Do Farmers Really Feed the World?

    This week one of my teachers told me that conventional agriculture does not feed the world.  She showed a diagram that depicted industrial farming feeds 30% of the world population.  

She showed this diagram to, and I quote, 

“Refute the signs on the side of the highway that say one farmer feeds 154 people and you.” 

WHAT.

THE.

FRENCH.

TOAST.

     I’ll admit, it was really difficult to stay in my seat and not go punch dance out my rage in a wooded glen. (haha for obscure movie references) I had to remind myself of my workshop last week where we discussed “thinking hats” and how to use them in agriculture advocacy to avoid emotional responses. 

     Mind you, those signs don’t say what type of farmers feed 155 people.  But because of my professor’s preconceived notions about modern “industrial” agriculture, she felt the need to lash out and defend the type of agriculture she believes has all the answers.  She found her statistic from the ETC group.  I could just as easily find a statistic (and I did) saying that agricultural imports in third world countries have increased by 122%.  That sounds like feeding the world to me.
      We can twist little pieces of the agriculture story to say whatever we want them to.  But how can we refute the fact, the scientific fact, that farmers feed the world?  Yes, conventional agriculturists, urban agriculturists, organic agriculturists, agriculturists from Peru and China and Australia. 
      Honestly, we do not have the time to waste fighting between ourselves, saying that one form is better than the other, claiming that one is more important, or that one has all the solutions to feed our growing population. 

We need all agriculture.  We need all the ingenuity, creativity, productivity, efficiency, and sustainability agriculturists- of all kinds- have to offer.