Women in farming

If you are a woman and you care about what your friends and family eat, even what the world eats, then this article on OrganicToBe.com might be about you.

It seems that one of the big new trends in small-scale sustainable farming is that more and more women are doing it, and that makes a lot of sense to me. If the American population in general is out of touch with how food comes to be, then I can assure you that the American male is by far the most out of touch. On the other hand, I am sure that women, especially women with children, know a lot more about food and, as a result, where that food comes from.

I am personally acquainted with women who decided, after realizing what the industrial food system is doing to all of us, to dedicate themselves to various aspects of advancing sustainability in a variety of ways. I also think that their touch adds to the ideas of the sustainable food movement what it has heretofore lacked.

I would add something to this article, however, that I think it lacks: if you are a women and want to become part of the sustainable food movement, you don’t have to stop whatever else you are doing right now to become a farmer. In addition to supporting your local sustainable farmers through buying their products and through advocacy, you can also simply change how you think about food.

You could do something as simple as planting a tomato plant in a pot on your deck or stoop, or you could do something as radical as plowing your yard under (who eats grass anyway, but that’s an idea for another time) and planting your own food for the year. Whatever you decide, it can be done while you still have a job and take care of kids and have a social life, although it might be good to get rid of the TV along the way.

If you become part of the transformation toward sustainable agriculture, I can assure you that your family will thank you for it, and someday the world will too. This is just something for all of you women to think about.

DLH