 THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER: Perspectives on past and future food systemsJohn Ikerd Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2024, vol. 13, issue 3 Abstract: First paragraphs: In my previous column, I described the transformational changes I have seen in the past and expect to see in the future of American agriculture. Transformational change is not the usual incremental or adaptive change but is defined as “a dramatic evolution of some basic structure of the business itself—its strategy, culture, organization, physical structure, supply chain, or processes” (Harvard Business School Online, 2020, “Transformational Change,” para. 1). I believe the changes in food systems, past and future, have been and will be just as transformational as the changes in agriculture. When I was growing up in the 1940s in rural Missouri, we had a local food system. Most of what we ate was grown, hunted, fished, or foraged on our farm. Most of the rest was grown and processed within about 50 miles of our farm. There were local meat processors and locker plants, dairy processing plants, fruit and vegetable canneries, and even local flour mills. Coffee, tea, spices, some canned and packaged foods, and occasional bananas and oranges came from elsewhere. My best guess is that at least 75% of what we ate in the 1940s was homegrown or grown and processed locally. . . . Date: 2024 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:joafsc:362871 Access Statistics for this article More articles in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development from Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University |
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