I Tried to Prove That Small Family Farms Are the Future. I Couldn’t Do It.
via The Counter
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Posted October 25, 2021 10:34 pm
What does all this mean for the future of American agriculture? That we should stop trying to build a more resilient and equitable food system on a foundation of an unproven (or disproven) small family farm ideal, especially when a very real set of alternatives is available.
In this article, Sarah Mock tackles the very question that my mind has been gnawing on over that past couple months: Why is it that the family farm is such a romanticized idea in today's culture? If we want to rebuild any grain chains or create new markets, we have to look at what is not working today, start from there, and integrate things that are working. The small family farm, as romanticized, is not a sustainable business model to build on. This article points out the problems, but offers some potential alternatives. It's worth the read.