One of the leading contributors to the creation of greenhouse gasses in America is rooted in our production of food. Based on cheap oil, our government moved toward a mass production system for producing both meat and vegetables for mass consumption. Cheap oil and government subsidies provided farmers the ability to switch to a single crop system which used petroleum based fertilizers and oil itself to cover fallow pasture cheaply. It also allowed the huge industrial farms to grow in centralized areas and ship the food products all over the world. The result is that a corn producer can grow their crops in Iowa, ship the food to China to be processed and packaged, and then shipped back to the US for consumption. Transportation of food throughout the US alone accounts for 19% of the carbon dioxide created. Some experts believe that if you look at the whole carbon footprint of food production from planting through fertilization, harvest, storage, transport, and packaging the number could be as high as 37% of carbon created in the US.

The land degradation and environmental destruction are huge issues as well. The famous dustbowl conditions of the 1930's were largely caused by the same land misuse that large industrial farms practice today. Not a huge issue when there is plenty of water and the weather cooperates. But as we are seeing again over the last few years, drought and a diminished water table can wreak havoc in fruit and vegetable production. Additionally, the fertilizers pollute ground water and the run off adversely effects surrounding ecosystems.

The sad side effect of these policies is that food itself is less nutritious than it was 50 years ago. The fertilizers can't replenish the overused soil's nutrients fast enough. Centralizing food production means that much of the fruit and vegetables we see at the grocery store are picked early so they ripen when they are ready to be sold. This effects both the taste and nutrition. The same holds true for beef. There are only a few huge slaughter facilities authorized to process and ship beef safely. This discourages small farms from farming in an ecologically sound multi-crop/livestock format that tends itself by allowing crop rotation and grass fed livestock that naturally refertilize the soil. The population that suffers the most from these policies are the poor. They only have the means to afford the mass produced, less nutritious, processed food that is high in calories and low in nutrition. This leads to greater rates of obesity, heart disease, mineral defincies, and other health concerns. The centralization of production and processing also presents a national security threat. Infecting one facility or large producer will have devastating effects on our food supply here at home and for those that we export to.

The good news is this presents a huge opportunity to solve a variety of problems simeltaneoulsy. In a recent issue of Fast Company , Anya Kamenetz wrote: America has only two million farmers, and their average age is 55. Since sustainable agriculture requires small-scale, local, organic methods rather than petroleum-based machines and fertilizers, there is a huge need for more farmers -- up to tens of millions of them, according to food guru Michael Pollan. Modern farmers are small businesspeople who must be as skilled in heirloom genetics as marketing. Now that's a solid business idea.

The small farm is back in business because, for those who can afford it and are aware of the issues, attitudes are a changing. Here is a great video describing the slow food movement in Austin: Slow Food. Companies like Greenling.com and Whole Foods have brought local, organic, and fair trade food products to the end user on an unprecedented scale. This space is one of the fastest growing markets in food distribution and retail with new stores and businesses opeining every year. Also farmers markets like the Austin Farmer's Market allow local farmers to sell their goods directly to the customer at their absolute freshest (often picked that day or the day before).

An even more radical approach is the vertical farm. So far projects like those pictured on verticalfarm.com have not attracted enough investment capital to break ground, but as more and more of us migrate to urban centers, this could be the future of sustainable agriculture. So if you are looking to solve a health crisis, drastically lessen our nations carbon footprint, improve our national security and stop a huge source of environmental degradation, then get in the local organic food business.