Americans Enjoy World's Most Affordable Food Supply

Ken Moore

   Though the Christmas holidays of 2001 are now a memory, spring flowers are blooming and Easter will soon be here. Once again, families will come together to celebrate and give thanks for our many blessings.
   Many of those celebrations will take place around dinner tables containing an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. As these meals are enjoyed, it should be remembered that we in America live in the country which continues to produce the world's most nutritious, abundant and affordable food supply.
   While food prices have increased over time in line with the nation's growing economy and our wage-earning ability, the amount these food costs take out of the average consumer dollar continues to decrease.
   "In 1961, food accounted for about 16.9 percent of a family's disposable income," says Terry Francl, Senior Economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation.
   (Disposable income being that portion available for spending or saving).
   "Today that is closer to 10.2 percent and that's due primarily to the superior efficiency of this country's food production and distribution system."
   Francl says it's because of annual improvements throughout the food chain, from the farm, to the processor , then to the consumer.
   "There's no question we are producing food more efficiently and that's making it less and less burdensome on our pocketbooks.
   "Interestingly, over the same 40 year period we haven't seen much change in the percentage of income spent on food away from home, increasing only from 3.5 to 4 percent," says Francl.
   What has changed rather dramatically is the amount spent on food prepared and consumed in the home, down from 13.5 percent in '61 to around 6.5 percent today.
   "In all of this though," Francl says, "the farmer's share of the food dollar has dropped rather drastically.
   "Go back to '61 again, his share was around 39 percent and stayed there until the late '70's.
   "Now it's down to about 20 percent, so even though the cost of food, relative to the economy, has increased, those who produce it aren't benefiting as much as they used to from that growth."
   To promote and remind consumers just how affordable our food supply is the American Farm Bureau established a national annual observance known as "Food Check-Out Day."
   Created in 1996, Food Check-Out Day gives Farm Bureau women an opportunity to inform shoppers at local supermarkets that it now takes, on average, only 40 days for most consumers to earn enough disposable income to pay off their food bill for an entire year (as determined by USDA's Economic Research Service).
   This year, FCOD was commemorated on February 8, one day later than last year.
   "We contrast this with Tax Freedom Day which usually occurs the first week in May to bring it home to consumers that it takes three months longer for them to pay off their annual tax burden than it does to pay for their food bill," says Bonnie Anderson, chairman of Farm Bureau-Arkansas' state
   women's committee.
   To bring this point home even further, consider that in 1930 it took 91 days to earn enough disposable income to pay off the food bill. That dropped to 64 days in 1960 and continues to decline. Not only is our food the most inexpensive in the world, farmers and processors continue to adapt to new technology and have made great strides to ensure it remains the safest and most nutritional.
   "It starts in the field," says Luke Howard, Associate Professor in the University of Arkansas' Food Science department and specialist with the U of A Cooperative Extension Service.
   "We now have training programs to identify potential hazards in growing produce to ensure we are using good quality water that's not contaminated with human or animal pathogens," Howard says.
   Technology is also contributing to the safety of our food supply. Howard notes there's a lot more automation involved in the harvesting, transportation and post-harvest handling and storage of fresh produce.
   "You eliminate the human element in the handling, sorting and storage of fruits and vegetables and you increase the ability to deliver a quality product to the consumer," he says.
   "Anytime you damage produce you have an avenue through which pathogenic micro-organisms can enter the product causing contamination."
   A product which was developed in Little Rock at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is now available for food processors which utilizes the compound cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC)to destroy pathogens or bacteria on poultry.
   "They've had very good results showing it can be used to kill quite a few pathogenic organisms on produce as well," Howard says.
   "But it takes a whole systems approach that will describe the hazards in the field to prevent our food from being contaminated."
   Howard works closely with food processors such as Allen Canning Co. and Gerber. He says major strides have been made through plant breeding and technology.
   "Breeders here have developed new fruit and vegetable cultivars that have better insect and disease resistance," he says.
   "From a nutritional standpoint they have better color and contain compounds that may be more beneficial in terms of preventing chronic illnesses such as coronary heart disease and various types of cancer."
   For more than 30 years Fran Burcham closely observed and judged the quality of food in Arkansas. As the former director of the Arkansas State Fair Association's arts and crafts division, she was responsible for overseeing the food preservation and baking competitions.
   Prior to that she worked 17 years in the dairy industry in food education. Burcham says that while more of us are eating out or having meals delivered to us to accommodate our busy lifestyles, she sees a growth in the number of young boys and girls who are learning how to prepare quality, nutritious food.
   "We have a variety of people in our culture today," says Burcham. "Some who'd never think of cooking, others who cook as a hobby and are very nutrition-conscious, and then there are your gourmet cooks.
   "I don't think it's all lost with the younger generation.
   "There are many who are still interested in home cooking and it shows up here in our competitions."
   Burcham says the quality and safety of our food has improved over the years due in part to an ever improving inspection system.
   "We are now able to detect and eliminate from the food chain contaminated fruits and vegetables much more effectively than in the past, especially food that is imported from other countries.
   "That should allow us to feel much more confident about the quality of our food supply."
   She adds that if you ever have the opportunity to travel and purchase food outside the U.S. you will soon realize just how fortunate we really are.
   So, when you and your family begin to enjoy your next meal, offer up a word of thanks for those who work tirelessly to grow, process and deliver healthy, inexpensive food to your table.