EP 730 The Forgotten Approach to Farming in America: Can We Survive Without Its Return?

Industrial farming and ranching began about 80 years ago and now accounts for almost all agricultural output in America.  We have allowed what once occupied nearly 40 percent of our population to be placed in the hands of of about one percent at the present time.  I can see where some would say that’s a good thing because food is plentiful and cheaper.  Yes, but…the depletion of the soil, the despoiling of the air, the cruelty to the animals and the ill effects of too much pesticide, fungicides and herbicides on our own health remind us that there is a price to pay for the approach which works against, not with, the natural order.  Will Harris, the owner of White Oak Pastures, a holistically managed, regenerative ranch and farm in Georgia makes an eloquent case for returning to the roots of farming as practiced years ago in his book “A Bold Return to Giving a Damn: One Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food.”  Maybe we cannot turn the clock back and provide the sustenance for our population in this era, but the bell is tolling and cleaner, more natural practices need to come back into play in some fashion.  Will’s message and approach is worth understanding if that is to happen.  And, as he reminds, buy from a local farmer, if you can.

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