Elitism is Dead: The New Debate for the Good Food Movement

[marmar]

from Civil Eats:




Elitism is Dead: The New Debate for the Good Food Movement
May 6th, 2011 By Paula Crossfiel


On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, farmer, poet and food movement hero Wendell Berry, physicist and seed-saving advocate Vandana Shiva, nutritionist and professor Marion Nestle, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales were among the speakers at The Future of Food, a conference put on by the Washington Post at Georgetown University.

The media was quick to focus on the comments by Prince Charles, who has been farming land on his Highgrove Estate for 26 years and selling produce under the name Duchy Originals, the profits of which are given to charities. But though the Prince gave a thorough and informed 45-minute speech about soil loss, the importance of biodiversity, and a critique of U.S. agriculture policy (you can read the whole speech here), some media and online comments focused on the perceived hypocrisy of the Prince as an environmentalist with a huge carbon footprint, and the old fall-back of detractors of the food movement: Elitism.

Chris Clayton, agriculture editor for The Progressive Farmer, tweeted “You just don’t make your case of what is needed in ag by tweeting “HRH Charles… His Royal Highness says. #FoF definitely #foodelitism”

Phillip Brasher, agriculture reporter for the Des Moines Register, didn’t use the word elitist, but used hyperbole to imply it. The title of his article: “Prince Charles: Save the world with organic farming.” ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://civileats.com/2011/05/06/elitism-is-dead-the-new-debate-for-the-good-food-movement/

[SpiralHawk]

1. The 'elitism' thingy is just RepuliCorp FRAMING

RepubliCorp (R) wants to continue reaping massive profits by polluting the earth and its waters, and serving up craploads of chemicalized, herbicized, genetically mutant nutrional facsimile crud under the name of so-called 'food.'

They have hired mind-f*ck psychologists to find the key words to try and tar-and-feather anyone who advocates decent, wholesome, clean food.

Ptoooey on RepubliCorp (R) black-ops FRAMING strategery...

[OneGrassRoot]

2. Great post, great site. Thanks! K&R n/t

[Zorra]

3. Corporate media butt trolls doing their nasty thing. nt

[SpiralHawk]

4. As usual. RepubliCorp black-ops occultism (R)

Their Dark Thingy (R).

[farmbo]

5. This new farming movement is anything but elitist...

The number of farms in the U.S. has grown 4% and growers have diversified their production in the past five years, according to the results of the 2007 Census of Agriculture released Feb. 4 by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The 2007 Census counted 2,204,792 farms in the U.S., which is a net increase of 75,810 farms. Nearly 300,000 new farms have begun operation since the 2002 census. Compared to all farms nationwide, these new farms tend to have more diversified production, fewer acres, lower sales, and younger growers who also work off-farm.

The demographics of U.S. growers have increased in diversity as well over the past five years. There were 30% more women, 10% more Hispanic, and an increase in the number of American Indian, Asian, and African-American growers counted in the 2007 Census as compared to 2002...

http://www.growingproduce.com/news/afg/?storyid=1307

Get your information on USDA's Beginning Farmer & Rancher Loans here:

http://www.apfo.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=bfl

You are the Future of Food

[crickets]

6. K&R