ABOUT A GROWING CULTURE
MISSION
To cultivate a community where farmers, educators and sustainable agriculture advocates can come together for educational support, networking, idea exchange, ethical debate and inspiration
PURPOSE
A Growing Culture seeks to empower the sustainable agriculture movement by highlighting traditional and alternative farm practices used throughout the world. We believe that ecologically based agricultural systems are the key to a prosperous future where farming moves beyond mono-crop, fence-row agriculture to a more diverse style of practice that blends production with nature. Farming is not just a formula; it is a feeling and an art. A culmination of intellect and sweat, science and tradition, respect and determination. By creating this online community a dialogue is initiated and information becomes accessible. We hope these styles and systems will be used and advanced while broadening our understanding of what it means to farm.
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORS
The Nobel peace prize winning “green revolution” of the 20th century gave way to an industrialized mono crop system of agriculture that was designed to increase production while depending on chemical inputs and a global supply chain. With more advanced mechanization, and less need for warm bodies, this revolution increased farm size, while decreasing the number of farmers around the world. Considered a “miracle” by many for its ability to “feed the world’s growing population”, industrialized farming and its rapid international acceptance have had major effects on the environment, rural communities, and especially the farmer. Although some of you may already know this, for those who are just learning about the plight of the small farmer, a little background check is important.
In most parts of the world, the producer-consumer gap continues to grow while the number of farms is steadily decreasing. In addition, many farmers’ children are no longer interested in continuing their parents’ agricultural pursuits after witnessing their struggle to farm within a corporate system. For this reason, the global farming landscape has changed into a “behind closed doors” style of agriculture where pastures and humus have been replaced by concrete and chemicals. Due to political pressures, government incentives, and the need to compete in the global market, farmers are forced to use practices that directly degrade the environment as well as the health of rural communities. Furthermore, we as a society, through policy election and purchasing power, have aided in the selection of foods for yield and appearance rather than nutrition and taste.
But remember, just as the farmer’s child is moving to the city, the accountant’s child is moving to the country; the pendulum can only swing in one direction for so long. Following in the footsteps of visionaries such as Wendell Berry, Joel Salatin, Vendana Shiva, Jon Jeavons, Rudolf Steiner, Elliot Coleman, and the struggling efforts of countless teachers, back-to-the-landers and organic farmers of late 20th century, a new wave of growers emerges. These new growers have been instrumental in cultivating a desire for ecological farming practices through operation transparency, accountability, and integrity. They are tired of nutrient depleted vegetables and plastic-wrapped, boneless, skinless chicken breast produced in a factory 1500 miles away. These growers have been flocking to the fields and actively fueling the new green revolution. However, despite this burgeoning interest in growing green, ecological agriculture still makes up only a small portion of farming practices globally. We at A Growing Culture (AGC) believe that this is not the farmers fault but the result of poor policy and government corporate relations, and through improved information exchange and global connectivity, we can better operate as a viable alternative to industrial food production.
AGC was founded by, eco agriculture advocates and future farmers, Asher Wright and Loren Cardeli, as a tool to not only bring forth technical and educational information, but also to simultaneously connect farmers around the world. AGC documents the techniques, stories and opinions of ecological farmers while providing a meetinghouse for farmers and advocates to share their ideas. AGC strives to connect the world’s eco farmers and advocates so that they have the power to stand together, to learn from one another and to grow!
AGC distinguishes itself from other sustainable agriculture groups by personalizing its content and actively recruiting writers from around the world. We want to make it accessible and to encourage farmers to share their innovative techniques for growing ecologically. Any subject is fair game, and the more people that are willing to contribute, the more robust of a database we will develop. This is a global, grassroots, wiki style, meeting house that, when developed, will showcase numerous practices for every farmer or potential farmer. For example, one could learn from the 45 different ways that Pasture Raised Pork is being implemented from Canada to Cambodia or the 33 ways from Argentina to Alaska that Permaculture is being practiced. Field techniques, community planning strategies, marketing ideas, food system concepts, and ethical debate could all find their way into a piece, and can be queried via a search from the homepage.
The pieces at AGC are written with two goals in mind: Inspire non-farmers to make better choices in the market place, while inspiring farmers, thinkers, and writers to contribute information and ideas so that people can make better decisions in the field. We maintain the originality of international pieces in a second language, and only edit spelling or grammatical issues. We want to connect producers while showing the world the struggles and passions of ecological farmers. Though growing food locally in bio-regions and developing strong productive rural communities is key to a prosperous future, we also believe that staying connected through information and ethical encouragement is essential.
Given that AGC was founded in October of 2010, it is a very new initiative. The response has been uplifting and with readers from over 95 countries around the world, we are truly excited about the websites potential to connect eco agriculture advocates. We designed and organized this initiative from scratch and could not have done it without the help of the Asheville, North Carolina community and grassroots contributions. AGC has many goals and dreams such as: creating a scholarship fund for students interested in sustainable agriculture, organizing conferences on ecological farming with both regional and international speakers, creating a virtual database of the worlds’ eco farms, incorporating translation software so the sight can be viewed in any language, filming video essays of farmers around the world, and creating a multi-language, international forum. But as with farming, starting small and building up is wise, thus we must take one step at a time. For now we are thrilled and happy with the progress and hope you will be too. We are open to suggestions as well as anyone seeking to get involved.
As our contributing authors have traveled the world connecting farmers, they have learned an incredible amount. It is these stories along with the stories of farmers who are fighting to make a difference that need to be told. Since our best teachers have taught us with a pitchfork and a bead of sweat, we believe every farmer has something to teach, as well as something to learn. Please come and be apart of this growing collection of eco agriculture practices, techniques, ideas, & thoughts. After all, we are A Growing Culture.
Sincerely,
Loren Cardeli & Asher Wright
