In the 1930s one American granger give rise enough farming product to feed a sum of four masses ; a folk farm was literally meant to feed a family unit [ source : Kirschenmann ] . tight ahead 40 days , and that routine rises from four people to 73 . Fast forth through 80 years of agricultural and bioscience foundation , and in the 2010s , one James Leonard Farmer acquire enough food to feed 155 people [ origin : USDA , Sullivan ] .
To better understand what that number means and how it was figure , let ’s first attend at the current State Department of farming .
To be consider a farm , at least in the eye of the U.S. Census , a innovative farmer must produce and sell at least $ 1,000 worth of agricultural product annually . Under this presumption , there are 3.2 million farmers farming 2.2 million farms on around 915 million acres of land in the United States [ sources : EPA - Ag Center , USDA ] . Together these farms produce crop for the more than 313 million people know in the U.S. — but they are n’t just feed America ; U.S. sodbuster ship their trade good worldwide , export more than 50 types of agrarian products .
But it ’s not as mere as it may sound . The issue of people one farmer feeds is forecast by economists at the American Farm Bureau Federation , and it ’s not actually based on the production of an single James Leonard Farmer ; rather , it ’s a proportion that ’s found on the production of each farm . The mathematics give out like this :
First , the farm chest begins the computation with a number ofaccounting . They count the total sum of American farm farming product cash receipts ( the amount of money a farm take in on its sales and services ) for a specific year — we ’ll call this number X. Then they subtract the patronage balance ( that ’s the difference of opinion between the value of the total export good and the note value of the full import good , also known as net export ) for that same time period , which we ’ll call Y. The result of X minus Y is then separate back into X. The calculation is also design to take into invoice the population of the U.S. during that time period , separate by the number of farms in the U.S. in the same year [ source : Sullivan ] .
Nothing’s Perfect: Flaws in the Calculation
The fact that the method for calculating how many people one farmer feeds in a year is based on farm rather than husbandman is not the only flaw in the final statistic . The number is also incomplete because it does n’t take into explanation the difference of opinion between crop we consume versus crops we do n’t eat , nor does it describe for the amount of food grow that never make it to the table .
Not all agricultural product are really intended to prey citizenry , but that is n’t figure into the Farm Bureau ’s statistic . For example , corn has the honor of being the large harvest grown in the U.S. , but as much as 40 percent of the maize U.S. farmer grow is grow into corn whiskey grain alcohol , which is used as an oxygenate in thegasolinefor your railway car . More is used to feed farm animal , and in the end only about 12 percent of it ends up as corn silicon chip or high-pitched fructose corn sirup .
Soybeans , the second - big crop , also face this problem . While crops are sprain into soya bean oil , which we do feed , as much as 47 percent furnish soy meal to feed brute . That translates into more than 30 million net ton of soy meal earmarked for animal using up [ sources : EPA - Ag Center , Sustainable Table ] . Soybeans are also used to make product not intended for human or fauna consumption . crayon , for example . One Accho of soybeans is require to make 82,368 crayons , and Crayola , for instance , makes about 3 billion crayons every year [ germ : Wisconsin Soybean Association , Crayola ] .
And then there ’s the intellectual nourishment that ’s intended to be corrode , but that we lease go to wasteland . Americans hold away about 40 percent of what our U.S. farms produce for us . Sometimes that ’s because it ’s spoiled , but not always — 14 percent of food waste in the U.S. is actually eatable solid food when we discard it [ seed : Gunders ] . Despite food waste , the problem of uneaten nutrient does n’t lie solely with consumer . Farmers and retailers also contribute to the job . Some years as much as 6 billion pounds of American - grow fruits and vegetables are leave unharvested either because demand for that fruit or vegetable is low or because the fruit and vegetables themselves are n’t in model condition — tomatoes must be dead orotund and red , or we wo n’t corrupt them . And according to the National Resources Defense Council , even when the intersection does make it to the store , retailers throw away as much as 43 billion pounds of food from their ledge [ reservoir : Gunders ] .
Variables: Farm Size
The Farm Bureau ’s statistic , because it ’s based on a ratio , also does n’t key the conflict between the sizing of farm , whatcropsa farmer grow ( and whether the sodbuster grows crop or raise livestock ) or the method acting of farming that ’s being done .
First , let ’s look at farm size of it . You ’d believe that the larger the farming surgical process , the more hoi polloi that farm fertilize , right ? But bigger acreage does n’t necessarily translate into bigger contribution .
Of all the 915 million acres being grow across America , the average American farm is 434 acres , which is a modestly sized farm . Farms are n’t considered large until their acreage is at least 1,000 acres ( with annual sales between $ 250,000 and $ 499,999 — sales great than $ 500,000 or more are think very magnanimous farms ) . Smallfarmsaverage 231 acres ( and very minor farms are nine estate or less ) , and it ’s these small farms that dominate the American land landscape — as many as 88 per centum of U.S. farms are small , with yearly sales less than $ 250,000 [ source : USDA ] .
And it ’s the small and fairly sized farm that stop up allow more food for people to eat than do the large farms . How ? It ’s a phenomenon expert call theinverse farm size of it - productivity relationship : Small farms in the U.S. and around the Earth are more likely to pore their endeavor on actually producing intellectual nourishment — crops or livestock — for humans to eat on , whereas large farms are often more potential to be large - scale operations focused on producing to - be - export commodity or crops not intend as eatable ( such as Zea mays for biofuels or soybean for animal provender ) . And because of that , farmers of small farm tend to contribute more food for the great unwashed to eat up .
What agricultural product a farm cultivate with and the methods a sodbuster uses also matter when it comes to the possible issue of the great unwashed that class ’s yield can feed .
Variables: Crops, Livestock and Farming Method
In summation to grains , fruit and vegetables , American James Leonard Farmer raise 7 billion livestock animals [ source : Kellogg ] . These animate being are fed more of our farmed metric grain than the great unwashed devour — five times more food grain . Interestingly , if these harvest were primed for and feed to humans alternatively of brute , the bit of people give by one farm could skyrocket , and the full tonnage duty could feed as many as 800 million people [ source : Pimentel ] .
Every twelvemonth those stock farms give rise a total of 7 million measured tons of animal intersection . We ’ll face at beef as our illustration : When it comes to elevate cattle and producing animal protein to sell to consumer , the numbers break down to about 400 pounds of steak , rib and other cuts for the American population to grilling , joint or barbeque from one 700 - pound animate being [ source : Dole & Bailey ] . While the accurate numbers pool alter depending on the method of rear the livestock ( such as grain - fed and pasture - raised ) , if you consider one dish to be 3 troy ounce — the recommended helping , which is about the size of a deck of cards — that one creature contain slightly more than 2,100 servings .
And then there ’s the matter of farming method .
Put aside the ongoing argument on whetherorganicfoods are more nutritious than their conventionally get counterparts ; when we ’re talking about how many people can be fed by one farm , we desire to bang about yield . And when it comes to constitutional farming methods , studies discover that , generally , organic fruit fall short when liken to those maturate with conventional farming technique .
However , before you shoot the messenger , it ’s important to understand that yields depend not only on method , but also on the eccentric of crops we ’re comparing , in add-on to whether we ’re looking at best - case scenarios or literal - life sentence outcomes . Taking those variables into account key a more sodding painting : The number may fall anywhere from just 5 pct smaller to as much as 34 percent small .
When comparing sure fruit and veg , organic yields seem to outperform established [ source : Gilbert ] . Organically farmed corn whisky , for deterrent example , produces a 29 percent low yield than when ceremonious methods are used , yet organic raspberry yields outproduce conventionally grow berries [ origin : McWilliams ] . Under the good circumstances using the best methods , constitutive farming produces 13 percent belittled yield , but , overall , typical constitutive methods bring forth 25 pct less [ source : Gilbert ] .
Lots More Information
intellectual nourishment beyond their " best before " date , rotting yield , leftovers that you block about that have gotten kind of muzzy … if you notice yourself throwing away the container of yogurt you never gravel around to eat before its expiration date , I know how you feel . American end up cast off away a lot of food — 26 percent of vegetables , 24 percentage of fruits waiting to be eaten and , overall , 14 percent ( or more , depending on the report you read ) of all the food we buy . And , embarrassingly , included in the foods we toss into the trash are items that are still good , mayhap even unopened . So I ’m keep this tip in intellect , and maybe you will , too : Soft , wilting produce can be revive in an hour - long cold water bath .
