A recent study by Illinois Farm Bureau revealed that most people in Illinois like Illinois farmers. The survey also revealed that most Illinoisans do not like the way Illinois farmers farm. This, in turn, begs the question, “How much do most folks in Illinois know about the way Illinois farmers farm?” The answer is that most people in Illinois know very little about what really happens on an Illinois farm. Most get their ideas about farming from films like Food Inc, or from the CBS Evening News, or from environmental, consumer, or animal rights activist groups. This information is deliberately distorted to fit the agenda of the organization. So, how do we in agriculture begin to talk with people about what agriculture is really like today? As I suggested in a recent column, we start by sharing our values. Despite the mountains of criticism leveled at modern agriculture, the truth is that we have the moral high ground. as well as ethical and humanitarian justification for the way we farm.

Jeff Simmons, head of Elanco Animal Health, has been quoted as saying, “If you cannot explain it on a cocktail napkin it is too complicated.” So, let’s leave out the detailed scientific explanations, Biblical rationale, and economic theories. Let’s start with the fact that every minute of every day new people are added to the world population and those people want to eat food. Add to this fact that the United States is one of the major food producers in the world. Thus, if we don’t produce, people won’t eat. Jay Vroom, president of Crop Life America, recently told the AgriBusiness Council of Indiana that an estimated 900 million people around the world go to bed hungry every night, “The next morning some of those people are not going to wake up because they died of hunger related issues.” As Mr. Vroom put it, “We cannot feed these people with slow, local and organic food.”

While there is nothing wrong with slow, local, and organic food production, the fact remains that we cannot feed the world with this kind of agriculture. It is going to take the kind of high-tech, high-intensity farming, which is practiced by most farmers in the U.S. Not only is the world’s population continuing to grow, the number of people entering the middle class is also on the rise. It has been estimated that, in India and China alone, 100,000 people a month move up into the middle class. This means they now have the financial means and the desire to improve their diets. It will require continued advancements in food production to keep pace with this demand.

This is really nothing new for American agriculture. Farmers have always adopted new technology to boost food production. In the 1930s, as people left the farm moved to the cities, farmers adapted mechanical power to take the place of human and horse power. In the 1950s, farmers used fertilizer and hybrid seed to increase production. By the 1970s, it was chemicals that boosted yields and increased food production. The 1990s saw biotechnology begin to dramatically increase production. Today, satellite and computer technology are helping us farm more effectively and efficiently. Simmons estimates that 70 percent of the increase in food production in the future will result from technology.

People do not need to understand the technology we use in modern agriculture, but they do need to understand why it is necessary.

Without continued advances in food production technology, the standard of living in the U.S. and most of the rest of the world will suffer. American agriculture has a moral obligation to continue to produce an abundant, safe, affordable, and accessible food supply both for our country and for the world.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.