The reality of American agriculture is that we’re not growing what we should be eating. Today only about 2% of U.S. farmland is used to grow fruits and vegetables, while 59% is devoted to the large commodity crops.
According to a Purdue University economic model designed to predict how farmers in the United States would respond to shifts in eating habits, if Americans merely ate fruits and vegetables at USDA-recommended levels U.S. farmers would then respond by growing 88% more produce.
By the same token, if meat and dairy consumption simply fell to the levels recommended by the Harvard University School of Public Health, farmers could reduce their production of corn and the grains used to feed livestock by roughly eight million acres worth.
The study shows that dietary shifts that drive subsequent changes in farming practices have the capacity to repair soil, improve air and water quality, and increase access to fresh, affordable, and healthy foods for everyone. These changes in the American diet would be beneficial for both the health of the citizenry and the wealth of the farm community, as thriving local food systems tend to both create farm jobs and increase farm profits.