Feeding the Future...Slower?

The facts have been in front of our faces for a long time, yet sometimes it seems they don't sink in until it becomes personal.

Since I was in high school, I have tried to keep up with what is currently happening in the field of agriculture- policy changes, how weather is affecting the current crops, trends in the cattle market, international initiatives, and how the challenges of our food system are being tackled, etc. So I nerd out and do a lot of reading.

But I have never wanted to just be a spectator of the agriculture industry. Finally being able to take first steps toward that goal by buying a little chunk of land with outbuildings and some potential is exciting for Lance and I. As we think about our plans for starting our very own agriculture operation, discussing inputs we will need to buy, what equipment will be most useful and cost effective for us, and how our operation will function, it's a little nerve racking to read some of the articles I read about trends in agriculture today.

For centuries, agriculture has marched to the beat of "more efficiency."  This has been, and still is out of necessity. The whole idea of agriculture was born out of the nomadic people of old needing a less taxing lifestyle than expending countless calories, constantly chasing their food. And so we began to cultivate and domesticate. And a few herbs and berries and the occasional livestock animal turned into aqueducts and tillage equipment and technology. When we were finally not chasing our food anymore, not everyone needed to be involved in food production which led to the development of many great things like philosophy and art and engineering and Iphones. Agriculture is the reason for so much progress that we can't imagine life without today.

But today, many consumers call for farmers to step away from efficiency. In March, Whole Foods announced it will begin using slower growing breeds of chicken for meat production. These slower growing breeds will take 23% longer to reach market weight. (Read more details here)

To those in agriculture production, this is a bit scary. Now I know not everyone shops at Whole Foods and I would like to believe there is a place at the table for all types of agriculture. But between the articles I read and some of the comments I see on blogs and videos of what affects food decisions for shoppers, its a little nerve racking to think this could be the beginning of a total change in the market. Will the cattle my husband and I plan to raise even be profitable if the consumer wants them to grow 23% slower?

Doing things in a less efficient manner is a bit of a mind boggler for many in agriculture production. There are so many pieces of the puzzle to consider- all the way from large scale things like environmental impact and using the least amount of resources to produce the most food (aka efficiency), to more personal, yet make or break things, like trying to balance our own checkbook. Not to mention the fact that this planet has a growing population that I don't particularly want to see go hungry.

So farmers/ranchers, how do you make production decisions with consumer decisions in mind? 
And fellow food purchasers- do you want slower growing food?