Small farms matter big because:
• They are not big (i.e. industrial, corporate, global, mega, super-sized).
• They produce healthy food.
• They produce superior tasting food.
• They educate people about growing and preserving food.
• They educate people about the value and art of cooking food.
• They connect people to soil, to land, to landscapes, to weather, to seasons, to time, to existence.
• They connect people in meaningful ways.
• They strengthen local communities in meaningful ways.
• They support local economies.
• They preserve open space.
• They sustain a host of traditional skills sets that belie the value and practice of mass production.
• Their methods of production are often sustainable and ecologically informed.
• Their economies of scale are sustainable and sized for human beings.
And small farming helps mitgate against the cognitive dissonance experienced by people who are consumers and not primary producers Being engaged in primary production also has a political ameliorative effect – empathy with other direct producers. G
I agree totally. I sometimes view life as being of two halves: production/consumption. I like being on the production side as much as I can.