The Practicum Project 2013
Land Grabbing and Farm Swaps
“Land grabbing” – a recently created term used to describe the large-scale acquisition of land by foreign governments or industry—has been occurring globally at greater frequency and also in greater amounts. While the international land grabbing phenomenon has been discussed at length, not much attention has been paid to the land grabbing of American soils. The need for increased energy efficiency, sustainability, and independence has put pressure on those seeking alternative fuel sources from our lands. American farmland, which once produced commodities and food for human consumption, is now being swapped for shale gas exploration.
The following maps were created to help visualize this "farm swap" in Pennsylvania, which is a current hotbed of natural gas development and significant agricultural producer.