ABSTRACT
“We're growing happiness.” There might have been a smile on his face when he said it but I did not doubt his seriousness. It was the summer of 2011 and I was talking with a longtime friend who raises corn and soybeans. We were discussing rising commodity prices— particularly corn—and I was mentioning how volatile agrifood markets were weighing on human welfare around the world. It was at this point in the conversation when my friend said those words. Later he clarified his statement, telling me that the commodities he raises contribute directly to feeding people which ultimately makes them better off. “So the more I can grow the more happiness I generate,” he proudly explained. In just a couple of sentences, this individual vocalized a widely embraced, though rarely articulated—at least not with such bluntness—assumption of current agrifood policy: that the lot of humanity will naturally improve with enhanced agricultural output. This chapter places that assumption under empirical scrutiny.
