"Outbreak of Fungus Threatens Tomato Crop"

Moskin, Julia. "Outbreak of Fungus Threatens Tomato Crop." New York Times 17 Jul. 2009:
A16.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/nyregion/18tomatoes.html?_r=1&hpw

The tomato plant is in serious danger right now as reported by the New York Times. A very contagious fungus has spread to the states of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. It is said that the weather will now serve as the deciding factor in whether these tomato plants will survive or succumb to their death. A strain of this same fungus happens to be identical to one that caused the Irish potato famine. William Fry, a professor of plant pathology at Cornell has said, "I've never seen this on such a wide scale." While a box of locally grown tomatoes usually sells for about $20, farmers are now talking about selling them for $40 a box. The experts are not sure of the source of the fungus and some believe that there could be multiple epidemics. Experts have also said that hot, sunny weather could slow or eliminate this fungus over the next couple of weeks. Now it is just a waiting game for farmers to see if the weather cooperates.

Agriculture a critical sector of the economy throughout the world and especially in the United States. Agriculture has evolved into a close partnership with the economy. This fungus that is plaguing the tomatoes on the east coast surely will affect the rest of the country significantly, Agricultural problems are nothing new to the world, as was indicated with the Irish potato famine. If the the tomatoes do become seriously infected it will start the slippery slope. First, farmers won't be able to produce enough healthy tomatoes. Second, farmers will have to charge much higher prices to make up for the lack of tomatoes. Third, consumers will not purchase as many, if any tomatoes as a result of the dramatic increase in price. This cycle demonstrates the interconnectedness that agriculture has with the economy.