American Farms: Time to regain what was lost

It was a long time coming.  Gigantic Business conglomerates from Rockefeller to Cargill to Monsanto all but destroyed the family farm during the years from the mid-1940s to the mid-1990s, building their obscene profits while decimating the quality of the food we eat.  But slowly, very slowly, the tide is shifting.  True, small family farms are still in a holding pattern, trying to hang on during these times of economic disaster and occasional bad weather.  But there is visible on the horizon a slow shift back to sanity in the heartland.

The catalyst for this shift is the forced emergence of GMOs.  A boon to giant multinational corporations but a detriment to our health, GMOs have finally been noticed on the radar so much so that consumers are now beginning to show a preference for real food, grown locally, free of chemical and genetic contamination.  Those small farms still in that holding pattern are beginning to see a small but encouraging upswing in their business.  Even the Public Broadcasting System has begun to take note of the trend and has been producing television programs about local, small farming concerns.

And more encouraging, there are now some families who have decided that going back to the land like their forefathers is a good idea.  Farms, small farms, are beginning to dot the land once again.  It is beginning in a small way but the trend is clear: people are fed up (pun intended) with eating junk food and are looking into the risky but potentially rewarding enterprise of owning and operating a small farm.  A culture shock for former city dwellers to be sure but those who have tried it are learning from their neighbors.  And they are not giving up.

Belloc and Chesterton and McNabb would be proud of them.

Not all of us are cut out to be farmers but that doesn't mean we cannot support them.  There are undoubtedly local farmer's co-ops in your area that can be patronized.  Do this, for them and for yourselves.  Be cautious in your food-buying.  If it is non-GMO then buy it.  True, this requires a little research occasionally but that is what the internet is for.

If you need a little background on what has become of our food production you will find this excellent piece by F William Engdahl most helpful.  It might make you mad.  It should.

http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/11/why-rockefellers-aim-at-destroying-farmers-worldwide/

A quote:

The raising of hogs, dairy cows, beef cattle, chicken all became industrialized gradually after the 1950’s in the USA. The baby chicks were confined to spaces so tiny they could barely stand. To make them get fat faster, the owners would pump them full of antibiotics and feed them a diet of GMO corn and soya meal. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are for use on livestock and poultry, not humans. The majority are given to animals mixed in their food or water to speed growth. After all, time is money.

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First appeared:http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/11/why-rockefellers-aim-at-destroying-farmers-worldwide/
There is definite evidence that the US economy may be entering a time of great decline, a decline far more severe than what we are now witnessing.  Catastrophically arrogant and stupid (and evil) decisions of our Emperors in Washington, and their handlers, are lurching us toward a time of great wealth for them and destitution for us.  But that kind of trajectory will not have a happy ending...for them.  Being prudent and preparing for some rough times ahead should be enough reason to make us take a second look at the value of farmers and farming.

Even city dwellers can have a garden...and some municipalities are now even allowing bee-keeping and chicken-raising in residential back yards.  This is the kind of thing that could be built on the ruins of America's misguided adventures.

The Catholic "back to the land movement" was a good idea in the past and it is even a better idea today.  Our health and survival may depend on it.