Farmland vs Urban Development?

Question

Should farmland be preserved or should the government allow these areas to be used for industrial or residential development?

Answer 1

Heres the deal. The population of the United States just reached 300 million, but the average american farmer produces enough to feed 128 people. Bioengineered varieties,such as roundup ready, and bollgard allow growers to produce higher yields with less ground. The problem with developing isn't that it is just taking farm ground; the problem is that the ground that is is best suited for crop production is also what is best suited for development. We can not build realistically on flood plaines, and growers can not use this ground either unless they are rice farmers. Also soils that have water standing on them tend to be infertile and impermable. The midwest, and the south are probably the largest agricultural producers in the nation due to climate, and are probably better suited for agricultural production. These areas comparatively are less developed than the west(California)and northeast. We may already have most of this problem figured out.

Answer 2

In our system the higher dollar productivity of the two options will prevail.  This essentially means that imports of food will continue to increase until farming of the land is more productive, dollarwise, than urbanization.

     Unfortunately, once the land becomes urbanized, it will likely stay so.  I vote for recognizing this problem now, but it's likely that it will remain a 'growing' conundrum for any administration for as long a time as imports in sufficient quantity are available.

Answer 3

the unfortunate thing about farm land is its general location, and it proximity to the cities. we do need to maintain as much farmland as possible. this is going to take come compromise though, such as moving the farms further from the cities, and perhaps limit growth in rural areas. unfortunately this isnt always possible, and we must be responsible with any laws we make to preserve farmland.

Answer 4

preserved. where will future children ever see any kind of farm or animals when everything is gone. how will poor ppl eat?

Answer 5

Urban development, or Suburban development?

The thing is, we don't need to expand onto farmland. We need to stop sprawl, and re-urbanize.Yes farmland should be preserved, and so should wilderness. If land is going to become urbanized, it should be land that is already developed, but in an inefficient way, in other words, the suburbs.