MSU Study Reveals $91B Spent In Food Industry
LANSING (WWJ) - It's an industry that isn't known to make news in our state, but a Michigan State University study said the food industry is responsible for $91 billion in annual economic activity and nearly 1 million state jobs.
Chris Peterson, the director of MSU Product Center-Food Ag Bio authored the study and said those jobs come in all different forms.
"The inputs that goes into farming through all the stages of processing through food manufacturing, distribution, and all the way out to the retail end of grocery stores, restaurants and other forms of food service," said Peterson
Peterson said the growing demand for food is being spurned by a growing expansion of the middle class in India and China and other middle-income countries.
According to the report, Michigan has more than 73,000 full-time farmers and farm workers. That's 12 percent of 618,000 direct jobs in Michigan's food and agriculture business sector. Food and agriculture account for 22 percent of all jobs in Michigan when direct, indirect and induced jobs are considered.
The total jobs line showed a downturn overall from 2004 to 2010 with most job losses coming from food wholesale and retail. Jobs in food processing and agricultural production rose more than 6 percent in the same time period.
"It's not surprising that there were job losses in the service sector," Peterson said. "Fewer people are eating out, which leads to fewer waitstaff, cooks, restaurant hosts, etc. However, we're seeing the numbers of new jobs created in food processing plants and on farm continue to increase."
The most recent number shows that the food and agriculture system is on a consistent growth trend.
That's a surprise to Bill Knudson, product marketing economist with the MSU Product Center and the study's lead technician.
"Unlike manufactured goods and tourism, food is a necessity, so we knew this sector had the potential to fare better than other industries in an economic downturn," Knudson said. "But even we were surprised to see the size of the increase despite the global recession."
The full report is available at www.productcenter.msu.edu.
