Environmental PSA: Diet and Agriculture

The following is a transcript from an aired PSA, produced by KCSB’s Production Coordinator.

A switch towards veganism and plant-based diets continues to grow in the U.S. In fact over the last 15 years, the number of people making the switch rose from 290,000 to 9.7 million. Although this helps combat environmental damage brought upon by the industrial animal agriculture industry, it is important to recognize the impact of crop farming within the agriculture industry at large.

Industrial agriculture remains a product of colonialism and white supremacy — with policies determining who has rights over land and the poor conditions faced by migrant farm workers. USDA census data reports that 96% of farm owner-operations in the U.S. are represented by white Americans, and 98% of income from farms are generated by white Americans. However, over 80% of farm laborers in the U.S. are Latinx. 

Another issue lies within Indigineous land rights. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that Indigenous people have the right to manage their land and its resources how they see fit. However, these rights are still infringed. When companies move into indigenous people’s lands, their communities and resources they depend on for their livelihood instantly become threatened. Reservation agricultural land is leased to non-Native American farmers under fair market value. These farms, however, generate billions of dollars that leave reservations rather than support them. 

In addition, terms like “organic” or “all-natural” are often used without much clarity. Large industrial agriculture companies often switch from animal-based to plant-based farming without changing a system that exploits marginalized communities and the environment. 

It thus becomes incredibly important to recognize the limitations of advocating for plant-based diets and combating the current industrial agricultural system. 

You can find more information on this topic at veggiemijas.com! This was a special PSA on the lack of sustainability within the current industrial agriculture model from your friends at 91.9 FM KCSB. 

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Sources:

https://www.veggiemijas.com/our-current-agricultural-system-is-not-sustainable

https://www.veggiemijas.com/the-history-of-food-justice

https://www.veggiemijas.com/covid-effects-on-farm-and-factory-workers

https://www.instagram.com/queerbrownvegan/?utm_medium=copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/thekoreanvegan/?utm_medium=copy_link