On patios and rooftops, in backyards, side yards, front yards, in community gardens, in Farmers’ Markets and roadside stands, in CSAs on small urban farms and rural farms and large agroecological projects, plus small-scale industries, services and distribution systems to support and enhance this ongoing relocalization of food— more and more of us are recognizing that we must reconnect with the living soil and water of this good Earth, where we came from, where we belong, and where we will eventually return. Not just because we crave fresh, unprocessed, unpoisoned, nutritious food. But because of our biological and spiritual need for the land itself. There’s no stopping us, once we reorder our priorities from competing with each other for unnecessary “goods” to cooperation with each other in experiential remembrance of and integration with the seasonal cycles of Earth’s magnificence.
Organic Farming Could Feed the World, If We Would Only Let it
And even more sustainable, resilient, regenerative, etc. and fun! — permaculture!
In a world where more and more, only uninteresting service jobs seem to be available, and these pay poorly; in a world where increasingly irrelevant and indoctrinating university and graduate “educations” yoke students to a lifetime of indebtedness; in a world where the U.S. is by far the largest exporter of, not food, but weapons, R & D is devoted mostly to instrumentalities of war (including “war” on disease, and drugs), and global transnational corporatist military conquest continues to expand and despoil what little remains; it’s time we transformed U.S. policies to forgive student debt and encourage young people to become farmers.
Meanwhile, check this out, from the introduction to New Farmers:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, forty percent of US farmers are now 55 years old or older – and the average age of this population continues to rise. In fact, for every farmer or rancher under the age of 25, there are five who are 75 or older, according to the 2007 USDA Census of Agriculture: Farmers by Age. As a result, the US is in desperate need of a new generation of farmers to sow the seeds for the future of food.
Fortunately, the ever-growing interest in food and agricultural issues has served to inspire many young people to pursue careers in sustainable farming. As the population of young farmers begins to take shape, supportive resources are being made readily available, including online courses, incubator farms, and other support networks. Meanwhile, social media has enabled farmers to connect with one another and share the trials and tribulations of farming. Read on to learn how new farmers are being supported and to find opportunities for connection and further education.
Wake up! It’s time we got together, young and old, to make sure new farmers are supported. That this become a national priority. Food, not guns! Bernie led the way to this multigenerational remembrance of sanity. Let us continue to enhance the movement his presidential candidacy ignited.
And, we must recognize, no matter what we “do,” it might be too late for this culture, too late to stop our industrial rape of the Earth in time to not continue as grieving witnesses to her Great Dying. And whether or not that’s the case, even so, we must act as if we can “save the world,” while also allowing the grieving process. We act in good conscience, knowing that IF the world can be saved, then by returning to the land, we are beginning the process of re-grounding ourselves in both Earth’s ever-renewing generosity, and our own sanity.
The key is, no promises, no expectations. Simply, we follow our inner guidance, no matter what the cost or the outcome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqdw2uoAa4k
