Currently there are between 300,000 and 500,000 farm operations in the United States which are producing most of the nation's food. Heffernan said many economists and major agribusinesses have determined that with advanced technology and larger operations, only 20,000 to 30,000 farms are needed to provide all the food supply for the world. Heffernan and others estimate that by the end of the next decade there may be only 20,000 to 30,000 farms in America. The number of acres farmed won't decrease, just the farm population. Family farmers will be forced to sell to larger operations or to work another job to make ends meet.
Big business controls the regulatory process.
The issue is not the structure of agriculture, the issue is food. Food is different from other economic issues, food is a necessity. Presently there is a two-week supply of food in any given metropolitan area. Less than seven percent of the food supply in metropolitan areas comes from within a 100 mile radius. Because of deregulation and food traveling across interstate lines, we can no longer assure the chemical content and purity of the food we get.