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| The Arizona Cattlemen's Association Industry News - The ACA Responds to Arizona Republic "PEW Report" Article | |||||||||||||
| Letter to the Editor - Arizona Republic - May 6, 2008 PHOENIX, AZ, May 6, 2008 –-- Dear Editor: Linda Valdez's opinion piece about modern farm practices was cute but it didn't dig into the challenges modern farmers face in trying to feed an ever increasing population while reducing world hunger with our bountiful harvest. Even the movie "Thunderdome" provided a more comprehensive view of a civilization trying to survive by harvesting animals for food and utilizing their by-products for energy. Using the Land of Oz and Dorothy as a backdrop was creative but she forgot the curtain and the wizard. As we all know the storyline was moving along fine until everyone saw the curtain pulled back and the great wizard turned out to be the shallow man. Kind of like the Pew Report she referenced. Casting modern food producers as villains only fits the "Hollywood" scenario so I guess it was fitting. However, in the real world crop failures, animal disease, increasing energy prices, and drought require Arizona's food producers to be innovative, flexible, and industrious. Balancing natural resources with animal production is no easy feat. Producing food for Dorothy's Kansas might have been achievable with Uncle Henry's farm. However, today's Kansas with twenty times the population needs Uncle Henry's farm with decades of research, innovation, and enhanced efficiencies. But wait--there's another story here. It could be... what –-- the modern newspaper industry –chased out the little newspapers, used more and more ink with harmful chemicals polluting our environment, destroyed millions of trees, and filled our landfills with wastes. Thankfully the internet came along and all the ills were cured. The next great breakthrough -- the day that a grocery store can send me my steak over broadband. Sincerely, |
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