Never has the way we’ve commodified water and land and crops and
animals demanded neither clearer thinking nor more innovative programs
than now, at the end of the era of cheap energy and the beginning of
the era of climate change. We need new models, new visions, new ethics
and new strategies, and we’re fortunate to have gathered together five
pioneers of America’s New Agriculture who, although they represent
diverse generations and experiences, share a deep understanding of how
to put preachments into practice.
Moderator: Betty Fussell, Food Historian, Essayist and Author Panelists: Zoe Ida Bradbury, Groundswell Farm, Food
& Society Policy Fellow; Frederick Kirschenmann, Stone Barns Center
for Food and Agriculture; David Mas Masumoto, Masumoto Family Farm;
Theresa Marquez, Organic Valley and Organic Prairie; Patrick Martins,
Slow Food USA and Heritage Foods
Masumoto:
How food is consumed will determine how food is grown.
Public food vs. private food: public food has a story, a public identity,
social and economic capital, relationships, involves consumers and the public
in the farm. Private food is
commodity. Food policy supports public
food; economic policy supports private food.
Celebrating food, sensual and sensory relationships, with
stories, food memories. When was your
last food orgasm, and was there a farmer involved?
If you have an unhappy animal, you shouldn’t be eating it.
Marquez:
How do we democratize farming?
How do we keep family farms on the ground?
Land prices are huge barrier; need
different new hybrids of ownership.
Consortiums?
How do we deal with all the acres
coming out of the CRP program? Young
farmers can’t afford it.
50% of the 1500 farmers in her coop are doing well, 50% are
struggling as a result of drought, flood, rising commodity prices. Regional differences point to the fact that
some regional specialization makes sense.
Martins:
Heritage Farms produces pork and turkey. Relies on 400 restaurants to move their
product, get money to the farmers. Team
effort: 600 people, from slaughterhouse
to truckers, involved in keeping farmers in business.
Need a Zagat rating system for how green a company is.
Bradbury:
There are a lot of young people who want to get into
farming, from all over the place.
We will see more changes in the next 50 years than we did in
the last 100 years. Current food crisis
is only the tip of the iceberg.
End of cheap energy
Cannot continue use as much fresh
water as we currently do
Climate – last 100 years have been
an anomaly of stability which drove the increase in productivity as much as did
technology. Climates will be much more
unstable in the future. Monocultures
depend on stability.
We need to fundamentally redesign the food system.
Let’s prepare for a world in which
oil is $300/bbl, water supplies are cut in half, and we have twice as many
unusual weather events.
Currently 400,000 farmers produce 94% of our food. We need 50 million farmers – a huge human
capital problem.
The good news:
A lot of young, creative, smart
people want to get into farming – just need opportunities
Global initiative to revive soil
health – have to diversify ag system to have healthy soil, increase the
perenniality of crops
Lots of good things bubbling up
Can we do it fast?
“The situation is far too serious
for pessimism”
We can’t afford pessimism or
optimism – need hope and imagination.
Lots of youth movements
Importance of middlemen – farmers
can’t do everything and don’t want to do everything.
Photos © 2008 Mike Kahn/Green Stock Media. All rights reserved.
