The country and the world need major transformations in the current food systems. By Julie Peller Ph.D.

Green Junction

Our food systems have changed drastically over the past few decades and are now far less sustainable. According to US data, in 1990, small and medium-sized farms produced close to half the US agricultural goods but now provide less than a quarter. In 1985, there were 23,000 independent pig farmers in the state of Missouri compared to around 2,000 in 2019. The National Farmers Union indicates that only 14.6 cents of a food dollar goes to farmers or ranchers in the current corporate system. The family farming model of the past has turned into a corporate-owned system where many of the procedures are harmful to the earth and its inhabitants.

 Much more food is produced in the world than what is actually eaten; nearly 40% of all produced food is wasted. Tragically, one in 11 people worldwide face hunger even now when so much food is ultra-processed, in part, for a longer shelf life.  According to a 2024 article in Globalization and Health, the rise in manufacture and consumption of these highly processed foods is a major hurdle toward a healthier system of food. Over half of all caloric intake in some high-income countries consist of highly processed and packaged food, now often called “globalized diets,” a consequence of the international corporate food system.

According to numerous studies, diets consisting of highly processed foods are associated with adverse human health outcomes, environmental and ecological harms, and are also linked to conflicts of interest in policy making, and corporate power in the global food system. Food is over-produced (food waste) to keep prices low and reduce competition in this corporate system. Furthermore, mega-companies dictate the crops that America’s 2 million farmers grow, workers’ wages, and even what consumers eat and pay for their groceries. Simultaneously, at least half of the 10 lowest-paid jobs are in the food industry. According to the Center for Migration Studies, “over 25 percent of agricultural workers and 54.3 percent graders and sorters of agricultural products are immigrants.”

The country and the world need major transformations in the current food systems. This year, Pope Francis urged “a shift toward sustainability, inclusivity, and diversity in food production, and a broader vision that not only considers economic and environmental factors but also values the social and cultural dimensions of nourishing oneself.” There are sustainable farms in many areas. Consider supporting one or more of these family businesses. 

Julie Peller, Ph.D., is an environmental chemist (Professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University). She has been writing a weekly column called The Green Junction for the past seven years and is helping to move the call of Laudato Si to action forward. Her Research Interests are advanced oxidation for aqueous solutions, water quality analyses, emerging contaminants, air quality analyses, Lake Michigan shoreline challenges (Cladophora, water, and sediment contaminants), and student and citizen participation in environmental work.