K. The negative impacts of the industrial system on farmers

This chapter addresses the negative impacts industrial agriculture has had on farmers. It has two sections: the first section focuses on the family farm and how it has been impacted and changed by the rise of larger farms, or agribusinesses, while the second section explicates how industrial farming affects farmers’ health.

Section one outlines the trends in family farming post World War II, and how the identity of agriculture in America has been changing drastically since then. In America during the past century, the number of farms has been decreasing, while the size of farms has increased. At the same time, product polarization has occurred, meaning the largest farms constitute a small percentage of total farms, but an increasingly large percentage of agricultural output. Through vertical integration and contracting, agribusiness has come to dominate the industry of agriculture in America. This first section also addresses the psychological impact the loss of the family farm has had on farmers, as well as the general impact the loss of the local farm has had on the rural community and market it once sustained.

The second section focuses on the physical health impacts the industrial system has had on farmers. Farmers are exposed to a wide variety of occupational health risks due to exposures to chemicals, pesticides, dusts, and toxic gases as well as injury risks from using heavy machinery. Farmers are often neglected when discussing the impact of industrial agriculture, and so it is important to analyze these problems to shed light on the risks farmers face. By analyzing studies based on farmer populations in the United States and Europe, we were able to establish how industrial agriculture impacts farmers. We found that farmers are at high risk for respiratory disorders, and are exposed to dangerous chemicals, such as pesticides, that can cause cancer, and these health risks come about as a direct result of industrial methods, such as the use of CAFOs.