
5. Processors/handlers who are not primarily a farm (and farms with livestock and/or crops that also process products) must complete an Organic Handling Plan (OHP), and also include a product profile and label for each product

A Certifying agent reviews the application to confirm that the operation’s practices follow USDA regulations, and schedule an inspection to verify devotion to the OSP, maintenance of records, and overall regulatory compliance. If the application and operational inspection are successful, the certifying agent will issue an organic certificate to the applicant. The producer or handler must then submit an updated application and OSP, pay recertification fees to the agent, and undergo annual onsite inspections to receive recertification annually. Once certified, producers and handlers can have up to 75% of their organic certification costs reimbursed through the USDA Organic Certification Cost-Share Programs.

Heirloom plants are grown on a small scale using traditional techniques, and are raised from seeds that are at least 50 years old. Over time, growers save the seeds of their best plants—whether those are the most vigorous, disease resistant, flavorful, or beautiful. With unique shapes, sizes, and colors, heirloom plants often look different from commercial hybrids, which make up the bulk of supermarket fruits and vegetables.

The benefits of heirloom foods would be Taste, pest-resistance in which the genetics of heirloom plans often mean they’re resistant to local pests, diseases, and weather extremes, which means farmers don’t need to use toxic chemicals to control farm condition, supports small farms – Large-scale farms don’t usually grow heirloom foods, so when you buy them, you’re probably supporting a smaller farmer who gets a higher percentage of the sale. Heirloom fruits and vegetables are also known to be more nutritious and they are less expensive.

General Mills is an American manufacturer and marketer of branded foods sold throughout many retail stores. It’s headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb in Minneapolis. The company markets many familiar brands, including Gold Medal flour, Annie's Homegrown, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Pillsbury, Cheerios, Trix, Hagen Dazes, Cocoa Puffs, and Lucky Charms.

According to General Mills, the company history is traced to the Minneapolis Milling Company, incorporated in 1856. The company was founded by Illinois Congressman Robert Smith, who leased power rights to mills operating along the west side of Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Cadwallader C. Washburn acquired the company shortly after its founding and hired his brother William D. Washburn to assist in the company's development. General Mills itself was created on June 1928, when Washburn-Crosby President James Ford Bell merged Washburn-Crosby and 28 other mills. The majority of the firm's sales come from US Retail, which includes seven US-focused divisions that market Big G cereals like Cheerios, packaged meals such as Hamburger Helper, the Pillsbury and Yoplait brands, snacks like Nature Valley granola bars, baking products such as Betty Crocker, and Small Planet Foods, a subsidiary that offers organic brands Farm and Muir Glen.

• The target audience for each food identified above
• Discuss how foods are regulated and processed at your company
• Compare this process to the regulations of the USDA for organic food production

The slow food movement is a reaction to fast food companies. It holds a traditional method of farming, threatened growth of fast food chains and modern methods of farming which depends more on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The movement encourages farmers to restore the old environment-friendly method of cultivation and grow organic and natural food. Slow Food also encourages campaigns to promote all indigenous food production and culture as these methods help us learn about the history and culture of communities. According to Slow food, the Slow Food movement started in 1986 by an Italian food and wine journalist called Carlo Petrini. Petrini had become haunted by the sspecterof fast food companies eroding Italy's ancient culinary culture. The opening of McDonald's on the Spanish Steps in Rome was the final straw.

That a fast food giant could open its doors in the heart of food-obsessed Rome symbolized to Petrini the vulnerability of older values to brash new industrial methods. Processed fast food was not only changing the physical landscape through intensive farming, but it was also eroding a way of life that revolved around producing and eating great food in a relaxed, sociable way. They were protesting Neo or ‘new’ gastronomy which was a concept of gastronomy as a multidisciplinary approach to food that recognizes the strong connections between plate, planet, people and culture. The term was coined to correspond with the evolution of the Slow Food movement, which began with an initial aim to defended good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slower pace of life (Eno-gastronomy), and then logically broadened its sights to embrace issues such as the quality of life and the health of the planet that we live on (eco gastronomy). What did the people eat during the protest to show their dissatisfaction with what was happening?

The concept of conviviality is the main concept of the Slow Food movement, which is taking pleasure in the processes of cooking, eating, and sharing meals with others. As a result, Slow Food’s structure is decentralized: each chapter or convivium has a leader who is responsible for promoting local artisans, local farmers, and local flavors through regional events, social gatherings and farmers markets. Slow Food is a global, grassroots organization with supporters in 150 countries around the world who are linking the pleasure of good food with a commitment to their community and the environment. According to the New York Times the international organization has grown to 86,000 members and become an industry in Mr. Petrina’s hometown, Bra, Italy. There are Slow Food restaurants, a university and a hotel.

Farm-to-table is a social movement which promotes serving local food at restaurants and school cafeterias, preferably through direct gain from the producer. This can be accomplished by a direct sales relationship, a community-supported agriculture arrangement, a farmer's market, a local distributor or by the restaurant or school raising its own food. Farm-to-table often incorporates a form of food traceability (celebrated as "knowing where your food comes from") where the origin of the food is identified to consumers. Often restaurants cannot source all the food they need for dishes locally, so only some dishes or only some ingredients are labelled as local.

According to Valedearcra the farm-to-table movement has appeared more or less all together with changes in attitudes about food safety, food freshness, food seasonality, and small-farm economics. Advocates and practitioners of the farm-to-table model frequently cite the scarcity of fresh, local ingredients; the poor flavor of ingredients shipped from afar; the poor nutritional integrity of shipped ingredients; the disappearance of small family farms; the disappearance of heirloom and open-pollinated fruits and vegetables; and the dangers of a highly centralized food growing and distribution system as motivators for their decision to adopted a more locavore approach to the food system.

According to Governor NY, Taste NY was launched by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in 2013, it highlighted the quality, diversity, and economic impact of food and beverages grown, produced, or processed in New York State. Taste NY intentions are to create new opportunities for producers through events, retail locations, and partnerships. The agricultural industry in New York State continues to grow at an extraordinary rate. The state boasts more than seven million acres of farmland, 36,000 farms, and is the second largest producer of apples and maple syrup in the country.

There has been about 50% growth in the number of craft beverage manufacturers since enactment of the Craft New York Act in 2014, with the highest number of cideries in the country and 400 breweries--the the highest number in New York history. It is highly encouraged that New Yorkers and visitors alike to experience the delicious homegrown goodness of Taste NY and help continue to grow the state's thriving agricultural industry. "Taste NY has put local products on the map, boosting tourism, helping local craft breweries, wineries, distilleries and cideries grow, and increasing opportunities for producers in every corner of this great state," Governor Cuomo said. "