What is it worth?

Recently I got into a discussion on what things are worth. I had done some reading that said that farmers are now netting in revenue what they did roughly 40 years ago. In the meantime, everything has managed to make its way upwards in terms of producing food.
While not getting too deep into a philosophical discussion, I would like to discuss some merits worth thinking about. Let's compare apples to apples, so to speak. Or in other words, the cost of fuel versus the cost of food.
I am not an economist but I when I look at what is happening today with the cost of fuel, I shudder to think what the scenario would be if we treated our food the same way.
Simply, we have collected enough oil at this point to satisfy a demand, no matter where that demand may be. For example, politicians and people scream for the need to produce our own oil from our own land. In the meantime, people have cut back on fuel consumption by changing their cultural habits. Meanwhile the price of gas continues to rise. Why? Because the oil companies are shipping it elsewhere such as China and India where they are paying for it thereby giving the oil companies their nice profits.
Imagine for a second if farmers decided to do this. First, understand that farming today is different then just a generation or two ago. Corporations now produce our food with "farmers" used as management and overseers of the operation. Much in the same way as oil companies. So what would happen if those corporations decided to raise the price of food. People would react the same way - they would change their eating habits. And yet the price of food would continue to rise, maybe to the point where the lower classes of society would have trouble feeding themselves on a regular basis. Meanwhile food being produced on our soil could be shipped elsewhere to feed other people who are paying us a nice buck to do so. Should we be taking care of our own first?
I shuddered to imagine such a day but it is possible. My original point here is that we blame the cost of food on the cost of oil when in fact we don't have to. In agriculture there are so many ways to grow food to keep it reasonable for everyone to purchase. Yet, the person growing the food needs to make a living at it.
I recently saw a story in which a dairy farmer is listed as one of the worst jobs to have. Of course, they don't give you the whole story behind that. Yes, dairy farming is a 365 day, 24 hour job unless you have someone to relieve you for a break now and then. It is hard work. Yet here's the catch - the price of milk rises and the farmer does not make money. That's because some one in the middle is "skimming the cream". That's why dairy farming is a difficult occupation and undesirable for people to consider as a livelihood.
When we sit down to set the prices of our produce, I want people to enjoy the experience of eating, so I try to price it so that they can do that and I can continue to provide that experience. I have another job so income is not my main concern. But the cost of producing the food is. Therefore Dad and I have to make decisions to minimize cost of producing and balance it with the price to charge. So far I think we make it work. But in the future it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Can you imagine paying $10 for a bunch of carrots?