(Euclid Van der Kroew photo: Farm equipment burried by the dust bowl, c. 1935.)
“Unless Americans radically rethink the way they grow and consume food, they face a future of eroded farmland, hollowed-out countryside, scarier germs, higher health costs — and bland taste. Sustainable food has an élitist reputation, but each of us depends on the soil, animals and plants — and as every farmer knows, if you don’t take care of your land, it can’t take care of you.”
This sounds like the preaching of some eco-radical, but it isn’t. This quote comes from the mainstream media outlet, Time Magazine– barely liberal, surely not radical. In an article entitled, “Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food,” writer Bryan Walsh brings the issue of sustainability front and center.
one of the quotes stood out to me.
“We’re hurting for job creation, and industrial food has pushed people off the farm,” says Hahn Niman. “We need to make farming real employment, because if you do it right, it’s enjoyable work.”
I don’t think it is feasible for folks to just jump into becoming full time farmers. but some stuff has got to change.
There’s a movement afoot, both urban and rural, to transition to part-time farming– and many of those do become full-time farmers. Interestingly, though, USDA doesn’t consider a part-time farmer to be a “real” farmer, even if they’re making a profit. Small farmers are increasingly not taken seriously.