Any Baby Boomer who downed enough buttered popcorn would remember the scene from "Soylent Green." Edward G. Robinson reports to a processing center when he figures it's his time to go. While the drugs take effect, he is treated to a filmed, Technicolor-produced panoramic view of what life used to be like in the United States before all the nature preserves and farmlands were gone, all the seas were polluted, and the fresh air still blew over mountain tops. Beethoven's "Pastorale" supplies background music as Robinson emotionally takes in scenes of lush farmland and sheep grazing on hillsides, and Charleton Heston looks on in disbelief at what the world used to be like.

The Seventies sci-fi movie was truly a conversation piece at the time; no one wanted to give away the ending, remember? Fortunately for us, the events loosely predicted by the screenplay did not come to pass (It was a bit far-fetched). And for those naysayers who lament the disappearance of farmland due to urban housing and commercial development in these United States, statistics don't seem to bear them out.

The fact is, the amount of land used for growing crops today is virtually the same amount of land used for it 50 years ago, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. The statistics indicate that there were approximately 363 million acres of cropland used for crops in 1945, with 353 million acres currently in use for the same purpose in 1997. Although some of the farmland is urbanized each year, no threat seems to be posed to total cropland and agricultural production, according to the data.

Analysts point to new technologies providing phenomenally better yields for many crops, dramatically increasing food production. For instance, American farmers now yield nearly twice the number of bushels per acre of corn now as compared to 1964, even with government subsidies continuing to pay farmers to leave some of their land idle.

American land use has changed significantly within the second half of the twentieth century, to be sure. Fewer animals graze than ever before, while land set aside for our recreational pleasure and wildlife preserves has quadrupled. The fact is, however, the area set aside for these purposes far exceeds urban-use land, with only about 3% of land in the lower 48 states being used for urban or developed land, according to the research.

Builders would wish to point out that farmland preservation should not be used as an excuse to stop the growth of housing, since statistics bear out that urbanization is threatening neither farmland nor food supplies. No-growth advocates are beginning to realize that where development is arrested in one area, it will resurface in another, pretty much like squeezing a closed tube of toothpaste. It can be said that these advocates may be partly responsible for the inconsistent and unattractive patterns that now exist in some areas, while they ignore input from the very individuals whose lives may be affected by their efforts.

Effective land planning does not benefit from political rhetoric; rather it benefits from round table discussions seeking common ground, since the needs of each community is different. Only then can a true consensus emerge, lending both logic and compromise to farmers, builders, environmentalists, and the American public.

It may be true that land uses are shifting, but chances are that the patchwork quilt of American scenery will not change significantly in the years to come, falling well short of fulfilling sci-fi prophecies and Hollywood visions of our demise.

Published: March 29, 2000

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Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Dena Kouremetis only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.

A veteran of the real estate and homebuilding industries since 1986, Dena Kouremetis first joined Realty Times as a new homes writer in 1998. Since then, she has authored four books, written consumer columns on new homes issues for websites and newspapers all across the country, contributed to builder trade magazines, appeared as a guest expert on several radio shows and even created a ten-chapter podcast for LendingTree.com’s homebuilder website, iNest.com, now available on iTunes, entitled Uncharted Waters; Navigating the Purchase of a New Production Home. Kouremetis recently joined her local Folsom, CA Coldwell Banker office as a broker associate while continuing to write for the real estate industry. For the past three years, she has been training real estate agents for both the resale and new homes industries, putting her experience, research expertise and gift of expression to work to help others entering the business.