What Was The Impact Of Industrialization On American Agriculture

The Impact of Industrialization and Characterization of Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

Over six decades ago, Americans were farmers who lived in the rural community in which they produced crops and raised animals. However, most of the work done by human and animal labor. Yet, people survived since men hunted for animals and women gathered plants. During the industrialization of agriculture, most of Americans farmland made up of domesticated animals, chemically intensive food production, single crop farms and animal production facilities. Thus, intensive subsistence agriculture defined as a form of subsistence agriculture in which farmers must expend a relatively large amount of effort to produce the maximum feasible yield from a parcel

since working under hazardous and unpleasant conditions. Nonetheless, the utmost farm workers do not possess an adequate health care coverage or fringe benefits. Still, a growing dependence on migrant farm workers, also, creates cultural and political conflicts; yet, the times when decent paying jobs are few; therefore, the independent farmers generally forced out of business to generate room for further corporate consolidation. Furthermore, rural communities in agricultural areas suffered decades of economic and social decline and decay (Ikerd, J. para.

Thus, the small percent of farmers in the United States and Canada produces enough food for themselves and the rest of the region but, also, a surplus to feed elsewhere. Thus far, the number of farmers has declined in the developed countries during the twentieth century. Nevertheless, the United States had 60% fewer farms and 85% fewer farmers 2000 than 1900. Still, the number of farms in the United States declined from about 6 million farms in 1940, 4 million in 1960, and 2 million in 1980. Furthermore, both push and pull migration factors have been responsible for the decline, since people pushed away from farms by lack of opportunity to earn a decent income, and at the same time they pulled to higher paying jobs in urban areas (Rubenstein