June 22 - 67 miles. Rode out of the Blue Mts to the lush agricultural fields around Ontario, OR - see commentary below. Mostly downhill and with the wind in sunny, comfortable weather - a cycler's dream.
June 23 - 62 miles to Boise, Idaho - our first new State. More farms and delightful riding. But looking forward to a day off
I have seen a lot of farmland on this trip, an amount that
is immense, even staggering – and we are only in Idaho. Not counting the tree farms, there have
been the wheat fields of central Oregon; vineyards and orchards of the Hood
River valley; corn, onions and of course potatoes in eastern Oregon and Idaho;
ornamental plant nurseries on the slopes of the Cascades; and hayfields and
huge cattle ranches along much of the ride. And since it is early summer and the rains have been good,
everything is flourishing. The land looks rich, abundant, just as promised to those
pioneers who labored over the Oregon trail 150 years ago.
Gazing at the fields for miles at 15 mph, it is somewhat
hard to believe we could have a food crisis on this planet. And this is still early in the
ride. I can look forward to so
much more farmland as we cross South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and
Ontario. Add to this all the
farmland, much of it fallow, and the dairies and cattle ranches of the Hudson
Valley, which I saw during my many training rides. Then there are the vegetable and sugar farms I saw in
southern Florida when I was there early this year, not to mention all the
midwestern farms I saw over past years, traveling to Pfizer plants in Michigan,
Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska.
How could there be a food crisis?
Yet we hear all the time now about food shortages,
particularly in the “developing” world (not that much of this “world” can
ever expect to “develop”, at least in the American sense of the word.) In America and other rich countries,
this shortage takes the form of higher prices. In the developing world, it takes the form of hunger
and increasing poverty.
Of course I know the causes of the “crisis” – we have all heard
them. Overpopulation is the
primary culprit, though surprisingly less discussed now than 30 years ago, even
though most of the adverse effects from overpopulation predicted in the early
70’s (remember the “Population Bomb”?) have come to pass. Couple population with increased
consumption in countries becoming more affluent (notably China); seemingly
increasing adverse weather (drought, flood, frost) in many of the important
agricultural areas; declining water resources in many areas (over-pumped aquifers, rivers diverted for urban use); loss of topsoil and overall fertility where lands are overworked;
declining fish yields as most of the world’s fisheries have become seriously
depleted (fish being a key protein source for much of the world); and switching
of land from growing crops for food to crops to make fuel (notably American
corn and Brazilian sugar) – all this, and you get a crisis.
But seeing this immense farmland, the staggering
productivity of North American agricultural, I have to feel that there is
something simply wrong with at least some of what we are being told. If there is a real food shortage, why
is so much of the good land fallow? (Drive through upstate New York, the former
breadbasket of the American colonies, to see.) Why is so much food thrown away? (Restaurants, supermarkets, affluent households.) Why can we rich Americans still buy
essentially any food we want at any time of the year, regardless of when things
are in season? Why does so much of
the rich world eat so high in the food chain? (It takes 6 lbs of grain to make 1 lb of beef, 2 ½ lbs per
lb of chicken, and of course 1 lb per lb for bread or veggies.) Not to mention, why is so much valuable
farmland being used for non-farm activities – lawns, highway borders, golf
courses, etc. etc., all of I have also seen so much of on this trip?
The answer is that we have an economic problem
related to food, not a food crisis.
In the poor world, the problem is generally that the price of
food is kept low through price controls, which of course limits production. Further, lack of infrastructure (especially roads), thoughtless water management, unclear or non-existent property rights and little access to capital greatly inhibits the productivity of poor farmers - all effects of government policies. This can be coupled with the restrictive
trade policies of both rich and poor countries. For no other commodity do
government policies so screw up production, distribution and pricing, hurting
both poor people and the efficiency of the market.
In the rich world, the economic problem is that food, and
the primary capacity to produce it (i.e. farms) is surprisingly undervalued –
culturally (i.e development
generally prioritized over farmland preservation, wasteful
eat-and–discard–the-leftovers habit); from a value perspective (farmers get
only a very small slice of the money in the food value chain) and perhaps
simply in price. All of this means
not enough rewards to promote more food production (not that we Americans need
more, but for the poor world), preservation of agricultural capacity (i.e.
farmland, for which America is a global resource), and better use of the food
we have (i.e. lower consumption habits)
The farmland I have seen is immense, the productivity
staggering – in America and throughout the world. We should be able to to feed the planet quite comfortably,
and within environmental limits.
We simply need economic policies
that promote sustainable production and valuing of food, along with real
measures to promote population reduction.
I wish I was less of a cynic on the ability of our “leaders”
(politicians, of any stripe) to deliver on this.
John Keith
