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. Ed Kail, chair of Town and Country Ministries at Saint Paul School of Theology, told participants the faith community has a crucial role to play in the current situation. The church must be ready to intervene and respond to the devastation of communities caused by the rapid integration and concentration of economic power within the American food system.