News from the Cattle Network-Opponents of modern agriculture, who express concerns about the sustainability of improved seeds and fertilizers, call for food that is organic, local, and slow. That is the type of food found in rural Africa, where impoverished farmers do not have the capacity to buy crop inputs, attend school, create infrastructure, and fund research. And with that beginning, a noted economist answers the rhetorical question, “Is there a high cost of cheap food policies?”
Luther Tweeten is the Emeritus Chair of the Ohio State University Department of agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, and does not mince any words in response to those who criticize US agriculture and today’s food production practices. Tweeten labels his adversaries as the AAA or the alternative agriculture advocates, who are “pessimistic regarding the nation’s food supply and environment.” While they are raising the question about “the high cost of cheap food,” Tweeten’s essay addresses the impact of today’s agriculture on society’s health and well being, and asks the AAA for an attractive alternative. READ MORE
