Food Production
Table 1 . Food Production and Demand in Washington Ag Region ( 2012 )
Production ( acres or animals )
Demand ( acres or animals )
Percent Demand Fulfilled
Defitcit / Surplus ( acres or animals )
Apples 1,778 18,655 10 % -16,877 Blueberries 56 3,101 2 % -3,045 Strawberries 34 12,896 0 % -12,862 Beans 2,323 11,365 20 % -9,042 Potatoes 181 28,533 1 % -28,352 Pumpkins 588 3,167 19 % -2,579 Squash 91 3,404 3 % -3,313 Sweet Corn 1,346 24,106 6 % -22,760 Tomatoes 444 35,615 1 % -35,171 Wheat 63,079 238,021 27 % -174,942 Corn 169,121 36,564 463 % 132,557 Beef 119,166 722,321 16 % -603,155 Chicken 65,357 238,021 0 % -74,104,225 Pork 36,966 36,564 2 % -1,868,298 Dairy 44,041 722,321 19 % -191,026
Sources : U . S . Census , USDA NASS Census of Agriculture , USDA ERS Food Availability data , and others .
sion . 2 And of course , there ’ s all the food we import from other countries , many of which are also suffering withering heat and wild swings between drought and floods .
Even though food prices have fallen in recent months , because of these climate-driven shortfalls , food price inflation is still outpacing overall inflation . “ Overall , grocery prices were 5.8 % more expensive in May 2023 than in May 2022 ,” according to a CNN Business report .” 3
The 115,000 Montgomery County residents who are already suffering from food insecurity will be the most affected by these food shortfalls and the attendant increased prices . 4 “ According to the Capital Area Food Banks 2022 Hunger report , 46 % of households in Montgomery County that have children experienced food insecurity at some point last year .” 5 Fully 30 % of Montgomery County residents are food insecure . 6 And as of 2018 , 6.9 % of our residents live below the poverty line . 7
The global food system is responsible for about
one-third of greenhouse gas emissions – second only to the energy sector . Agriculture is also the number one source of methane and primary cause of biodiversity loss . 8 The food we buy from great distances is not only vulnerable to weather and climate shocks that endanger production and supply — transporting all that food contributes to the greenhouse gasses gases we are trying to reduce . ( See Figure 1 ).
We can and should help those who are food insecure in the short term ( see sidebar , p . 7 ) and moderate our own eating habits . But long-term solutions will require our region to transform and diversify our farming systems . We have a good start , because Montgomery County has been uniquely visionary by shielding a large area for producing food : the Agricultural Reserve . Created in 1980 , it provides some protection to 93,000 acres of farmland . But it is past time to create more opportunities for local food production ! Of the land in the Ag Reserve and elsewhere in the County , 65,537 acres ( 21.3 %) are farms . Yet , according to the USDA Ag Census ( 2017 ), less than 1 % of this land is growing vegetables , fruits , and / or nuts .
While agriculture accounts for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions , switching to more sustainable systems could deliver 37 % of the climate change mitigation needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement . 9 Instead of contributing to biodiversity loss ,
Figure 1 . How food travels from farms to your home
This map shows how food flows between counties in the U . S . Each line represents the transportation of all food commodities , along transit routes , like roads or railways . Environmental Research Letters ( 2019 ), CC BY-SA .
Source : https :// theconversation . com / we-mapped-how-food-gets-fromfarms-to-your-home-125475 plenty I autumn harvest 2023 5