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NCGA to Time magazine: Farmers Delivering – Sustainably
In a letter to Time magazine, the National Corn Growers Association took issue with its Aug. 31 cover story on food and its apparent ignorance of modern American farming. Despite the abundance, affordability, health and safety of food in the United States, the magazine strove hard to find a crisis to report on and left out valuable information about modern farming practices.
“Your article states that ‘purists worry that the very definition of sustainability will be co-opted’, but in the midst of your criticisms you fail to provide a definition of that term,” NCGA President Bob Dickey, a farmer in Laurel, Neb., wrote in his letter to the editor. “Readers would infer that organic practices are most sustainable, a notion that is not supported by the most recent authoritative studies on this subject.”
Dickey cited a number of measurements that showed how farmers are reducing their impacts on the environment while working hard to provide enough food for a growing population.
“When it comes to corn production, for example, the Field to Market Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture has found that, between 1987 and 2007, corn farmers have significantly reduced the environmental impact of producing a bushel of corn,” he wrote. “Land use is down 37 percent, soil loss is down 69 percent, energy use is down 37 percent and emissions are down 30 percent.”
In the end, Dickey said, the mainstream media needs to get out on the farm and see what’s really happening, and to do so with an open mind.
“As the world population expands and demands for protein grow, U.S. farmers are delivering. When can we expect to see a Time cover story that treats hard-working American family farmers with respect for their innovation, dedication and sacrifice?”