Suggested Beginning Articles
Introduction
This report was designed
to survey the underlying issues associated with retail cost of industrialized
tomatoes and locally grown tomatoes and to form a general basis of understanding
behind retail prices. The researcher hypothesized that the locally and
organically grown tomato would be an overall better choice when considering the
underlying factors, but felt that because of higher prices in organic produce,
the consumer would be more apt to purchase the cheaper, industrialized tomato.
As consumers, we are paying a flat retail price for tomatoes when we go to the
grocery store. However, we must reexamine the hidden social, environmental, and
monetary costs behind these prices.
Methods
The
Edgewood College library was used to compile a foundation of background
knowledge in industrialized and localized farming. The author used preexisting
reports and research to exemplify labor wages and transportation trends by
consulting via email with John Hendrickson, of UW Madison Center for Integrated
Agriculture Systems Director, who suggest many of the reports and research. The
author simulated a comparative example of carbon dioxide emissions by using
MapQuest and research on emission rates. When comparing the cost-production of
tomatoes on industrially grown farms and small-scale farms, the author again
consulted via email with John Hendrickson, Doug Wubben, Project Coordinator of
WI Homegrown Lunch Program, and Richard Snyder, Professor and Vegetable
Specialist at Mississippi State University. The author also distributed a
“taste test” of industrially grown tomatoes and organically grown tomatoes, and
a survey to the Natural Science class at Edgewood College during the lecture
period on March 17th, 2005. Further, the author did a telephone
interview with Jeff Skalicky, owner of Hydroboy Tomatoes in Avon, Minnesota.
Research information from various reports and interviews provided a basis of
knowledge about the underlying factors that the researcher was investigating;
further, the researcher used the survey and taste test to explore consumer
opinions regarding the hypothesis.
The first set of data that was collected and analyzed in respect to the social costs of tomato farming was the comparison of labor wages. The author collected the average agricultural labor wages from three states for the years of 2001 to 20043 (Fig. 1). The wages of laborers in Wisconsin illustrates a higher pay scale trend, whereas the wages of laborers in California and Florida, areas that largely market industrially grown tomatoes, have a significantly lower pay scale trend. Fig. 2 illustrates the wage comparisons of laborers on industrialized farms compared to local farms based on compiled averages per hour (Occupational Employment Statistics & Budget Reports). Jeff Skalicky, local vegetable grower and owner of Hydroboy Tomatoes in Avon, MN (see Appendix for interview), was asked how much he paid his laborers. He replied that “I pay them over seven dollars an hour, almost $8 per hour. That is higher than the typical wage so it’s not a good example.” Although this wage was not averaged in to the compiled wages for Fig. 2, Jeff Skalicky is an example of an owner that is more willing to pay his workers a higher wage; he has more leverage and tolerance than a large-scale industrialized company.
(Source: Occupational
Employment Statistics and Wages)
California
http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov
Florida
http://www.labormarketinfo.com
Wisconsin
http://www.worknet.com
Figure 2
(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics and
Wages & Budget Reports)
Strange, M. (2000). Sample Costs to Produce Fresh Market Tomatoes.
Budget for Greenhouse Tomatoes. Mississippi State University Extension Service.
http://msucares.com/crops/comhort/greenhouse.html
California
http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov
Florida
http://www.labormarketinfo.com
Wisconsin http://www.worknet.com
Pesticide Exposure
The data collected revealed farm labor to have significant health risks. Organic farming methods have lower levels of health risks, and pesticide exposure is not a hazard. The following data illustrates how pesticide exposure affects laborers in tomato or other agricultural farming industries, typically in industrialized farming methods.
-
950 million tons of pesticides are applied to farms
each year (Arcury & Quandt,
2003)
- 300,000 reports of pesticide exposures are reported each year (Oxendine, 1997)
In a study by
Arcury & Quandt (2003), the authors examined the homes and individual health of
laborers on industrialized farms. They found hazardous amounts of chemical
residues on the floors and living spaces in workers homes. Urine samples also
showed toxins in their systems, including in the children of laborers who had
had no direct contact with the pesticides.
A report by the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences found the following risks associated with
pesticide exposure in agricultural laborers.
-
Cancers: Increased risks of myeloma in stomach,
prostate, testes, mouth, pharynx,
lungs and liver than non-agricultural laborers in the United States.
- Spontaneous Abortion: Pesticide exposure in women in 5 of 7 studies found women to have 1.3 to 5.5 times greater rates of abortion than control groups.
- Stillbirth: Pesticide exposure in women of 4 out of 4 studies found women to have 2.2 to 5.7 times greater rates of stillbirths than the rest of the control groups.
- Limb Reduction: Children of agricultural workers had 3-14 times greater incidents of limb reduction than non-agricultural workers in the United States.
- Birth Defects: Children of pesticide applicators in Minnesota had an increased rate of birth defects than the rest of the country.
- Birth Rate: Children of pesticide applicators in Minnesota had half the normal birth rate in comparison of the rest of the country.
Fig. 3a illustrates how the distance of shipping produce within the United States has increased since 1996 (Pirog, 2001). In a study by Pirog (2003), tomatoes in the United States that were grown locally traveled approximately 60 miles to reach the destination, whereas industrialized-grown tomatoes traveled an average of 1,569 miles to reach the destination; overall, according to the same study, industrialized tomatoes traveled approximately 25 times further than locally grown tomatoes in the United States. Many shipments are received over the border as well. It was found that in 1998, 34% of tomatoes were imported from Mexico, constituting the longest distance of shipping (Pirog, 2002).
Figure 3a
Source: Pirog, 2001. “Food, Fuel, and Freeways”
The transportation fleet sector accounts for 30% of United States greenhouse gas emissions each year (Plotkin, 1999). Greenhouse gas emissions through the transportation of industrially grown and locally grown tomatoes proved to be much greater in the industrially grown tomatoes. Based on fuel usage information (Pirog, 2001) and information from a report at Iowa State University on emissions, the following hypothetical shipments were synthesized using MapQuest to illustrate this finding:
Starting Location:
Hanford, California
Destination:
Madison, Wisconsin
Transportation Method:
Semi truck
Total Carbon Dioxide
Emissions: 7797.6
pounds of CO2
Starting Location:
Avon, Minnesota
Destination:
St. Joe Farmer’s Market, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Transportation Method:
Light Truck
Total Carbon Dioxide
Emissions: 13.8
pounds of CO2
Figure 3b
Source: EPA
National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, April, 2001
MapQuest
The results of the analysis of environmental costs showed industrialized tomatoes to have a significantly larger impact on the environment through greenhouse emissions, specifically carbon dioxide, than locally grown tomatoes because of the increase in the distance of shipping and greater amounts of emissions by heavy trucks (semi trucks).
Cost and Production
Industrialized
tomato farms in California supply 45% of world processed tomato products, with a
handful of processors owning many processing plants (California League of Food
Processors, 2005). A typical industrialized tomato farm, such as those that are
contracted for Campell Soup, Del Monte, and H.J. Heinz, will average 50 acres or
less per facility (Hartz, 2000; Diver, Kuepper & Born, 1999). In industrialized
farming methods, each harvest of tomatoes can produce 19,000 to 25,000 pounds of
tomatoes per acre, or 650-850 boxes weighing 30 pounds each (Diver, Kuepper &
Born, 1999). Locally grown tomatoes are derived from farms generally allotting
5/100 an acre to tomato production (Hood, 2005), although Jeff Skalicky owns
about half an acre, which is larger than average (Skalicky, Interview, March 18th,
2005).
In a
comparison of cost production between industrialized tomatoes and locally grown,
the researcher compiled averages for each of the two types of industry based on
collected reports and budgets. Industrialized tomatoes were found to have an
average production cost of $4085 per acre (Diver, Kuepper & Born, 1999;
Agricultural Research Service, 2000; McCraw, Motes & Schatzer). Locally grown
cost about $3912 per acre to produce, though rarely is an entire acre used in
local farming practices (New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, 1996;
Estes, Kleese & Lauffer, 2003). The Center for Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Education (SARE) sites that “Production costs tend to be lower in
established organic systems because of reduced input costs. One exception to
this, perhaps, is labor. Organic farming systems are often more labor intensive
because of increased time spent managing weeds and monitoring pests.”
Information from SARE is accurate with the compiled research, supporting that
organic farming is less expensive, but only marginally so.
Source: 5/17/05 survey results.7
Figure 5
Source: 5/17/05 survey results.7
Summary
1. Labor wages were significantly lower in the industrialized farming methods in comparison to localized farming methods.
2. Health hazards were significantly higher in industrialized, non-organic farming methods.
3. Carbon dioxide emissions were significantly higher in semi truck transportation in comparison to localized, light truck transportation of produce.
4. Cost production was similar between industrialized farming methods and localized farming methods.
5. The taste test results favored the organic tomato, and students overwhelmingly stated they would be willing to pay more for the better tasting choice (the organic).
Conclusions
The issues addressed in this study affect watershed health. In support of the hypothesis, the report illustrates that choosing locally, organically grown tomatoes will have less of a harmful impact on the environment (through pesticides and greenhouse gas emissions from transportation) and on human health (water toxicity from run off and laborer exposure). Information gathered from the survey, however, negated the original hypothesis, that consumers would not be willing to pay more.
Overall, our choices affect watersheds on a much more global scale, other than our own. If we are purchasing industrially grown tomatoes, we must consider the costs to the environment and health costs to laborers, no matter the distance from our own community. There are many factors behind the retail “prices” of tomatoes, both industrially and locally grown, that have not been addressed in this report which prove the underlying costs of tomatoes to be deeper than price tags at the store.