No Farms No Food

The New York Times recently published an article by Michael Pollan, entitled An Open Letter to the Next Farmer in Chief. In it he gives our future leader a heads-up regarding the current situation in which "the era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close." He charges that now is the time to not only address food prices but to reform America's entire food system, and the good news is that the combination of the food and energy crises will actually create a political environment where reform will be possible for the first time in a long time. The three pillars of his vision include resolarizing the American farm, reregionalizing the food system, and rebuilding America's food culture. The best part is that by following his straightforward suggestions we would be able to contribute greatly to solving our problems of energy dependence, climate change, food security, and health care. I urge everyone to read this article, as it is also a good summary of most of his recent publications.

Speaking of reregionalizing our food system, we were recently impressed to notice that one of our neighbors was sporting a new "No Farms, No Food" bumper sticker. You can get yours from the American Farmland Trust. And while you're keeping it local, don't forget to check out Local Harvest to find a farm near you and reserve your heritage turkey for Thanksgiving!