Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
means that money spent for civic products stays longer in the local community and is circu-
lated among a wider range of individuals than are dollars spent for imported food produced
by large corporations and sold in large supermarkets.
Civic agriculture is a locally organized system of agriculture and food production charac-
terized by networks of producers who are bound together by place. Civic agriculture embod-
ies a commitment to developing and strengthening an economically, environmentally, and
socially sustainable agriculture and food production system that relies on local resources and
serves local markets and consumers. The imperative to earn a profit is filtered through a set
of cooperative and mutually supporting social relations. Community problem solving rather
than individual competition is the foundation of civic agriculture.
In order to effect a shift to civic agriculture, it is critical that we recognize and address the
fact that control of today's food system rests primarily with powerful and highly concentrated
economic interests, and not with local communities or even government. Large-scale, well-
managed, capital-intensive, technologically sophisticated, industrial-like operations have be-
come tightly tied into a network of national and global food producers. These farms produce
large quantities of highly standardized bulk commodities that are fed into large national and
multinational integrators and processors. A few thousand very large farms account for most
of the gross agricultural sales, but not necessarily farm income, for farm income is propped
up by billions of dollars in farm subsidies. And the current political climate for agriculture,
one that endorses biotechnology, free markets, global trade, and the growth of multinational
corporations, is likely to make a change toward civic agriculture difficult.
Reconnecting Farm, Food, and Community:
Tools for Chang e
While corporate interests are likely to continue to influence the food system in the direction
of increased economic globalization, I believe that communities, organizations, local gov-
ernments, and even individuals have many tools that can be used to begin to effect change
and move toward a more civic agriculture. A new social blueprint for agriculture will come
from below, not above. Civic engagement with the food system is taking place throughout
the country as citizens and organizations grapple with providing food for the hungry, estab-
lishing community-based food businesses, and organizing food policy councils. Policies and
programs at the local level that support the development of farmers' markets, CSAs, organic
production, agricultural districts, community kitchens, community gardens, and all sorts of
direct marketing and on-farm processing will foster a more community-friendly and sustain-
able system of production and consumption. While diverse, these efforts have one thing in
common: they are all local problem-solving activities organized around agriculture and food.
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