The topic that I chose to focus on this semester, during the Social Issues and Regional Development course at the University of New Mexico, was how urbanization has impacted farming. In 2009, the world population shifted from a predominately rural demographic to an urban one, with 54 percent living in cities. Specifically, within the urbanization, the reality of an aging farmer population stood out to me starkly. In 2016 the average age of farmers in the U.S was 58.3, representing 98 percent of all farmers living (and farming) in the U.S. In the U.S, 81 percent of the population live in urban areas which will likely continue to increase.

 

Over the next thirty years, the United Nations estimates that all worldwide growth will take place in urban areas (Palen 3). Four out of five Americans lived in Urban areas in 2014. In The Urban World, criteria for defining urban areas are "urban culture, administrative functions, the percentage of people in nonagricultural occupations, and the size of the population. (Palen 7)" In the broader context of planning, the effective growth and distribution of food from a diminishing rural population to an increasingly urban one is an essential current problem to solve.

 

While many farmers rely on what they grow or what their neighbor grows, people living in cities no longer worry or know where their food comes from. Should they worry? With one of the earliest examples of a western city in ancient Greece, Athens struggled to bring food to its citizens. Due to poor soil and rocky terrain surrounding the city, Athens was unable to grow food close to the city itself and the cost to bring food by land was expensive. An estimation puts transporting goods from 10 miles away from Athens at more than 40 percent of the cost of the food (Palen 28). Athens solved this problem by utilizing its harbors and ports.

 

Modern cities bring in food by truck or plane, but the expense of transporting food to these large populations remains a challenge and increases the cost of food in cities. With a diminishing workforce able to grow food in America and the ability to ship food from around the world, farming in the U.S seems very much on the decline. Aside from certain common crops, corn, soy, and cotton, being heavily subsidized farmers have little incentive to grow food that can be easily imported and is likely cheaper from foreign countries. These monocrops have enabled U.S farmers to industrialize farming in ways that greatly decreases the need for human labor. With larger more efficient machines, mono-crop economies, effective pesticides, and higher yield genetically modified plants, it is possible to produce the same amount of food with fewer humans doing the work. This diminishing need for new farmers may be masking the shift away from rural living and occupations, and with 98 percent of farmers nearing retirement, we will reach a tipping point in the experience and people necessary to produce food in the U.S. This could mean relying more heavily on imported, processed foods.

 

This topic impacted me personally because of my experience working on farms and seeing the problems of accessing food while living in a city. I believe the problems of high prices and food deserts in cities will increase, further widening the social gap by who can afford certain food and who cannot. Possible solutions could include, urban farming utilizing methods such as hydroponics, relying less on space and soil, and community and government programs focused on education for farming as an economy worth investing in. I see this including school programs that could take students to farms located close to the cities they live in so that students can see first-hand farm life and what goes into creating the food they buy. 

 

This could also include more classes focused on food and nutrition in order to raise awareness and interest in the food we eat. In my experience farming is considered a less desirable occupation because of the physical work required and the necessity of living in a rural area. Working at a large tech company seems more desirable because it can afford a certain lifestyle. I see the advances that have been made in technology applying to and increasing the capability of a tired food system. At the very least, I believe technology could and should be used to increase the public’s awareness of their food supply and where it is coming from.   

 

Works Cited

• Palen, J. John. The Urban World. Oxford University Press, 2019.