TY - JOUR AU - Ikerd, John PY - 2019/02/13 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER: The Future of Food: Separation or Integration? JF - Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development JA - J. Agric. Food Syst. Community Dev. VL - 8 IS - 4 SE - Column DO - 10.5304/jafscd.2019.084.002 UR - https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/667 SP - 9-12 AB - <p><em>First paragraphs:</em></p><p>In a previous Economic Pamphleteer column, I&nbsp;wrote of a battle for the future of food and farming (see Ikerd, 2018). The battle is between those attempting to <em>fix</em> the current agri-food system versus those attempting to <em>replace</em> it. The defining question is whether agriculture can be <em>separated</em> from nature and society or instead must be <em>integrated</em> with nature and society. I used hydro­ponics and concentrated animal feeding operations as examples of attempts to separate or insolate agricultural production from the vagaries and fragilities of nature and the sensitivities and vulner­abilities of society. Synthetic proteins, manu­fac­tured from neither plant nor animal tissue, is per­haps a radical example of the separation cur­rently promoted by some food futurists (Locke, 2016).</p><p>Admittedly, separating, or at least insulating, some intensive systems of plant and animal production from nature reduces their most apparent negative ecological and social externali­ties. Separation may also reduce production risks and increase economic efficiency. However, sep­aration often raises far larger questions. As humans, we have evolved along with plants and animals as our food sources. The evidence is now clear that diet-related illnesses have increased dramatically as societies have shifted from diets made up of locally grown, raw, and minimally processed plant- and animal-based foods to indus­trially produced, processed, and manufactured foods (World Health Organization, n.d.).&nbsp;The economic costs of public health externalities are sometimes mentioned,&nbsp;though rarely estimated, but the total cost of human suffering from diet-related illnesses is incalculable. . . . .</p><p>See the <a title="press release archive " href="http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=488966&amp;f=60033&amp;s=84565&amp;m=973179&amp;t=257c360ddc23fcec50d37942ed548ee4169a6c0d76d51e227fa886af9ecdf0c7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> for this article.&nbsp;</p> ER -