I love my heirloom tomatoes and believe there is nothing better tasting than vegetables and fruits right from the garden. I am also proud that Woodstock has a thriving farmer's market that provides consumers greater choice in a variety of foods grown locally and that supports local farmers. However, your article in the Torch regarding organic farming contained so many falsehoods that condemn modern farming practices that I got torched. Assertions that cannot be backed up by sound science only serve to create doubt and confuse consumers.
It is because of modern farming practices that we have the safest, most economical food supply in the world. Production technologies are enabling farmers to grow more food with greater efficiency, allowing us to feed more people while consuming fewer natural resources and generating less animal waste. Modern, efficient food production is environmentally sustainable.
I am a third generation family farmer in McHenry County and have seen firsthand the improvements in production. The data speak for themselves. For example, since 1944, annual production of milk per cow has quadrupled in the United States, which means we need far fewer cows to meet the demand for milk. As a result:
Modern production of every gallon of milk requires 65 percent less water and 90 percent less land than it did in 1944. 76 percent less manure is being produced for each gallon of milk sold. The "carbon footprint" for a gallon of milk is 63 percent lower than it was in 1944.
The story is much the same for beef and grain production. In 1961, an acre of wheat globally fed about two people. Today we can feed nearly six people from that same acre.
Yet we have to continue to improve. As Dr. Jason Clay from the World Wildlife Foundation notes, "to feed 9 billion people and maintain the planet, we must freeze the footprint of food. If we exceed the carry capacity of the planet, we are taking away the very resource base that will be needed by our children and our grandchildren".
Some people like to romanticize that the way we grew food before World War II was the best way and continues to be the best way to grow food. They condemn modern farming practices.
Norman Borlaug, the father of the green revolution, grew up during this time. It is because of his experience watching crops destroyed, hungry people, and food riots, that he devoted his life to improving our food supply through use of fertilizer, plant breeding and disease resistance. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 and is credited with saving over 1 billion people from starvation. Even today, 12 children will die from hunger each minute. This is morally wrong. It is technology that has saved lives, improved the safety of our food supply and made it more affordable.
I am proud to say my life's work has been growing food for the people of this world. I hope that as we provide choices for consumers in buying food, we continue to offer safe, proven technologies to farmers in producing food for the world.
Linnea Kooistra, Woodstock
