Reliance on expensive machinery has created rural poverty and put most farmers into debt. Excessive irrigation has turned huge areas of fertile land into salt pans, and is exhausting ground water supplied all over the world. The winners are the companies that control the whole process. So far we have been slow to to respond to these problems, not least because the majority of agricultural research is paid for by agrochemical and biotech companies who benefit from the current system. We need to make better use of the renewable resources of organic fertilisers, labour, local knowledge and biodiversity if we are to sustain our food supplies.
Supermarkets are key to many of the problems with food production.
With their huge market share they can decide what we buy and what farmers grow in the interests of maintaining their own profits, and their centralised organisation is the main reason why our food travels so far. Supermarkets demand that farmers grow a small range of crops, selected for looks and shelf life before taste and nutrition. Farmers that cannot supply in large enough quantities are often driven out of business. Supermarkets can sometimes force prices so low that many farmers can't afford to harvest their crop. Much of what is harvested is destroyed or fed to animals because it isn't the right size or shape.