F.A. Farm

The reason we have relatively clean food processing plants (some say not clean enough) is the public furor created after publication of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair in 1906. The reason we have relatively humane prisons (some say not humane enough) is the public furor created after publication of The Star Rover by Jack London in 1915. Both these men were socialists and used their literary gifts for reform. Perhaps we need some more socialistic reform. [Disclaimer: I am not a socialist.] This is not likely to happen from the top down, even though many of the rightwing nutjobs are blasting Obama as a “socialist.” Any work done trying to “contribute according to your abilities and take according to your needs” is going to have to come from the ground up. How could this be accomplished? Here is one scenario.

Let’s use “potato” thinking. The staple food for Whatcom County that is easy to grow, well-suited to the climate, and calorie dense is the potato. If we were to provide a little land for someone to grow some food and then pay them for doing so, what would be a fair exchange? I suggest that a person should be able to grow enough calories for their yearly needs. At 2500 calories per person per day times 365 days, that calculates to 912,500 calories per year. Note that I am using 2500 calories per person, even though an adult female only needs 2000 per day on average. The higher number is used to be conservative in calculating energy needs and to build in a cushion. We also need to think in terms of thriving, not just surviving, so I feel a higher number for the overall population is warranted. Now, if we think in terms of potatoes, which have a calorie value of 351 per pound, we would then need to produce 2600 pounds of potatoes per year to provide the calorie value of what a person needs for a whole year. NOTE: I am not suggesting someone live just on potatoes. This is for calculation purposes. 

So, let’s postulate a bunch of us are willing to provide some funds to someone who is committed to grow 2600 pounds of potatoes. How much ground would he/she need and how much should we pay them? An internet search yields a standard of 3-4 million calories per acre for wheat but 6-8 million calories per acre for potatoes. On my own farm, I grew potatoes at a rate of 8.9 million calories per acre in 2009 with good weather conditions and 4.0 million calories per acre in 2010 under poor weather conditions. At the food bank farm I manage in Lynden, we grew potatoes at a rate of 14.2 million calories per acre in 2010. These varying amounts depend on the distance between rows, fertilization, and available labor, as well as weather in any given year. A good approximation for yield in a good year would likely be 7 million calories per year. If a person needs 912,500 calories per year, then a person could grow that amount of calories of potatoes on .13 acre or 5,678 square feet. This is a garden plot of 75 feet by 75 feet. 

So, how much should we pay a person to grow food on a 75 x 75 foot plot? We know, from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2010 that the average family spends 13% of its income for food. If we factor in a median income of $46,188 for Whatcom County, we can calculate a value of growing food for one person of $6,004 ($46,188 X .13 = $6,004). 

Now we have a value for someone’s labor to grow food for themselves. The ultimate question, however, is whether we are willing to give a person this much money to do this for us or for himself/herself. We can calculate the cost of taking care of each other, either using my model or some other model. That is not the problem. The question is whether we are willing to cough up the dough for our daily bread. If you have a good job, are you willing to share your wealth with those less fortunate? Are you willing to share your wealth with those who grow your food for you? The market is not doing it. The government is not doing it. Are we willing to do it for each other? Are you willing to pay a farmer $6,000 for growing enough food to feed you (whether it is potatoes or a mix of 60-80 items)? Simply going to a supermarket or a co-op is not getting the job done. There are not enough farmers growing food sustainably to even survive into the future. Unless farmers get more money for their food, we will never be able to generate enough farmers to feed ourselves, much less export to other countries. At some point we may have to pay people upfront to grow food. It would be smart to think on this now.