Food MythBusters — Do we really need industrial agriculture to feed the world?
For more information, Sources & Citations, and database of the research sources used: www.foodmyths.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/FoodMythBusters Twitter: www.twitter.com/FoodMythBusters Join the conversation on Twitter by using #FoodMyths How can we feed the world—today and tomorrow? The biggest players in the food industry—from pesticide pushers to fertilizer makers to food processors and manufacturers—spend billions of dollars every year not selling food, but selling the idea that we need their products to feed the world. But, do we really need industrial agriculture to feed the world? Can sustainably grown food deliver the quantity and quality we need—today and in the future? Our first Food MythBusters film takes on these questions in under seven minutes. So next time you hear them, you can too.
25 Responses to Food MythBusters — Do we really need industrial agriculture to feed the world?
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Farms used to gather biomass from outside the farm in earlier times. This made the topsoil become richer and thicker, not depleted like it is today. The biomass came from nature outside farm, and was sustainably harvested. One example is cutting leafy branches from certain trees for winter feed for the livestock. The manure from the livestock was used on the field next spring.
odakonto
February 13, 2013 at 10:09 am
Definitely. Part of the movie is tackling the government’s role in making things hard-to-impossible for farmers.
As for where the numbers are coming from, please do check out our citations on our website. Crazy, sad…but true and measurable.
RealFoodMediaProject
February 13, 2013 at 10:36 am
What I want to do: Marry an insanley rich person, buy a farm, grow natural food and sell it at better prices than any other brand, therefore forcing them to lower their prices to compete, they go out of business and bam, I fund natural farmers and the world eats good food once again.
Anika Ahlstrom
February 13, 2013 at 11:06 am
If the new way is more effective it will produce products cheaper, and people will buy those. What? That’s not happening? Then it’s less effective and switching to it will produce less food. Simple.
Frasse0
February 13, 2013 at 11:42 am
Ppl should really see Farmageddon..
sempersweden
February 13, 2013 at 12:20 pm
“Turns out it’s the corporations profiting from farming” I LOL’ed. Who else is gonna inform people about benefits of their own product? This video has some good points tho. And if it weren’t for government subsidizing and regulation, the best method will win through free market principles.
vidarfreyr
February 13, 2013 at 12:27 pm
In most parts of Asia it has hard to grow multiple crops due to certain variables. For example rice is a crop which in some parts it is the only crop which can grow, fertilizers help get two harvests a year instead of one. This is particularly important as most of the worlds population are in these areas. Isn’t distribution an area as well which needs improving to help feed the world, which would make it easier to not use industrial methods of agriculture.
Charles Bathurst
February 13, 2013 at 12:56 pm
I’m no fan of big corporations, and am a strong believer in sustainable (but not “organic”) agriculture, but this was poor. The “chemicals are bad, mkay” argument is clear fallacy. But as long as they keep the dreaded dihydrogen monoxide off our food, I’m sure we’ll be ok?
madmalk
February 13, 2013 at 1:08 pm
This is a great and noble effort!! Thank you for informing us and leading this… very much needed today!
Ubaid Seth
February 13, 2013 at 1:51 pm
This really works from my own experience. Pests are good things there for a reason, they show we’re becoming too greedy, I find that an honest garden with all you need and not with the idea of getting rich in mind does not have problems like this. when there’s pests, ladybugs and wasps come to eat them. The wasps then help to pollinate. it attracts birds, they eat snails etc etc. its all a balance and humans are thinking they are making life easier but are just making it more idiotic.
THEenitzirk
February 13, 2013 at 2:01 pm
There is no such thing as truly a sustainable farm. By definition, the food shipped out of the farm is taking soil nutrients with it. It *has* to be replaced with supplies from somewhere else.
jursamaj
February 13, 2013 at 2:45 pm
Having lived around farmers for years it isn’t quite as easy as you make it sound. Big government makes it hard for farmers. They have their hand in every step of the process from getting the seed in the ground to the product being sold and purchased.
And throwing around big numbers that can’t possibly be true isn’t helpful either. You mention losing 64 tons of topsoil per acre. That’s crazy impossible. Dig up 128,000 pounds of dirt from your one acre yard and see what kind of hole you get.
Bamaparson
February 13, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Hi Christian,
Thanks for the comment. Everything in the video has citations and based in research of over a decade of work. Please go to the website to download the Sources & Citations .pdf and where you can find many of the sources we cite. We are working on annotating the video now with the citations so our dedication to research can be more clearly evidenced.
RealFoodMediaProject
February 13, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Veganism is a good alternative. And veganism is “self change”.
Anton Cross
February 13, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Stop having too many children. If you “feel” you “need” to have children, have just one. Or even better: adopt. If fewer people reproduce, we’ll become less burden for Earth and its resources.
Eat a more plant-based diet, which isn’t as soil-intensive as a primarily carnivore one.
Don’t waste food.
Grow food, not lawns.
There’s too many little things we can do yet still their impact in the long run is HUGE.
Anton Cross
February 13, 2013 at 5:25 pm
Integrated biodiverse permacultural practices and aquaponics are the way forward. There is no doubt about it.
occupynewparadigm
February 13, 2013 at 6:18 pm
We do too! 50 million! Please help us send it to all of your friends and family — around the world! It can go global; it’s multi-lingual!
RealFoodMediaProject
February 13, 2013 at 6:53 pm
I want to address one point that was made in the video. It was stated that humans only consume one percent of the corn produced . The misleading aspect of the point implied is that we as humans could simply eat the corn. The farmers that produce the corn sell to the buyers that pay for the crop. People won’t eat “just corn” therefore it isn’t in demand for human consumption. There is no way we have enough land to graze cattle to produce the demand for beef.
John Colquitt
February 13, 2013 at 7:28 pm
Oké, if you think it’s all that easy, then start to grown your own food next year, good luck!!
Hakkeholt
February 13, 2013 at 7:46 pm
I want this to have 1 million views!!!
TECpeds94
February 13, 2013 at 8:31 pm
I don’t see this as suggesting that farmers don’t work hard. They certainly do. It is saying that there are an awful lot of unhealthy practices and thanks to govt interference our farm families are essentially caught indentured servitude.
ahsido1
February 13, 2013 at 9:05 pm
Not everyone is mentally capable to see the truth for what it is( is call denial). But we must continue to share this type of INFORMATION for more people become aware and we work together to help those that are part of a system that doesn’t work anymore. We need to be accountable and help them so they can also have a way to support their families without participating in destroying the rest of Humanity and the animals!
Darsana Roldan
February 13, 2013 at 9:47 pm
I feel like people just don’t care 🙁 It feels hopeless sometimes! If everyone cared then this wouldn’t be happening int he first place. How can we make a difference when people are happy eating this crap??
Autumn Denise
February 13, 2013 at 9:58 pm
Thanks! YouTube has a limit to the number of characters we can have in the description unfortunately but please see our website for the full list of sources, downloadable at food myths dot org
RealFoodMediaProject
February 13, 2013 at 10:52 pm
Hi alenkait,
Thanks for sharing your family’s experience & for their hard work.
Please see our Food Hero, The Nelson Family, who are a family of dairy farmers in MN making it work to be sustainable and provide a living for their family. We admire them very much and hope that that is possible for all farmers everywhere — so that people don’t have to make a choice that might risk their families not being provided for.
RealFoodMediaProject
February 13, 2013 at 11:50 pm