I must be feeling ornery today.
I was reading the Sunday Star Tribune newspaper this morning and this article caught my eye in the business section – “Going Small Pays Off,” a question-and-answer article about a manager of a Twin Cities farmer’s market.
As I would expect, she was asked how her business compares to the (and I quote here) “large farm/industrial market.”
Hmmm … I wonder where this interview is going?
She was also asked about why she thinks farmers’ markets and local production are growing, to which she replied:
“Prominent writers such as Michael Pollan have drawn attention to the industrial food system. Monoculture crops. And a steer raised on a feedlot, fattened with corn and pumped with antibiotics compared with a diversified farm with animals raised over a long period and with some room to roam. It’s not just “inputs in a factory.”
Sigh. Here we go.
I get so tired and, let’s face it, completely annoyed with people who feel the need to go there.
“Inputs in a factory.” “Industrial Farming.” “Factory Farm.”
No. Just no.
What’s sad is this person grew up on a farm, and instead of taking the opportunity to bring different types of agriculture together, she does the opposite. I honestly don’t think farmers’ markets need to criticize commercial agriculture production – and the opposite is quite true as well. We’re all in this together.
Are there different production systems? Of course. Are there farms of a variety of sizes? Yes, definitely. And all are needed to feed our hungry planet. Some folks can only afford what’s on sale at a grocery store, while others can pay a little more for organic or like to visit the farmer’s market. Some – like me – do a little bit of everything. I buy conventionally-raised meat and produce in my large supermarket – and often watch for sales and coupons. I also buy organic occasionally – not because I think it’s any healthier for me but because I might like a certain product. I happen to love farmers’ markets when I can get to them, and I also grow my own vegetables on a couple of small garden plots behind my home.
Don’t tell me that any one way to buy food is any better for me than the other. It’s about choice and what I buy (or raise on my own) depends on a number of factors – whether it’s good for my pocketbook or if I like a particular heirloom tomato or what simply happens to be available at the grocery store.
I do agree with the interviewee on this statement:
All of this discussion can become heated very quickly.
It sure can. Especially when you throw around the demeaning term,”factory farm,” with no regard for the family farmers behind those farms or the choices they offer to many consumers.
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Thank you.
You’re welcome, Anne – thanks for stopping by and reading!
Lara
Well said Lara! I happen to work for both ends of the ag spectrum, and brainstorm all the time about how to bring peace. Let’s bring people TO agriculture, not divide them OVER it!
Lauren
PaintTheTownAg.com
Amen! Sometimes I feel the world just keeps getting more divisive … with no need to be that way. Frustrating!
Lara
Amen, Sister Lara, AMEN!!!
Thanks, Paula!!
Hi there. I am that interviewee!
For the record, the stuttering response that I provided to that question was not the cogent explanation that I wish had been printed. However, it’s true that many of our farmers market shoppers (myself included) make an effort to purchase meat that comes from very small-scale farms. That’s just an inarguable fact. What we in the FM world can claim is that direct farm-to-consumer connection and that is the quality I had hoped to convey. Certainly did not come through.
Hi Kirsten,
I meant to respond earlier to your comment but life got away from me this week. Sorry about that! First of all, thank you for reading and for commenting. Having worked with many media outlets over the past 20 years, I can definitely understand how your response may not have come out as you had hoped – trust me on that! And you are right, many people like to purchase their meat from small farmers, and I think that’s great. I am grateful for all the food choices we have in the U.S. I want you to know that I think farmers’ markets are a wonderful way to bring agriculture close to all of us so I hope you will accept my thank you for working to make sure this can happen for so many of us!
Lara
The thing is…farmers are NOT all in this together. There is little to no balance in the way different production systems use / abuse animals, plants, the soil, the water, the people; the amount of welfare that goes to different farmers; the transparency (or lack thereof) in our food systems, etc.
Farmers are different, yes – and there are different production systems, definitely. But I think most farmers do NOT abuse their animals or their environment, regardless of the size of their operations. Are there bad farmers? Sure – just like there are bad people in every profession. But to assume that all farmers who have large operations are somehow evil or bad or abuse their animals – or that the food is somehow less wholesome or nutritious – is what gets me frustrated.
Thanks for reading and for commenting … I’m still hoping we can all do a better job of working together in agriculture.
Lara
Thank you for writing this! I feel there is a place for everyone, but never a place for bashing and name calling and treating others badly based upon how they choose to raise food. I’ve tried and try to defend our rights as “factory farmers” but it comes out biased because that’s how we make our living.
Agreed – it’s so frustrating. Sometimes I feel we can’t win, no matter what we say. If we try to “own” the factory farm label or try to write about how ridiculous this phrase is, neither of those options seem to work either. The whole thing just gets frustrating sometimes – thanks for reading my rant!
Lara
Lara, this is such a great post…and I couldn’t agree more! Why can’t we just support each other in our diversity and celebrate the many ways farmers of all sizes grow food? There’s room, and a need, for all of us!
Thanks, Shauna … it seems so common sense, doesn’t it? There should be room for all of us – amen to that! Thanks for reading and leaving your thoughts today.
Lara