Story and photos by Elaine T. Cicora
Who doesn’t like to eat? But in a future dominated by population growth, a shrinking land supply, and the changing demographics of the American farmer, fulfilling that need may become a challenge.
In several Conference sessions, attendees received surprising insights into the future of food.
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| Author, Amanda Little |
While that is a terrifying conclusion, Amanda has spent years investigating the realities. The result is her book, The Fate of Food, a text that explores the intersection of environment and technology and finds reasons for hope.
After more than 5 years of international reporting on “new normalities” like shifting seasons, warming waters, insect and disease infestations, and the profound disruptions in production that are facing growers all over the world, Amanda has concluded that the thru-line is climate change. “Climate change is something we can taste,” she told attendees. “This is not partisanship. Climate change is of interest to anyone who eats.”
Of course, there is an additional paradox to consider: While agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate change, it is also its major driver. Among its impacts, agriculture uses more than 70 percent of the world’s fresh water; one-third of the world’s grain goes toward feeding livestock; agro-chemicals contribute to greenhouse gases and decimate beneficial insect populations; and even the very fact of tilling the soil releases carbon into the air. The result, Amanda says, is that technology has “real motivation” to find some solutions.
On the horizon are things like an AI weeder, which can kill tiny weeds with a small but intense blast of fertilizer; “toilet to tap” processes that yield drinkable water from treated sewage; “smart water networks” that use nanotechnology to find and repair pipe leaks; nutrition pellets created by 3-D printers; and cell-based meats, an outgrowth of medical research, that are grown in laboratories
At the same time, the author notes, many of us are deeply skeptical of technology’s ability to solve the problems: Historical fixes, after all, have led us to a landscape dominated by agro-chemicals, GMOs, monoculture, and preserved convenience foods. No surprise we are deep in a period of “food nostalgia,” that has launched everything from agro-tourism to a renaissance in backyard gardening
“There is so much we can learn from the past,” Amanda said, especially when it comes to things like ways to build healthy, resilient soils. But, as many of us realize, the chances of each family growing enough food to be self-sustaining are slim.
So what is the way forward? “It is not tech,” the author told us. “And it is not Little House on the Prairie.” But there is a third path, she says, that integrates the best of both worlds and can help solve the coming problems.
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| From left, Peggy Marchetti Madison, Kia Jarmon, Dame Sylvia Ganier, and Caroline McDonald |
Dame Sylvia Gainer, owner of the 350-acre Green Door Gourmet organic farm outside Nashville, served as moderator and opened the presentation with some vital statistics: According to the USDA, the average farmer is white, male and 59 years old.
Change, however, is coming in the form of female farmers; in fact, Sylvia said, one-third of all new farmers are women. Joining Sylvia were Caroline McDonald, who operates a half-acre, intensely planted, no-till market garden; Peggy Marchetti Madison, who owns 38 acres, with 6 in flower production; and Kia Jarmon, PR and communications pro in Nashville.
Thanks to the local food movement, the growth of farmers’ markets, and the boom in agro-tourism, the skills of female farmers are now in great demand, the speakers agreed. Most especially, women’s ability to tell the stories behind the food is enormously important, particularly in light of educating non-farmers in the nutritional, culinary and sustainability aspects of locally grown products.
“We are naturally storytellers,” Kia explained. “But it matters how we tell our stories and that we don’t discount our achievements. Our message should not just be, ‘I have a garden,’ but, ‘I am feeding my children, I am working against climate change.’”
Women also need to take back the narrative, the panelists agreed. For instance, while male commodity farmers usually get the most attention, it is women who have traditionally grown the food and medicine. “What fed my family growing up was the half-acre garden that my mom and grandma had,” said Peggy. “Women have always been farmers; they just called us gardeners.”
The panelists suggested a variety of ways to support emerging female farmers. Among them:
- Stop denigrating farming as a “bad job choice” for young people. Instead assure young women that, with mentoring, they will find farming to be “a wonderful way to make living,” and “an economically viable career choice.”
- Amend laws to help keep family farms in the family.
- Help ensure women have equitable access to land and money.
- Remember that, when it comes to acreage and equipment, bigger is not always better. “You don’t need a lot of fancy stuff; you just need to do what you do best,” said Peggy.
- •And finally, respect female farmers’ expertise. “When you go to the farmers’ market, talk to the female farmers,” said Peggy. “They are the ones with the knowledge. They’re the ones whose butts are off the tractor and whose hands are in the dirt.”
