In the last 100 years the amount of farms rose to a peak of about eight million in the 1940s and now has fallen to about ¼ of that in the last 80 years. This is at the same level of farms we had in the 1850s when our population was 10x as small, so what is the reason? Well the ultimate reason is family farms hardly exist in the United States anymore, while massive corporations have consolidated as much as they can. Not only are these mega farms being protected by the government, but many of them are treating the crops and livestock in terrible conditions and running a monopoly on the food we eat.
The majority of people in the country can not afford to shop at organic markets or buy from small locally grown farms. In fact most people in the country aren’t eating enough fruits vegetables and produce that they should. With the amount of cheap artificially created junk out there, people are making the choice that makes the most sense on their wallet. Corporations that own mega farms need to compete with low prices, so they have turned to cutting costs anywhere they can, which includes offering you a worse and potentially harmful product.
Livestock farms lock the animals up like prisoners and give them no space to move or even defecate. Often the animals are treated so terribly that when they are slaughtered their meat suffers as well. In order to combat this, they are being pumped with growth hormones that many times long term extensive data is not available on, and create a Frankensteinesque monster. Fruits and vegetables get the same treatment and are treated with so many types of chemicals to make sure they don’t die, that the food we are eating hardly resembles the same foods of the past.
The mega farm corporations continue to buy up competitors and treat their product with no regard for those who purchase it, because they know they have a monopoly on the business. In addition the government subsidizes these massive farms to grow bigger and continue to push out terrible food. If you want to actually eat healthy food not grown on one of these mega farms, you have to go to specialty supermarkets and you pay the price for it. Supermarkets like Whole Foods may offer better alternatives, but at prices sometimes as high as 4x the amount you would pay elsewhere, it is hard to justify the purchase.
In addition to getting subsidies, the mega corporations also lobby lawmakers to continue to protect the low level food they are allowed to peddle. In many countries, importing meat products is illegal because of how low the quality is. First world countries will literally not feed the so call food we are peddling them because it is complete garbage. This should be very frightening if you have a family that you are raising and cooking for. The decline of the small farm has hurt the quality of the food in our country dramatically and while it may have increased the availability and lowered the price, the quality reflects that. Next time think twice about the food you are buying and where it actually comes from.
Thanks to @Elyaque for the badges