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10 mega myths about farming to remember on your next grocery run
Washington Post ^ | July 24, 2017 | Jenna Gallegos

Posted on 07/26/2017 2:45:39 PM PDT by artichokegrower

Most of us don’t spend our days plowing fields or wrangling cattle. We’re part of the 99 percent of Americans who eat food, but don’t produce it. Because of our intimate relationship with food, and because it's so crucial to our health and the environment, people should be very concerned about how it’s produced. But we don’t always get it right. Next time you’re at the grocery store, consider these 10 modern myths about the most ancient occupation.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: agriculture; foodsupply; grocery
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A little info from down on the farm
1 posted on 07/26/2017 2:45:39 PM PDT by artichokegrower
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To: artichokegrower

Most farms are corporate-owned


I wonder how much farm LAND is corporate owned. I wonder how much of the food that makes it to grocery stores is from corporate owned farms.


2 posted on 07/26/2017 2:48:03 PM PDT by robroys woman
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To: artichokegrower

MegaMyth #1:

Farmers are Patriotic Conservatives.

This notion does not survive First Contact with the attempt to cut their favorite subsidies out of the Federal Budget.


3 posted on 07/26/2017 2:49:52 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: artichokegrower

Behind a paywall, though.


4 posted on 07/26/2017 2:50:27 PM PDT by Kenny500c
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To: artichokegrower

Not linking to slime. But, given that it’s the WaPo, most of us in the real world would have probably already been aware of the info.


5 posted on 07/26/2017 2:51:57 PM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: artichokegrower

When I moved to Western Kansas, I was surprised to learn that farmers were not universally liked. In fact most people did not care for them.

I personally liked them OK.


6 posted on 07/26/2017 2:53:56 PM PDT by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: robroys woman

How much...?

Click the article and scan thru some of the info....


7 posted on 07/26/2017 2:58:23 PM PDT by deport
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To: robroys woman

The USDA Census of Agriculture from 2015 lists 32 million acres of corporate-owned land out of 284 million acres of farmland.

https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Newsroom/2015/08_31_2015.php


8 posted on 07/26/2017 2:58:50 PM PDT by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: yarddog

I guess if you don’t like farmers you could boycott their product and not eat. That’ll show them.


9 posted on 07/26/2017 2:59:27 PM PDT by artichokegrower
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To: jjotto

A lot of family farming operations have filed articles of incorporation to protect personal assets. Does this make them a corporate farm?


10 posted on 07/26/2017 3:09:10 PM PDT by artichokegrower
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To: artichokegrower

Without looking it up, I believe farm corporations owned exclusively by relatives are not officially considered corporate farms by the USDA, for good reason. Family corporations are pretty much the norm where farming is actually the main source of income.


11 posted on 07/26/2017 3:15:56 PM PDT by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: artichokegrower
We used to pick strawberries in early summer back in the 60's in the Green River Valley of western Washington. Yes, that Green River.
The farms were owned by Japanese Americans and were beautiful - perfect rows, each plant was the size of a smart car and loaded with berries. It was hard work for a 11 year old, but I'll never forget the endless rows with Mt. Rainier in the background.
I think most of it has been paved over by now, turned into industrial parks.
12 posted on 07/26/2017 3:16:20 PM PDT by dainbramaged (Get out of my country now)
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To: jjotto

JR Simplot is a family owned farming operation. Would you consider it a corporate farm? It a privately held company owned by the Simplot family

Simplot

The J. R. Simplot Company (commonly referred to as Simplot) was founded in 1929 by 20-year-old John Richard Simplot near the small agricultural community of Declo in south central Idaho. During the early 1940s the business expanded, serving the military dehydrated onions and potatoes during World War II. The firm was legally incorporated as the J. R. Simplot Company in 1955.
Company founder J. R. Simplot (1909-2008)

Simplot made billions from the commercialization of frozen french fries by one of its scientists, chemist Ray L. Dunlap. By the early 1970s it was the primary supplier of french fries to McDonald’s; by 2005 it supplied more than half of all french fries for the fast food chain. Simplot also produces fertilizers for agriculture the mining of which has been a cause of recent environmental concerns.

Simplot is now one of the largest privately owned companies in the world (ranked 59th in Private Companies by Forbes magazine in 2004) and has branches in Australia, Canada, Mexico, China, and several other regions. One of the major plants is in Caldwell, Idaho.
A view of the Simplot plant in Caldwell, Idaho, circa 1930-1945. The caption in the image states “World’s Largest Dehydrating Plant.”

J. R. Simplot retired as president of his company in 1973, but remained involved for many years. He stepped down as chairman of the board in 1994, and held the title of Chairman Emeritus until his death in 2008


13 posted on 07/26/2017 3:24:47 PM PDT by artichokegrower
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To: artichokegrower

These are their myths

1. Most farms are corporate-owned
2. Food is expensive
3. Farming is traditional and low tech
4. A pesticide is a pesticide is a pesticide
5. Organic farmers and conventional farmers don’t get along
6. A GMO is a GMO is a GMO
7. Only meat with a “hormone-free” label is hormone free
8. Only meat with an “antibiotic-free” label is antibiotic free
9. Foods labeled “natural” are produced differently
10. Chemicals are the biggest threat to food safety


14 posted on 07/26/2017 3:26:54 PM PDT by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: robroys woman

I know that reading the article is undesirable. Here is a link to a portion of it. Less corporate farming than you’d think

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=58288


15 posted on 07/26/2017 3:27:24 PM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: artichokegrower

“10 mega myths”
So, what are they?
(I am not going to go through some click-bait to find out.)


16 posted on 07/26/2017 3:27:33 PM PDT by Repeal The 17th (I was conceived in liberty, how about you?)
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To: artichokegrower

No


17 posted on 07/26/2017 3:28:38 PM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: artichokegrower

You can pick which selections to responsibly support. Or go live across from a hog/beef/sheep farm and eat it there.


18 posted on 07/26/2017 3:32:38 PM PDT by erlayman (yw)
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To: artichokegrower

The description of Simplot you posted may be an ‘agribusiness’, but it is not a description of farming, corporate or otherwise.

Normally, food processors buy or contract produce from farmers and do not own the land or raise crops themselves. Many states prevent or discourage food processor ownership of land used for crop or livestock production.


19 posted on 07/26/2017 3:34:25 PM PDT by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: artichokegrower

We don’t need farmers. We can just buy our food at the grocery store.


20 posted on 07/26/2017 3:34:37 PM PDT by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!)
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