Sophia Quick

America Running on Industrial Agriculture

Most people are quick to say that industrial agriculture is what is ruining this country. However, little do they know that this food system is what is saving it. America benefits from the industrial food system in multiple ways. America saves American families money. Also, the industrial food system is creating jobs and a wealthier lower class. There is also evidence that America benefits from the industrial food system when you compare Americas employment rate and number of fast food restaurants to another country. Industrial Agriculture benefits America financially. People are supporting the switch to organic food; however, America would never be able to thrive the way it does without industrial agriculture. Organic food products are more expensive than industrial food products. Organic eggs cost around $3.50 for a dozen (Claire), whereas conventional eggs cost $1.78 for a dozen (Average Retail Food and Energy Prices, U.S. City Average and Midwest Region). If you buy a dozen eggs once a week for a year that were organic, you would be paying $89.44 more than conventional eggs. An American family eats approximately 14.1 (How Many Eggs Does the Average American Eat per Week?) eggs a week, bringing the extra cost up even more. People who buy industrial products should not feel guilt because they are not buying organic food. The consumers of industrial food are saving money. Organic products are too expensive for America. The percentage of people who are food secure is less than stellar in America, but would be devastating if America didnt have industrial agriculture. The United States Department of Agriculture states, An estimated 85.1 percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2011, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members (Coleman-Jensen, Nord, Andrews). 15% of the American population was hungry sometime during 2011. What percentage of people in America would not be food secure if they did not have access to a cheap meal? American families, children included, would be hungry if they didnt have this access. Financially, America would be unstable without industrial agriculture. Food security in America would be terrible without the industrial food system. One of the most persuasive reasons why we should continue using industrial agriculture is how it benefits Americas lower class. The average annual income of a lower class citizen is $23,000 (Smith). Currently 14.5% of this money is spent on food (Where Americans Spend Their Money). The lower class would have no food to buy if they didnt have the option of industrial food. Not only would the lower class be hungry, but the lower class would not be able to afford other necessities. They would have not gas in their cars, no roof over their heads, and little food in their stomachs. How do they maintain their privileges and keep the lower classes down? (James K. Glassman). You take away industrial agriculture. This is what the lower class would look like if America didnt have the industrial food system. The lower class of America is dependent on industrial agriculture. Industrial food saves America money, allowing Americans to live the American Dream. The American Dream is to make a lot of money, not spend it on expensive organic food. This is why America runs on industrial agriculture. Without

Sophia Quick the option of cheap food, you would have a lot less money to save. People eat fast food because it has many options of good tasting food that is cheap. The average cost of a meal at McDonalds is $4.75 (Fast Food Statistics). The average cost of a meal at an inexpensive restaurant is $10 (Sahandi). That price would be much higher if the restaurant was organic. The more organic the food, the more we have to raise our costs, says Amanda Cohen, owner of a vegetarian restaurant in New York (Salaam). Eating conventional food is smart because it saves money. Furthermore, you have to be smart with your money in order to achieve the American Dream. America has 12.3 million (U.S. & World Population Clocks) citizens unemployed, 7.9% (January 2013 Unemployment Rate) of the American population. This number will skyrocket if the industrial agricultural system is discontinued. America needs the industrial food system for employment reasons. In 2011, there were approximately 16,070,600 (USDA ERS Home: FAQs) jobs related to agriculture. 3.5 million (Fast Food Statistics) of these jobs are pertaining to fast food. Lets not make 28 million Americans unemployed. America is a beacon of hope for many other countries because of the opportunity it provides. Without jobs, we cannot provide opportunities for people. Financially, we would struggle without the industrial food system. Industrial agriculture provides jobs for America. You can see the effect fast food has on the employment rate of America when comparing America to Spain. When you look at employment rates in America, you see that 7.9% (January 2013 Unemployment Rate) of the American population is unemployed. Spain has 26.02 % (Unemployment Rate | Country List) of their population unemployed. In America there are approximately 160,000 fast food restaurants. In Spain, there are approximately 4,900 (Fast Food Statistics). Spain has a little more than three times the population unemployed. This could be America if we dont continue the industrial food system. America cannot get by without the miracle of industrial agriculture. The citizens of America are depending on the food produced by the industrial food system. Financially America will not be able to survive without the industrial food system. America does benefit from industrial agriculture financially.

Sophia Quick Sources: "Average Retail Food and Energy Prices, U.S. City Average and Midwest Region." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. Claire. "How Much Do You Pay for a Dozen Organic Eggs?" Saving Naturally. N.p., 18 Feb. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. "Cost of Living in United States Prices in United States." Numbeo. Numbeo, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. "Fast Food Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. Glassman, James K. "AMERICAN.COM." The Class Struggle of Jim Webb The American Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2013. "How Many Eggs Does the Average American Eat per Week?" Questions & Answers. Copyright 2006-2012 ChaCha Search, Inc, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. "January 2013 Unemployment Report." Republican Policy Committee. N.p., Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. Saam, Khalid. "How to Run a Successful Organic Restaurant." Inc.com. Copyright 2013 Mansueto Ventures LLC, 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. Smith, Aaron. "The Middle Class Falls Further behind." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. "Unemployment Rate | Country List." Unemployment Rate | Country List. 2012 Trading Economics, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. "USDA ERS - Home: FAQs." USDA ERS - Home: FAQs. N.p., 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. "U.S. & World Population Clocks." U.S. & World Population Clocks. United States Census Bureau, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. "Where Americans Spend Their Money." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013.

Sophia Quick

Annotated Bibliography
"Where Americans Spend Their Money." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. This source was a graph on where Americans spend their money, averagely. This resource showed on a graph that 14.5% of the money from the lower class was used to buy money. I used this information in my essay to show how little money people used to buy food. This shows how the industrial agricultural system allows people to buy affordable food. Smith, Aaron. "The Middle Class Falls Further behind." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2013 This source was an article about average monthly incomes of the middle class, but it mentioned what the average income of a lower class citizen was. This resource stated that an average lower class citizen has an income of $23,000. I would state this in my article to show how the lower class has to already prioritize their expenses. If they didnt have industrial agriculture they would have to prioritize their expenses on a whole new level. "Fast Food Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. I used this source to talk about how widely used fast food restaurants were. I was able to show how expensive average meals were with this source. This helped me show how productive fast food restaurants are and how important they are to many citizens in America. This source showed in a table that an average meal at McDonalds costs $4.50 and that there are 160,000 fast food restaurants in America. "USDA ERS - Home: FAQs." USDA ERS - Home: FAQs. N.p., 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. This source explained how many different jobs there are in America that are related to industrial agriculture (16,070,600). This helped me in my essay to show how the industrial food system played a major part in employing Americans. This also results in Americans making money. That was the point of my essay. "U.S. & World Population Clocks." U.S. & World Population Clocks. United States Census Bureau, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. I used this source because it shows how many people there are in America. This helped me because I was able to compare this number to other numbers to give people perspective about how many people a certain percentage really is. This was very helpful when I was using statistics.