With lands already pushed to the limit and crop yields unable to keep up, panelists said they believe there will be less meat, but more pasta, beans and potatoes on American tables in the future. David Pimental of Cornell University said the U.S. will lose an additional 120 million acres of farmland to urban sprawl and erosion in the next 60 years while the population doubles. If those trends play themselves out, the U.S. will no longer be in a position to export food by the year 2025. The group will hold a press conference and rally at the company's annual meeting in Minneapolis this week. Land O'Lakes denies rBGH is an issue with its customers.
Consumers are much more savvy today than in the past.
Joe Julka, who farms near Malone, Wisconsin, said his experience has been pretty much as he expected. On the other hand, Steve Vandermeer, a Texas dairy farmer, said he stopped using rBGH when his cows reacted poorly during hot weather last summer. Monsanto continues to maintain that sales of its product Posilac are brisk. Meanwhile, reports indicate that the so-called Contract with America will hurt milk sales. The Republican promise to the American public would cede control of federal food and nutrition programs to the states.