Initial Condition Report- Environment- Farming - Assignment Example

“Agri-food systems research theorizes two separate and unequal food systems based on the competing values, differential social and environmental impacts, and unequal power relations.”1 Of these, the first type is the industrial agriculture which can be characterized as being more financial or capital oriented, and is generally large-scale in nature, shows high productivity, and is “mechanized with monocultural cropping systems” that has links with the local, national and global market, as for example the Washington apples.

2 The second form is the sustainable agriculture, which is distinguished as compact, region-specific process agricultural practice in order to meet the requirements for food while also protecting and complementing the surrounding environment and working towards elevating the quality of lives of the residents of that particular locality (as seen in Puget Sound).3 To comprehend the agri-food system within the Puget Sound region, it is necessary to take a firsthand stock of the existing agricultural system within this region.

Fig 1: This shows a rather depressing picture, where we find that till 1997 in the region of Puget Sound, the scenario pertinent to agriculture is not very encouraging. More than 20% of the agricultural lands (amounting to about 100000 acres) have been lost or put to other use in the region, within a short period of only fifteen years, 1982 to 1997. There has been a decrease in the number of farms (nearly 25%) in this region during the same time-frame.4 According to this report, smaller farms are disappearing fast, while there has been a slight increase in the larger farms; however the report shows us that less number of young people are entering into this farming business.

5 Later available figures of the Pierce County and the Snohomish County show us that, after 1997, especially in the years 2002 and 2007, the farming situation in Snohomish County is comparatively better, and shows slight increase in the number of farms (fig 2-a), and land in farms (fig 2b), The Pierce County however shows figures that continue to reflect a downward slide. In the context of the decreased amount of chemicals brought by the farms in the Pierce County, reflects a tilt towards an improvement in the environment and the crops produced (fig 2c and d); while Snohomish with an increasing agriculture produce, shows a rise in the use of chemicals by these farms, which may prove to be detrimental for the environment.

(fig 2c and d). Hence, the focus should be on producing local crops that are organic in nature, that is, crops grown without the use of any chemical fertilisers. Number of Farms 1997 2002 2007 Pierce County 1616 1474 1448 Snohomish County 1819 1574 1670 Fig 2 (a): Source; Census of Agriculture Land in Farms (acres) 1997 2002 2007 Pierce County 61689 57224 47677 Snohomish County 72882 68612 76837 Fig 2 (b): Source; Census of Agriculture Number of Farms purchased chemicals 1997 2002 2007 Pierce County 560 510 425 Snohomish County 444 388 454 Fig 2 (c): Source; Census of Agriculture Total expenses for chemicals 1997 2002 2007 Pierce County $870,000 $1,044,000 $707,000 Snohomish County $722,000 $721,000 $1,501,000 Fig 2 (d): Source; Census of Agriculture The sharp fall in the agricultural produce in the Puget Sound region is owing to the fact that the farm products are liable to be