From the Farm to the Table : What All Americans Need to Know about Agriculture

by Holthaus, Gary

• ISBN13: 9780813192260
• ISBN10: 0813192269
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-02-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky

Summary

As with other areas of human industry, it has been assumed that technological progress would improve all aspects of agriculture. Technology would increase both efficiency and yield, or so we thought. The directions taken by technology may have worked for a while, but the same technologies that give us an advantage also create disadvantages. It's now a common story in rural America: pesticides, fertilizers, "big iron" combines, and other costly advancements may increase speed but also reduce efficiency, while farmers endure debt, dangerous working conditions, and long hours to pay for the technology. Land, livelihood, and lives are lost in an effort to keep up and break even. There is more to this story that affects both the food we eat and our provisions for the future. Too many Americans eat the food on their plates with little thought to its origin and in blind faith that government regulations will protect them from danger. While many Americans might have grown up in farming families, there are fewer family-owned farms with each passing generation. Americans are becoming disconnected from understanding the sources and content of their food. The farmers interviewed in From the Farm to the Table can help reestablish that connection. Gary Holthaus illuminates the state of American agriculture today, particularly the impact of globalization, through the stories of farmers who balance traditional practices with innovative methods to meet market demands. Holthaus demonstrates how the vitality of America's communities is bound to the successes and failures of its farmers. In From the Farm to the Table, farmers explain how their lives and communities have changed as they work to create healthy soil, healthy animals, and healthy food in a context of often inappropriate federal policy, growing competition from abroad, public misconceptions regarding government subsidies, the dangers of environmental damage and genetically modified crops, and the myths of modern economics. Rather than predicting doom and despair for small American growers, Holthaus shows their hope and the practical solutions they utilize. As these farmers tell their stories, "organic" and "sustainable" farming become real and meaningful. As they share their work and their lives, they reveal how those concepts affect the food we eat and the land on which it's grown, and how vital farming is to the American economy.

Author Biography

Gary Holthaus is the author of several books, including Wide Skies: Finding a Home in the West, Circling Back, Unexpected Manna, and Learning Native Wisdom.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. xv
In the Beginning
Fundamentals	p. 3
Histories	p. 10
Farmers Talking about Farming
Two Views, One Farm: Vance and Bonnie Haugen	p. 29
Farming Is a Spiritual Responsibility: Mike Rupprecht	p. 60
Timelines: Ron Scherbring	p. 64
The Absolute Last Thing I Ever Dreamed I'd Be Doing: Lonny and Sandy Dietz	p. 76
I Felt It Was Just the Right Thing to Do: Dennis Rabe	p. 81
Farming in America: Who Cares?
They Say Eating Is a Moral Issue: Bill McMillin	p. 109
Farming Connects Us All	p. 118
It all Works Together, or it Doesn't Work at All
Agriculture and Community Culture	p. 173
Farming in Developing Countries	p. 201
The WTO, NAFTA, CAFTA, and the FTAA	p. 205
Alternative Visions, Hopeful Futures
Healthy Food, Healthy Economics	p. 247
Alternatives for Agriculture and the Whole Culture	p. 262
An Ecology of Hope
Ours for a Short Time: Peggy Thomas	p. 277
An Ecology of Hope	p. 281
Notes	p. 309
Sources and Resources	p. 326
Index	p. 351
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