It's dinner time and my family and I sit down to eat. We have a relatively common meal. After all, tastes should have not changed drastically in the past ten years. However, the places from which and means through which our food is processed have shifted.
Below is a rundown of where our food came from in the past.
- 100% of our chicken was made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket
- 90% of our vegetables were made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 10% were grown locally and purchased at the farmers market
- 90% of our fruits were made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 10% were grown locally and purchased at the farmers market
- 100% of our juice comes from South America and is purchased at the supermarket
- 100% of our tea comes from China and is purchased online
- 90% of our nuts are made in the USA, 10% come from various world locations, and all are purchased at the supermarket
Source: http://www.aragriculture.org/livestock/hot_topics/food_July2007.htm
Today, in 2020, our food comes from more diverse sources than in the past. Less of it is purchased from large corporate sources and some of it is even grown by us and our neighbors.
- 90% of our chicken was made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 10% was produced locally and purchased at the farmers market
- 50% of our vegetables were made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 15% were made in other world locations and purchased at the supermarket, 25% were grown locally and purchased at the farmers market, 10% were grown by us
- 40% of our fruits were made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 15% were made in other world locations and purchased at the supermarket, 35% were grown locally and purchased at the farmers market, 10% were grown by us
- 60% of our juice comes from South America and is purchased at the supermarket, 20% is made locally and purchased at the farmers market, 20% is produced using fruits grown by us
- 90% of our tea comes from China and is purchased online, 10% is grown by us
- 65% of our nuts are made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 25% come from various world locations and are purchased at the supermarket, and 10% are grown locally and purchased at the farmers market
Perhaps it seems that not a lot of change has occurred, but overhauling the U.S. food infrastructure is no simple nor rapid task. It takes great time and effort to change people's attitudes and especially their behaviors. By 2050, I imagine that the landscape will be even more changed, as demonstrated by the following predictions.
- 30% of our chicken was made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 30% was produced internationally and purchased at the supermarket, 40% was produced locally and purchased at the farmers market
- 15% of our vegetables were made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 15% were made in other world locations and purchased at the supermarket, 45% were grown locally and purchased at the farmers market, 25% were grown by us
- 15% of our fruits were made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 15% were made in other world locations and purchased at the supermarket, 45% were grown locally and purchased at the farmers market, 25% were grown by us
- 25% of our juice comes from South America and is purchased at the supermarket, 40% comes from local sources and is purchased at the farmers market, 35% is produced using fruits grown by us
- 50% of our tea comes from China and is purchased online, 25% comes from local sources and is purchased at the farmers market, 25% is grown by us
- 30% of our nuts are made in the USA and purchased at the supermarket, 40% come from various world locations and are purchased at the supermarket, and 30% are grown locally and purchased at the farmers market
To summarize, the trends that I am seeing for the future of U.S. food security are as follows.
- People will grow and consume more of their own food.
- People will purchase more of their food from local sources and less from corporate sources.
- Corporate sources will outsource more U.S. food production to other world nations.
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