Food and Agriculture: Real Farms, Real Food
Working for sustainable, healthy, economically viable agriculture in the U.S.
Photo: go elsewhere.../Flickr
Our agricultural system has lost its way.
Millions of acres of corn, soybeans, and other commodity crops, grown with the help of heavy government subsidies, dominate our rural landscapes.
To grow these crops, industrial farms use massive amounts of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, which deplete our soil and pollute our air and water.
Much of this harvest will end up as biofuels and other industrial products—and most of the rest will be used in CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) or in heavily processed junk foods, which seem cheap only because their hidden costs don't show up at the cash register.
Industrial agriculture is unhealthy—for our environment, our climate, our bodies, and our rural economies.
A Better Way: Sustainable Agriculture
There's a better way to grow our food. Working with nature instead of against it, sustainable agriculture uses 21st-century techniques and technologies to implement time-tested ideas such as crop rotation, integrated plant/animal systems, and organic soil amendments.
Sustainable agriculture is less damaging to the environment than industrial agriculture, and produces a richer, more diverse mix of foods. It's productive enough to feed the world, and efficient enough to succeed in the marketplace—but current U.S. agricultural policy stacks the deck in favor of industrial food production.
Highlights
Market Forces: Creating Jobs through Public Investment in Local and Regional Food Systems
Raising the Steaks: Global Warming and Pasture-Raised Beef Production in the U.S.
The Climate-Friendly Gardener: A Guide to Combating Global Warming from the Ground Up
Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops
Our Experts
Margaret Mellon
Senior Scientist & Director, Food & Environment Program
Doug Gurian-Sherman
Senior Scientist
Jeffrey O'Hara
Agricultural Economist
Karen Perry Stillerman
Senior Analyst
Noel Gurwick
Senior Scientist
It's time for new policies that will level the playing field for sustainable farmers. You can help. Join our campaign and help us transform U.S. agricultural policy to make sustainable, healthy, economically robust farms grow.
The Farm Bill
Federal policy has a huge impact on U.S. agriculture, and this impact is largely shaped by the provisions of the Farm Bill, which is revised and reauthorized every five years. It is due to come before Congress in 2012. Find out what our experts would like to see in the next Farm Bill--and how you can help.
More about the Farm Bill 
Antibiotic Misuse
Research has shown that in the U.S., more antibiotics are given to healthy animals than to sick humans. Meanwhile, antibiotic resistance is a growing problem with consequences that can be deadly. Read about how these two phenomena are connected--and what we can do about it.
More about antibiotics in agriculture
Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering in agriculture has failed to deliver on many of its promised benefits, and has produced some serious unintended consequences. Yet the USDA seems determined to regulate GMOs as little as possible.
More about genetic engineering in agriculture
Industrial Agriculture and its Impacts
Photo: Jan TikCAFOs, monoculture, overuse of pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers...too much of our farming uses methods that are bad for the soil, the environment, the climate, and rural communities. Find out why industrial agriculture is so 20th century.
More about industrial agriculture
Support Our Work
UCS has been a leader in efforts to transform U.S. agriculture in a sustainable and healthy direction. Our expert analysis provides a scientifically grounded perspective that will shape better policy. You can help support this work:
