By Willie Nelson
As one of the founders of Farm Aid, I have watched
with admiration and a good amount of satisfaction the growth of what
many now call the “Good
Food movement” – the growing interest in and demand for organic,
humanely-raised and family farm-identified food that is transforming the
way America grows its food and how our food gets to our tables.
While it might seem obvious to many, good food comes from farms with healthy
soil and clean water. I’ve always believed that the most important
people on the planet are the ones who plant the seeds and care for the
soil where they grow. As the stewards of the land, family farmers are the
foundation of this movement, as well as its guarantor.
No one can say they planted the original seed that gave rise to this movement,
but many can claim they have helped nurture and cultivate its growth. Farm
Aid’s vision for America is to have many family farmers on the land – a
vision born out of our strong conviction that those who grow our food and
care for the land and water are of vital national importance; that farmers
and their fields are the fabric that holds our country together.
The Good Food movement isn’t just about good and delicious food – although
this is certainly one of its greatest achievements. The Good Food movement
is at the center of some of the most important issues and debates that
will define American society for years to come: issues like stewardship
of our soil and water, local and democratic control of decisionmaking
and land use, health and nutrition and a thriving and sustainable food
and farm economy needed to feed and fuel America.
While good, healthy, fresh food from family farms is the most visible product
of the movement that each of us can enjoy, the movement stands for much more.
It represents the interests of all who care about the future of this land,
its resources and its people. As members of this movement and as eaters,
the food we choose connects us directly to those who produced it and to the
many reasons why it is in our own interests to see this movement flourish.
The future of safe and sound food production depends on taking care of
the most basic resources needed to grow food: soil and water. Family farmers
eat the food they grow in their fields and drink the water from their wells.
They know that they have to take care of the soil and water in order to
pass on the promise of the farm’s bounty to the next generation. Sustainable
family farms are the alternative to the large-scale industrial farms that
erode our soil and pollute our waterways. Excessive chemicals, soil erosion,
runoff from hog factories laced with hormones and antibiotics and the growing
threats of widespread genetic contamination from genetically engineered crops
threaten our capacity to grow the food we need to feed our country. By supporting
family farms through the Good Food movement, we are all helping to ensure
that our children and our children’s children inherit a healthy and
resilient environment.
Good food leads to good nutrition and good health. There’s no comparison
between fresh, organic food at the local farmers market and the mass-produced,
additive-laden, highly processed stuff that corporations would have us think
is real food. The rising epidemics of childhood obesity and diabetes are
clearly linked to the highly processed food peddled to kids and served in
school cafeterias. The Good Food movement is helping to turn this situation
around, bringing farm-fresh food grown by local farmers into school lunch
programs. A diet of fresh, wholesome food will improve kids’ health
and provide new markets for family farmers.
Family farms are the engines for economic vitality, in both rural communities
as well as urban areas that benefit from jobs created by vibrant local
and regional food systems. When family farms thrive, so do main street
businesses. The Good Food movement is creating new markets and opportunities
that help farmers stay on their land and provides hope for new and young
farmers to make farming their life. A growing number of those now participating
in direct farm-to-consumer marketing are first generation farmers! The
more we keep farming local, the stronger the community. Participating in
local and regional food and farm markets helps keep food dollars circulating
in the local economy – rather
than increasing the profits of distant corporations that suck the dollars
and the life out of our communities.
Many Americans are becoming aware of the startling and troubling fact about
our food system known as “food miles.” On average, each food
item travels 1,500 miles before arriving to our tables. It makes little
sense to burn fossil fuels that pollute the environment to ship apples
across the country and around the world when local growers can provide
us with fresh apples. By strengthening local food production, the Good
Food movement is reducing the ecological footprint of American agriculture.
Keeping farmers on their land also enables them to use their know-how
and ingenuity to help us achieve more energy independence. Farmers
are key to our energy future – growers and harvesters of renewable energy that
will power our vehicles and heat our homes. Farm Aid is working to link the
Good Food and Green Energy movements as two sides of the family farm-centered
agriculture system we envision.
The Good Food movement increases the demand for humanely-raised beef, pork
and poultry products by family farms. As opposed to the factory livestock
farms, where thousands of animals are raised under one roof and never see
the light of day their entire lives, family farm-raised animals are fed natural
diets and allowed to live in healthy conditions with access to open pastures.
I believe keeping family farmers on the land is inextricably linked to a
strong and thriving democracy. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “cultivators
of the earth are the most valuable citizens…they are tied to their
country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds.” Family
farmers are the backbone not only of a strong economy; they are also the
defenders of local, democratic decisionmaking. In communities across farm
country, large and powerful food corporations are working their political
connections at the State House and on Capitol Hill to change local and state
laws to take local control and decisionmaking away from communities, stripping
local communities of their democratic right of self-determination. In many
examples, corporations are working to change state laws so that communities
cannot block the construction of hog factories.
We live in a time when all of us must take our responsibility to exercise
our democratic rights seriously – before it’s too late. Family
farmers are standing up for their rights – and they’re standing
up for our rights too. The Good Food movement is about democracy at the grassroots
level – building decentralized, sustainable and locally controlled
farm and food economies.
And yes, the Good Food movement is about better food. Growing up in Texas,
I learned at an early age the difference between a fresh tomato, a fresh
farm egg and the stuff most other people eat and think is food. There is
just no way to compare a family-raised ham to a ham from a factory farm,
or fresh strawberries to berries shipped thousands of miles. To understand
this, you have to taste it yourself. The next time you drive by your local
farmers market, stop by and pick up some farm-fresh food. I guarantee you
won’t regret the flavor and freshness of food from the family farm.
If you enjoy good food and care about the issues behind this movement, I
invite you to take action today to ensure the future of family farming and
your right to choose food from family farms. The most direct and regular
action you can take is to search out and buy as much of your food directly
from farm families in your area. Our food choices today shape tomorrow’s
agriculture. Buying organic milk today strengthens tomorrow’s outlook
for organic dairy farmers. Think about one food item that you can buy from
local farmers and commit to buying it. These small and simple actions are
building the Good Food movement and changing American agriculture for the
better.
The other opportunity we have to further this movement is the upcoming debate
over the next Farm Bill. If you value good food from family farms, call your
legislator and demand a Farm Bill that strengthens local and regional food
economies. If you care about local and democratic control, demand a Farm
Bill that curbs the power of factory farms and the influence of lobbyists
for large food corporations. If you care about health and nutrition for children,
demand a Farm Bill that puts more fresh, wholesome food in our schools. If
you want your children and grandchildren to enjoy the benefits of a clean
environment, demand a Farm Bill that increases protection of our natural
resources by helping farmers transition to organic and more sustainable growing
methods. If you eat you have a stake in the next Farm Bill. Don’t wait – call
today! The future of good food depends on you.
|
|