How do changing consumer eating habits impact farmers?

Sep 24, 2015

How will farmers meet the demand to feed 9 billion people?

In 1867 in Canada, when our nation began, 41% of labour jobs were on the farm. Today, less than 1% of the population are farmers – and that number continues to fall. Production farming, organic farming, urban farming – what will allow society to feed a population that continues to increase?

How will we produce enough food to feed 9 billion people? As poverty declines, consumption of proteins increases as well, so it is not just a growing population, consumers’ food habits are changing, placing even more demands on the food system. There are fundamental changes currently underway to food consumption in western countries. How will these trends impact food in the future?

Country Heritage Park is a group determined to preserve the history of our agricultural past, and more importantly, determined to show us the future of agriculture. On October 6th, Country Heritage Park is holding the first in a series of events on the Future of Food & Farming 2041. It will explore the changes and choices we are faced with as a society at both the global and local level with regard to the food we eat. The forum will explore a number of key issues such as creating a food future that’s better for people, profit, and the planet, as well as food design and innovation in the future.

The forum will also explore the challenges and opportunities to food security, climate change, land use and the environment, as well as how changing social values are impacting consumer behaviour related to food.

One of the keynote speakers at the event is Mike Lee. Lee runs a group that specializes in innovative design thinking for food products, experiences, and the creation of retail and foodservice concepts. Lee was part of a group that created “the Future Market” a grocery store in the year 2065 that demonstrates how very different consumer habits may be in the future. According to Lee, “we must implement massive structural shifts of innovation in our food system, without this there is no way to address the current, far less the future needs of people, planet and profit. Food & farming are the engines of society, they drive all other innovation.”

Farms.com is a proud sponsor of the Country Heritage Park, as well as the Future of Food and Farming Forum series.

For more information, visit Future of Food & Farming 2041:

http://www.countryheritagepark.com/whats-happening/future-of-food-and-farming-forum/

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.