We need choice in the food chain

Jeff Simmons, president of Elanco Animal Health, was on hand at the Northeast Dairy Producers Association annual meeting in Liverpool, N.Y., to discuss, "Choice in the food chain and dairy's opportunity in feeding the world. Simmons' presentation had three key components involving: technology, choice, and leadership.

Citing United Nations data, Simmons noted, 50-100-70 would be the key numbers driving food production. "Specifically, in the next 50 years the world will need 100 percent more food, and 70 percent of that additional food will come from improved technology," said Simmons, noting there was little arable land not already in agricultural production.

Countries like China and India, with one-third of the world's population, want to grow more food for their citizens. At the same time, they want to devote less of each citizen’s personal income to food. "India spends 50 percent of personal income on food," said Simmons. "That compares to 26 percent in Japan, 22 percent in the United Kingdom, and 10 percent in the U.S. Technology can lower food costs," he went on to say. "Look at the U.S., for example. In 1908, the American consumer spent 50 percent of personal income on food. Today, he or she spends only 10 percent."

The second key component is choice. Simmons pointed out that Elanco reviewed consumer surveys conducted in the past two years that asked unaided questions to consumers which means that questions were not of a leading nature. After that review, they found that 95 percent of consumers are really looking at: availability, affordability, and nutrition when buying food.

"That means only 5 percent of consumers purchased food on luxury choices and personal wants such as organic or vegan lifestyles," Simmons stated. "This finding is holding true today," Simmons pointed out. "The recession has put some economic logic back into the system."

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Simmons pointed out dairy producers need to share this message with others and provide leadership on food. "We don't all have to agree on every issue," he said. "However, we need to align ourselves and move in the same direction," he said when talking about moving agriculture and food-related issues forward. "If we wait for total agreement, we will never move forward," he told the 550 people attending the Northeast Dairy Producers Association meeting just outside Syracuse, N.Y.

Big gulps of water thoughts to ponder

• The United Nations estimates that by 2050 the world’s population will grow by 2.3 billion people (33 percent).

• The U.N. also estimates that those new mouths to feed, plus increased food demand by the current population, means annual worldwide food production by that date will need to increase by 70 percent.

• The U.S. is the currently largest single food-exporting nation in the world ($69 billion in 2006), and is larger than No. 2 Brazil and No. 3 China combined.

• California is currently the largest food-producing state in the U.S. ($38 billion in 2008), and is larger than No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Iowa combined.

• According to the Department of Agriculture, U.S. farmland is a dwindling resource that lost another 1.5 million acres in 2008.

• According to the Family Farm Alliance, America’s ability to meet its own food needs in the future, let alone continue to send vast exports into a world that already suffers an estimated 36 million nutrition-related deaths per year, hinges upon repairing, updating and expanding the crumbling 50-year-old water infrastructure system (dams and canals) in the 17 Western states that together produce one-third of the nation’s food.

• Family Farm Alliance Executive Director Dan Keppen (pictured above) says doing so will require much more than just money and engineering. He points out, for instance, that environmental and social activists, often using the federal Clean Water Act and Native Species Act as wedges, are relentlessly diverting water away from farms and farmers.

“The U.N. says in 40 years the world will need 70 percent more food per year, but how are we going to be able to do that without water?” he asks.