While I know I need other people to truly round out good farm policy, I definitely have some ideas. Good farm policy has to about feeding people, returning land to indigenous peoples, righting historical wrongdoing, returning power to localized farmers, and protecting our environment.
We need to shift from a granary model to infrastructure that houses (and distributes) more than commodity crops. Agribusinesses (those who buy from the actual farmers and then process foods) need to be given standards so that the inputs/foods aren’t degraded beyond nutrient value. A more direct line from farmer to those being fed will always cut cost and expense of non-renewable energies.
Those who have stewarded the lands the longest have proven to be the best at it. We must return land to indigenous peoples. They don’t/didn’t use non-ecological borders to manage the land or exploit the earth for profit. Not only are there ecological benefits in this, but it will also start the long overdue process of reparations. Black Americans must also be included in this. People (and their descendants) who survived white supremacist theft and genocide deserve the reparations they were promised. Not only did they not get this, the slave owners were conpensated for their loss of slaves while Black Americans were left fighting for their lives in many different ways for 156 years and counting. As a Chichimecanx Mexica America born in Kansas I must also reckon with the fact that I was born on stolen lands. I say this now, because many who hear me say these things say that I just want to get mine for not being of European decent. I believe that if I want to be engaged in agriculture or live on stolen lands, that I too must reconcile that fact. Some indigenous nations are already coming up with models of reparations that allow those who are not indigenous to the place they have the privilege to call home to stay where they are. I have a lot more to say on this, but I’ll leave it at that for now.
We also need to reverse the tide of “get big or get out” that put 3 million farmers out of farming. This can look like better programs for accessing land, regenerative soil education for farmers, and shifting incentives for growing real food instead of commodities. Incentivizing farmers with 100+ acreage to sell off (possibly to the feds) and break into co-op models with other farmers (while also shifting away from commodities) can make this happen. The aforementioned more localized food storage/distribution infrastructure would require this to happen. Food travels too far as is and is thereby also contributing to non-renewable energy consumption.
As for protecting the environment, we need programs that are in it for the long haul. We need programs that aren’t just for offsetting the destruction brought about by overproduction as we’ve seen historically happen. Food systems planners and environmentalists should be the ones driving more or less production based on the actual earthen resources at hand; not agribusinesses, not politicians; not “the economy” or warfare. One of the saddest parts I learned while writing this was that our environmental efforts in the farm bill have all been because of planned destruction. Shooting ourselves in the foot hasn’t and definitely won’t work.
All in all we also need to shift thinking about farming and find ways to remove the stigma. All of these ideas mean nothing if the incentives aren’t good enough to get more hands in on the work of feeding and restoring the health of the land. As a former teacher and based on other articles I’ve read pitching ideas for a new green deal, we have to also be doing work with the future of this world. We have to help young people understand where we have landed them; what we are sadly eventually passing off to them. There is so much to learn about how we can do better, but there is even more to lose if we don’t teach each other and the youth… and then quickly act upon what we’ve learned.
Further reading to these points here: https://medium.com/@stangoff/beyond-a-green-new-deal-2f28c5add027
