美国农业可能面临供给不足

美国可能面临很快面临一个因粮食显著减产而引发的粮食危机 

U.S. agriculture industry fears food supply shortage

Sat Aug 24, 2013 6:43AM GMT

The U-S agricultural industry is bracing for a possible disaster in food production. Harsher immigration laws are forcing more farms to make sure workers are in the country legally. But experts say eliminating undocumented workers would cost billions of dollars in losses and devastate the nation’s food supply.

America could soon be facing a food crisis because of a significant drop-off in agriculture. Throughout the recession, the country’s agricultural industry has remained one of the few economic bright spots. American agriculture brought in 115 billion dollars last year, up from 85 billion dollars five years ago. And the majority of that money comes from farms in California.

California is considered America’s fruit and vegetable basket. In fact, the state provides nearly 50 percent of all the fruits, vegetables and nuts grown in the United States. But producers are fearing that California could soon see a severe cutback in production. Labor experts say harsher immigration policies would leave no one to work the fields. 

Farm workers from across the state are fighting to protect their way of life. They say rampant deportations have made them afraid to come to work. Labor experts say the climate of fear is the result of America’s broken immigration system. 

A report from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office shows that losing the immigrant workforce would cost more than 3 billion dollars in production losses. The loss would make finding food more difficult for low-income and minority populations. This would add to the more than 29 million Americans who already have no immediate access to food. 

Experts say the best hope to stop an agricultural catastrophe is to overhaul U.S. immigration policies. They say qualified farm workers should be given an expedited path to citizenship to keep production levels rising. 

Workers say they want U.S. lawmakers to take immediate action on immigration reform. They say it would help stabilize the industry and provide a fair system for producers and workers.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/24/320217/us-agriculture-industry-fears-food-supply-shortage/