What you want, when you want it:The Food System

CHRISTOPHER BOSSO

What people spend on food

The map reflects per capita household income spend on food consumed at home

Another viewIf you include food consumed outside of the home, Americans still spend only 11% of household income on food.

Historical perspective on per capita spending for food

1930 – 24.2%1940 – 20.7%1950 – 20.6%1960 – 17.5%1970 – 13.9%1980 – 13.2%1990 – 11.4%2000 – 9.9%2010 – 9.4%2014 – 6.6%

And some of us eat out a fair bit

Overarching Theme

For most of us in the U.S., we are accustomed to a food system that delivers whatever we want, when we want it, at a price we are willing to pay

What we want: Convenience Variety Taste Cost Increasingly – concerns about the conditions of production

What kind of food system can meet these demands?

Or, to put it another way:

How is it STILL possible to get this for $1.00?

Elements of the Food System Industrialized – economies of scale, specialization, mechanization High input needs – technology, capital, labor (at some points),

energy, chemicals, etc. Standardized commodities – reduce number and variety of species

produced Efficient – stress on economic efficiency, keeping costs of inputs low Tightly connected – stress on speed, efficiency, timeliness Global – to meet seasonal demands, keep costs low, maximize

efficiency and scale

Agriculture

Fewer and larger farms (New England an exception) Mechanization, more technology Focused on monoculture, specialization Globalized commodity markets

Commodity prices are low; most food prices reflect “value added” processes

Farmer gets smallest % of return for food dollar

Fewer, but larger farms

Getting More out of Less: Milk Production

Source: USDA Long-term Projections, February 2012

Vertical Concentration in Collection, Transportation, Storage, Processing, Distribution

ADM (Archer, Daniels, Midland) – 32,000 employees, $68 billion in revenues 2015; oilseed, corn, agricultural services

Cargill -- 150,000 employees, $120 billion in revenues 2015; supplies all eggs to McDonald’s, supplies 22% of US domestic meat market.

ConAgra – 26,000 employees, $18 billion in revenues 2015; products found in 97% of US households

Tyson – 113,000 employees, $42 billion in revenues 2015; world’s second largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork, largest US exporter of beef

Concentration in Meat Processing

Demographics of Meatpacking

Where your food comes from

The Food System – Pros and ConsVirtues Reflects norms of industrial

production -- efficiency; consistency; scientific management; specialization.

Feeds more people at a lower direct cost to consumers than at any time in history.

Primary argument: the system is necessary to feed the nation, and the world.

Reflects dominant American values of free markets, efficiency, technology, and consumer choice.

Critiques Focus on efficiency and

specialization standardizes food and divorces it nature.

Many of the system’s actual costs are born by consumers through taxes, lower wages, etc.

Produces a glut of commodities at the expense of workers, the environment, and communities

Is antidemocratic, dominated by corporations and their political allies at the expense of local values and need.