Asia Foust
The Small and the Many Many people may think that the bigger the farming company is, the better they are. However, others think the bigger they are, the more damage they cause to the environment and the economy. There are so many different reasons for both of these opinions, but smaller farms are much more beneficial and practical than bigger, more elaborate, farms. As Bill McKibben says, “We’re moving, if we’re lucky, from the world of few and big to the world of small and many. We’ll either head there purposefully or we’ll be dragged kicking, but we’ve reached one of those moments when tides reverse” (McKibben). Smaller and more abundant farms are helpful because they can create more jobs, can yield more crops than bigger farms, are better for the environment, and they can produce healthier and fresher products to more people. The smaller farms are more abundant compared to the big industrial farms, which means the amount of transportation is less. This means that they do not have to use as much, or any, chemicals on their crops because the products will not be sitting around in boxes for as long as they do when they have to travel further. Bigger farms use chemicals to preserve the longevity of the crop and to terminate anything that would come in the way of the crop growing out its full capability. These chemicals are meant to kill things, and are potentially harmful to people if they are ingested in larger quantities. The lack of pesticides and preservatives guarantee fresher, more organic products.
Fewer diseases will be formed caused by the chemicals ingested. Even if there was an outbreak of a disease, it would not be as aggressive and less people would be affected since it would have come from a smaller farm that does not export their products to a large amount of people. Since there would be more farms, that means more workers would be needed to run it. The increase in jobs could help substantially boost the economy. Usually, in bigger farms, they use a lot of machinery and large vehicles instead of hiring workers and trying to help the economy. Since the farms are smaller, fewer or no machinery would be used. In its place would be hired workers who may be in need of money more than the owner of the company itself. “The awful truth is that we have created an economy that can’t afford people to do the work and so every year there are fewer meaningful jobs and more pretend jobs” (Logsdon).
Another benefit of having local jobs is that the income the workers make will help benefit the town itself. It could help build schools, sidewalks, parks, and homeless shelters in nearby areas. This doesn’t happen when the all the money is going to the industrial farms because the mostly only use it for more machinery and more livestock. “Farm resources must also generate wealth for the overall improvement of rural life -- including better housing, education, health services, transportation, local business diversification, and more recreational and cultural opportunities” (Rosset). In big industrial farms, they use the crops continuously. They do not replenish the soil by rotating the crops, which should be done to keep the soil in balance. Instead of doing this, they feed the soil using chemicals and a substantial amount of manure which contain growth hormones and antibiotics. Smaller farms are more efficient for the environment because they don’t use as much chemicals on their crops because the preservation of the produce is not needed as much due to the farms being so local. This means fewer toxins are emitted into the environment.
Transportation is also a big issue with bigger farms because they use so many different forms of it like cars, planes, and boats. Since the smaller farms would be more abundant, less transportation would be used. This means a lot less pollution and fresher air. Another benefit that smaller farms have is that the animals are fed naturally. Most animals at local farms can graze because there are less of them, so less food is needed and the effect on the land would not be as great. However, in bigger farms the food is bought because there are a larger number of animals to feed, so the cropland is forced to produce a very large amount of grain. Because of this, crop producers are growing grain very intensely which damages the soil and makes it lose its fertility.
Since there are so many animals in the larger farms, the waste is a big problem. It is all kept in open lagoons until it can be driven out, this produces lots of gases that contribute to global warming. There have been cases were the lagoons ended up leaking, and contaminating water supplies in the area, cause serious outbreaks of diseases. This could also affect other places that make food nearby. The areas near these bigger farms usually have complaints about odors, reporting headaches and burning eyes. Since the small farms have less animals, and therefore less waste, this is not as big of a problem. In bigger farms, diseases can also be spread from animal to animal. To help with this, the farm may put chemicals in the animal’s food like antibiotics, which can force bacteria to develop some sort of resistance. The U.S. Center for Disease Control says that bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics are one of its biggest concerns because people infected by these organisms can have longer hospital stays and have a higher risk of death. Even with all of the benefits that come with being a smaller farm, there are some downsides to it. Factory farming can be positive because it may not be very practical to only have a bunch of small farms. There are billions of people in this world that need to be fed every single day, and the output of food from the smaller farms may not be enough. We may need the industrial strength the larger farms have to keep up with the high demand. If you live in a very densely populated city or in an area where there isn’t as much farmland, like New York City, then having a farm of any kind might be impossible. This is when bigger industrial farms are beneficial because they can just ship the products to stores, and the people who live there won’t have to make a big trip to the outskirts of town just to get produce.
Because of the bigger budgets of the factory farms, it can give them more opportunities to rewards the employees, whether it is with healthcare or other benefits. Smaller farms may only be able to pay their employees, without as much benefits. The fewer, smaller farms have much more benefits to the environment, whether be less pollution, or less strain on the land and workers themselves. They also have more economic benefits because of the increase in local jobs, which can help out nearby schools, churches, and parks. Overall, smaller more abundant farms are more efficient than bigger industrial farms. Right now, we need this transition to more economy-friendly farms because our economy is not at its best, and we need all the help we can get. We also need the environmental boost, since we are also having trouble with global warming, and that’s exactly what smaller farms give us.

Works Cited * "Agro Chemicals: Fertilizers Are Chemical Compounds Used to Promote Plant Growth." Ecochem.com. 27 Feb. 2011. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. * "Environment, Factory Farms Harm the Environment - The Issues - Sustainable Table." Sustainabletable. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. * Logsdon, Gene. "Small Farms Create More Jobs « The Contrary Farmer." The Contrary Farmer. 14 Sept. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. * M, Bill. “The Era of Small and Many | Orion Magazine.” Orion Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. * Rosset, Peter. "On the Benefits of Small Farms | Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy." Foodfirst.org. Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy, 8 Feb. 1999. Web. 02 Dec. 2011.