Originally published April 7 2015
Corporate agriculture is destroying national sovereignty and increasing risk of global starvation
by L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
(NaturalNews) According to The Guardian, the United Kingdom's growing population is bound to face food shortages within the next generation. As self-sufficiency is surrendered away to the demands of corporate monoculture, the people not only lose touch with their food but become dependent on a select agricultural science that dictates the DNA of what is grown, while controlling the volatile markets. When this science fails and farm productivity is stalled, everyone is put at the mercy of its failure. All the while, the diversification of crop and seed is drowned out by these highly profitable, corporate-patented seeds.
As corporate agriculture condenses farming operations around the world, it puts the growing population at greater risk. When agriculture is run by a select few large-scale farms, food shortages are magnified, affecting the population more profoundly. According to the National Farmers' Union (NFU), the United Kingdom is losing its national sovereignty in producing its own food. They admit that more households are now vulnerable to potential shortages and volatile prices. NFU leaders are now urging leaders in the UK to come up with a plan that diversifies farming to maximize self-sufficiency.
National Farmers Union President Meurig Raymond warned, "The stark choice for the next government is whether to trust the nation's food security to volatile world markets or to back British farming and reverse the worrying trend in food production. I want to see a robust plan for increasing the productive potential of farming, stimulating investment and ensuring that the drive to increase British food production is at the heart of every government department."
National Farmers Union warns that UK could be importing majority of their food in next 25 years
The National Farmers Union warned that the United Kingdom could be so heavily controlled by corporate agriculture in 25 years that the majority of their food would have to be imported. Encouraging local food production and decentralized growing operations is the future solution if the population doesn't want to be at the mercy of volatile markets and corporate food shipped in from other countries. On top of that, the entire farming and food industry in the UK represents nearly 3.5 million jobs. If they lose their national food sovereignty, then most of these people could be put out of work. Making a return to local food production is the only way to sustain growing populations around the world, and the UK is no exception.
The trend toward dependency on corporate agriculture in the UK has been sharp and steady since the 1980s. In the mid-1980s, about 80 percent of the food was sovereign. Today, only 60 percent of the food consumed in the UK is actually grown there. The most recent problem for British farmers has been competing with cheap imports of dairy products. International markets of dairy products have cheapened commodities like milk, putting fresh milk farmers in the UK out of business.
Farming leaders estimate that, in 25 years, a majority of food products sold in the UK will be imported, not locally grown. The more local farmers are run out of business, the more vulnerable the local population becomes to food shortages.
With the right support, decentralized food production methods like Food Rising can solve world hunger
Thankfully, decentralized food production revolutions like the Food Rising project are now giving individuals and small scale growers more options for food security. In such a volatile food market, controlled by corporate agriculture, the Food Rising project stands out as a solution for communities looking to get back to the roots of wholesome food production.
The most amazing aspect of the Food Rising revolution is that it's an open-source solution, meaning many facets of the growing system can be downloaded and printed on personal 3D printers. This gives the world access to a clean and efficient hydroponics grow method that can restore personal, community and even national food sovereignty. For more information, visit FoodRising.org.
Sources:
http://www.theguardian.com
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