Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 10015 “Agriculture is not crop production as popular belief holds – it’s the production of food and fiber from the world’s land and waters. Without agriculture it is not possible to have a city, stock market, banks, university, church or army. Agricul- ture is the foundation of civilization and any stable economy.” – Allan Savory I. Food: On or Off the Radar Screen? W e all have a personal, intimate con- nection with food. We shop, we cook, some of us garden, and we all eat. We share this personal, intimate connection with every human being and all the animals on Planet Earth. We have access to food and water or we die. This creates what economists call an inelastic demand. In one sense, our demand for food and water is like our demand for oxygen. Our living systems demand food to survive and thrive. The importance of food can be seen in many different ways. A great deal of valuable land is dedicated to providing us with crops. A population of over 26 billion animals is being tended to provide us with meat. The oceans are continually harvested to provide us with fish. In most areas of the world, grocery stores and restaurants abound. Our daily lives dedicate a significant amount of time to accessing, prepar- ing, eating and digesting food. But for many of us, food is not really on the radar screen. We have come to take the avail- ability of food for granted. Workforce Prior to the industrial revolution, the major- ity of people on earth worked in agriculture and farming. In today’s world, a much higher percentage of the population is urbanized and a smaller number of people are involved in growing or raising food. The percentage of the population in the G-7 nations working in agri- culture ranges from 0.7% in the United States to 3.9% in Italy. In the emerging markets, this percentage is much higher: • Mexico: 13.4% • China: 33.6% • India: 49% If you live in the developed world, it is likely that you know more doctors, software developers, lawyers, electricians, plumbers or government officials than farmers. 1/29/17, 5:06 PM Share of the Labor Force Working in Agriculture: 1300-2012 – The Solari Report Page 2 of 3 http://food.solariiceland.com/?p=855 Present Day Agricultural Labor Force Country Agricultural Labor Force (% of Workforce) Australia (2009 est.) 3.6% Brazil (2011 est.) 15.7% Canada (2006 est.) 2.0% China (2012 est.) 33.6% France (2013 est.) 3.0% Germany (2011 est.) 1.6% India (2012 est.) 49.0% Italy (2011 est.) 3.9% Japan (2015 est.) 2.9% Mexico (2011 est.) 13.4% New Zealand (2006 est.) 7.0% Russia (2014 est.) 9.4% South Africa (2014 est.) 4.0% United Kingdom (2014 est.) 1.3% United States (2009 est.) 0.7% Source: CIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2048.html) 1 1 Present Day Agricultural Labor Force Share of the Labor Force Working in Agriculture: 1300-2012 Source: 1 CIA World Factbook