True or false?
USDA tests consumers' knowledge of agriculture

The United States Department of Agriculture has released statements to test consumers' knowledge of agriculture. Are these true or false?

1. Wheat is directly consumed by humans more than any other grain.

2. Globally, hunger is caused by a shortage of food.

3. Fresh, raw vegetables are always more nutritious than those cooked, canned or frozen.

4. The U.S. Agriculture Department has one employee for every U.S. farmer.

5. Less than one-half of 1 percent of the federal budget is spent on farm programs.

6. We are losing family farms because large, corporate farms are taking over American agriculture.

Answers:

1. True. Wheat is the grain most widely consumed by humans, even in China where some might assume rice is the No. 1 grain consumed. Wheat is the world's major cereal crop, accounting for 31 percent of the global cereal consumed directly by humans. Rice consumption is just 21 percent of direct human consumption, and dropping.

2. False. Hunger is due to economic, political and social reasons. The world produces enough food for everyone. Even Africa produces enough food to feed that continent. Poverty results in lack of access to that food.

Hunger also may be induced for political or social reasons, especially in war-torn areas of the world. Unfortunately, producing more food will not solve those problems.

3. False. While some fresh fruits and vegetables pack more of some nutrients than vegetables that are cooked or frozen, others have less. The public has been led to believe the greatest benefits are from fresh fruits and vegetables and that canned or frozen vegetables are inadequate. But in some cases, the cooking process breaks down cellulose and allows more nutrients to be available. In others, produce that is canned or frozen at its peak of freshness may pack as many or more nutrients as vegetables that have taken days to travel from the farm to the table. The best policy is to eat a mixture of foods.

4. False. Maybe you know the joke: "Have you heard about the USDA employee who lost his job? His farmer died." It might get a laugh, but it's a misconception. The fact is there are 2.13 million farms and about 109,830 USDA employees. That equals one USDA employee for every 20 farms, and those employees also administer food and nutrition programs, food safety programs that benefit everyone who eats, the National Forest System and dozens of other programs.

5. True. Today's federal budget equals nearly $3 trillion. The USDA budget is about $89 billion, or 3.2 percent of the entire federal budget. Of the USDA budget, only $12.4 billion goes to farm programs. The rest pays for things like nutrition, rural development, and conservation and natural resource programs.

Funding for farm programs is only 14 percent of the USDA budget and less than one-half of 1 percent of the federal budget. U.S. taxpayers spend just pennies per meal for programs that help ensure farmers can stay in business from one year to the next and produce Americans' foods in America.

6. False. Less than 1 percent of farms are non-family-owned, corporate farms, and family farms still produce the majority of the nation's food and fiber. Farms are becoming larger in order to spread costs and risks over more production, and family farms incorporate for the same reasons other businesses do -- for tax purposes or to protect the family home, for example. But they are still family-owned farms.