Agriculture in Daily Life Though

Agriculture in Daily Life

Though most of us are not faced on a daily basis with the realities of the agriculture industry, it still plays a huge part in our lives. With the rising price of oil likely to cause a continuing and sharper rise in food prices, the effects of the agriculture industry might son be felt even more sharply by the average American citizen (USDA). Agriculture provides us with our sustenance, whether or not we are always aware of this fact, and is therefore of immense importance not only to our happiness and well being, but even to the continued day-to-day operations of our society and civilization. Throughout much of 2008, food prices around the world fluctuated wildly as part of the early fall-out of the economic crisis, and government interventions into such pricing issues usually costs a significant amount of our hard-earned tax dollars (USDA). Not acknowledging the impact of agriculture in today's world is simply naive.

Agriculture does not just provide us with the fruits and vegetables with which it is most commonly associated, either. Almost everything we ingest, whether we ought to or not, comes from an agricultural product. Beer cannot be brewed without various grains, nor can bread be baked; and steak must ruminate on something before it ends up on the plate. For this reason, agricultural fluctuations tend to have a ripple effect on other aspects of the economy, especially food production. A rise in beef prices is being narrowly avoided right now; wheat fields in the southern plains that are used as grazing grounds for cattle have been dwindling, and usually when this occurs ranchers must purchase feed and establish their herds in feed lots -- all at great expense -- in order to retain their herd's value, and these costs are passed on to the consumer (Aldrich, 1). Luckily, however, an increase in grass growth is making up the difference, for now at least (Aldrich, 2). Other agricultural issues are not fixed so easily.

Farmland around the country has diminished by 16.9 million acres between 2002 and 2007 (House, 5). This is going to have a direct impact on the cost and even the availability of food in the supermarkets in the near future. At the same time, more and more small farms are springing up (House, 2). This suggests that more people are actually desiring a return to agriculture, possibly as a way of becoming more connected with the way we live. Farming is the most complete way to remind oneself how important agriculture is. Other reminders of this ever-present importance come less frequently, but have just as big an impact on our daily lives.