Kitchen gardens: crunching the 2005 numbers
The new USDA data on home food production in the US is in and it ain't pretty. The value of home-produced foods as a percentage of the total value of foods produced dropped by 20% from 2004 to 2005 meaning that we have hit the lowest mark in US history. If you take into account the fact that the average mouthful of food travels over 1500 miles from field to fork in the US, it's accurate to say that Americans have never been farther removed from the making of their food as we are now.
Now for the good news: what we're doing collectively and individually in our yards, lots, allotments, plots, and aplotments (yes, I know it's not a word, but it should be) is more important than ever. So keep it up and be sure to show your neighbor what a truly local and red ripe tomato tastes like. That's the best argument we have for doing what we do.
|
YEAR |
(A) TOTAL FOOD SALES IN MILLIONS $ |
(B) VALUE OF HOME-GROWN FOODS IN MILLIONS $ |
(C) GRAND TOTAL OF A PLUS B |
VALUE OF HOME –PRODUCED FOODS AS % OF GRAND TOTAL |
|
1894 |
2,598 |
1,306 |
3,904 |
33.45% |
|
1904 |
4,857 |
1,771 |
6,628 |
26.72% |
|
1924 |
13,084 |
4,278 |
17,362 |
24.64% |
|
1944 |
20,067 |
5,010 |
25,077 |
19.98% |
|
1964 |
54,716 |
3,988 |
58,704 |
6.79% |
|
1984 |
222,847 |
8,610 |
231,457 |
3.72% |
|
2004 |
460,793 |
7,405 |
468,198 |
1.58% |
| 2005 | 520,319 | 6,667 | 526,987 | 1.26% |
