It's been about a decade since the last financial crisis, yet this industry has never been bigger. Legislation that was meant to better regulate its largest players has hurt its smaller ones, resulting in most of the industry's assets to be controlled by the top one percent. They've become too big to fail. I'm not referring to big banks, but the world of Big Agriculture.
距离上次金融危机已经过去了10年, 然而,这个行业的规模 却没有丝毫增长。 旨在更好监管最大参与者的立法 反而伤害了较小的参与者, 导致行业的大部分资产都 被前1%的公司控制。 它们的规模太大了, 倒闭几乎是不可能的事。 我所指的不是大银行, 而是大农业世界。
As a public health practitioner who has worked with small-scale farmers in Rwanda and now as a small food business owner who sits at the intersection between our consumers and producers, I've been exposed to one of the most ecologically and economically intensive industries in the world, and throughout my work, I've witnessed a chilling irony. Our farmers, who feed our communities, cannot afford the very foods they grow. Today, a handful of corporations continue to consolidate the entire food supply chain, from the intellectual property of seeds to produce and livestock all the way to the financial institutions who lend to these farmers. And the recent results have been rising bankruptcies for family farms and little control for those who are just trying to survive in the industry. Left unchecked, we will head into another economic collapse, one very similar to the farm crisis of the 1980s, when commodity market prices crashed, interest rates doubled, and many farmers lost everything.
作为一名曾与卢旺达 的小农户共事 的公共卫生从业人员, 并且现在作为一名处于 消费者和生产者之间的十字路 的小型食品企业所有者, 我接触的是世界上 最生态密集和经济密集的行业之一。 在工作中, 我目睹了一个让人 不寒而栗的讽刺现实。 我们的农民,养活我们社区的人, 买不起他们自己种植的食物。 今天,一些公司持续地吞并 整个食物供应链, 从生产种子的知识产权到牲畜, 一直到为这些农民提供贷款的金融机构。 最近我们可以看到的所导致 的结果是,越来越多的家庭农场破产, 而那些只想在这个行业生存下去 的人对一切则几乎没有控制力。 如果任其发展,我们将面临 跟1980年的农业危机很相似的 另一场经济崩溃。 当商品市场价格暴跌时, 利率翻倍, 很多农民失去了他们的一切 。
Fortunately, there's a very simple, three-part solution you can be part of right now to help us transform our food industry from the bottom up.
幸运的是,这里有个非常简单 的三步的解决方案, 你现在就可以参与进来, 帮助我们从底层向上 改革我们的食品工业。
Step one: shop at your local farmers markets.
第一步:在本地农贸市场购物。
Buying from your local market and subscribing to a community-supported agricultural produce box, better known as a CSA, may be the single greatest purchasing decision you can make as a consumer today. Last year, American farmers made the least they have in almost three decades, because they now own fewer parts of the supply chain than ever before. Under exclusive contracts with Big Ag and big box stores, farmers are not offered a fair price for their goods. In fact, the average farmer in America makes less than 15 cents of every dollar on a product that you purchase at a store. On the other hand, farmers who sell their goods at a farmers market take home closer to 90 cents of every dollar. But beyond taking home a larger share, farmers use markets as an opportunity to cultivate the next generation of agriculturalists who shepherd our farmlands and our pastures. In our fight against climate change, we need them now more than ever to promote and preserve diverse land use.
从本地市场购买农产品 并订购社区支农箱 ——更广为人知地被叫做CSA, 也许是作为今天的消费者的你能做的 最大的一个购买决定。 去年,美国农民的收入是 近三十年来最低的, 因为他们现在拥有的供应链环节 比过去少多了。 在与大公司和超级卖场签订的独家合同中, 农民的商品无法得到公平的价格。 事实上,美国农民平均只能 从你在商店购买的1美元产品中 赚得不到15美分。 但是,在农贸市场卖掉他们商品的农民, 能在每1美元中带回家90美分。 但除了带回家更高比例的钱外, 农民可以利用农贸市场 作为一个培养下一代 负责管理我们农田 和牧场的务农者的机会。 在我们与气候变化的对抗中, 我们远比过去更需要他们, 以促进和保持多样化的土地使用。
When multigenerational farms are lost to Big Ag consolidation, our communities suffer in countless ways. Rural America has now jumped above the national average in violent crime. Three out four farmworkers surveyed have been directly impacted by our opioid epidemic. Now oftentimes disguised as accidents, farmer suicide is now on the rise.
当聚居型农场被大型农业合并取代时, 我们的社区遭受了无数的苦难。 美国农村的暴力犯罪已经 超过全国平均水平。 接受调查的农场工人中有3/4直接受到 阿片类药物流行的影响。 现在经常被伪装成事故 的农民自杀案件 数量正在上升。
Step two: shop at your local farmers markets.
第二步:在本地农贸市场购物。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Produce from a large retail store is harvested before it's ripe to travel more than a thousand miles before it ultimately sits on your shelf roughly two weeks later. Alternatively, because most farmers markets have proximity and production requirements, farmers travel less than 50 miles to offer you local produce with minimal packaging waste. With the advent of online grocers and trending meal kits, consumers are increasingly disconnected with their farmers and the economics of food production. Since the rise of the smartphone revolution, direct-to-consumer goods have stagnated.
为大型零售商店生产的产品都 是在成熟前就已经被收割, 整个运输距离超过1千多英里, 他们大概需要两周 才能到达你面前的货物架上。 反观,因为大部分农贸市场 都有邻近性和生产需求, 农民只需要走不到50英里, 就可以在产生最少包装废物的情况下 为你提供本地出产的农产品。 随着在线杂货店和流行餐包的出现, 消费者越来越与 农民和粮食生产经济脱节。 自从智能手机革命兴起后, 直接面向消费者的商品已经停滞。
While local and sustainable foods have been trending for almost a decade, terms like "healthy" and "natural" have no legal framework in the United States. Your best bet for fresh, nutrient-rich foods without the marketing jargon? Go to your farmers market. Buying local is not a new idea, but turning it into a habit in today's world still is. If we want to avoid the high costs of cheap food, protect our environment, rebuild our communities and save our farmers -- literally -- we're going to need to vote with our food purchases. The success of our food systems is directly attached to us. If we want to break up Big Ag's hold on our food supply chain, then we're going to need to connect with our farmers. We're going to need to rebuild relationships with the hands that feed us three times a day. Plus, two more for snacks. Come on.
虽然本地的和可持续的食品 已经流行了近10年, 但是像“健康”和“天然”这样的词 在美国没有法律框架。 你最好的选择当然是真正 新鲜,营养丰富的食物, 而不仅仅是这样的营销术语吧? 那么,去农贸市场购物吧。 在本地农贸市场购买农产品 并不是个新主意, 但是,把它变成习惯 在今天仍然是新鲜的。 如果我们想要避免本应廉价 的食物变得成本高昂, 保护我们的环境, 重建我们的社区, 并拯救我们的农民吧——不夸张地说—— 我们得用我们自己的方式,也就是 购买食物,来出一份自己的力。 饮食系统成功与否跟我们息息相关。 如果我们想要打破农业巨头 对我们食物供应链的掌控, 那么我们就需要跟农民建立连接。 我们需要与为我们提供 一日三餐的双手重建联系, 再加上多的两份零食。 来吧。
With a government online database of more than 8,600 farmers markets across the country, you can easily find the nearest one to you. Just think of yourself as an investor in food, where your purchasing power helps create a more equitable society for everyone. Oh!
政府的在线数据显示 全国有8600个农贸市场, 你可以轻松找到离你最近的。 只需把你自己想成一个食品的投资者, 在那儿,你的购买力可以帮助创造 一个对每个人更平等的社会。 哦!
Almost forgot step three, which may surprise you: shop at your local farmers markets.
差点忘记第三步了。 这可能也会让你们惊讶: 在本地农贸市场购买。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause)
(鼓掌)