Diversification vs Mono-Culture

The diversified farm may have cows, pigs, chickens, maybe a goat dairy, sheep, produce gardens, maybe a vineyard or dozens of other enterprises many which have been completely forgotten about over the last 75 years or so. The concept of what was once called mixed farming has been almost forgotten because most farms have been converted over these last 75 years to a system called mono-culture farming. This agribusiness model of farming kicked into high gear when industrial agriculture came on the scene. All of a sudden farmers began to take the advice of agriculture experts, politicians, and the Universities. The craft and art of farming which had been handed down with utmost care was not only set aside to be forgotten, but was cursed and those who continued to practice real farming were scrutinized to the point of ridicule and made out to be in-the-way of progress. This is still done today. But this so called progress has brought death, disease, destruction of quality soils, contaminated drinking water, and almost total annihilation of our rural communities. Now with an almost 50% of our population taking some sort of governmental assistance the jobs of producing food that could employ a great number of these unemployed or non workers, are considered beneath the working standards of most Americans. But what greater career could be had than nourishing the bodies of our fellow man?

A mono-culture farm is really not a farm at all but more of a manufacturing plant. This is a place where generally only one agriculture enterprise is practiced and when using animals they are generally placed into small pens or large buildings and taken out of their natural environment. Rather than allowing these animals to feed themselves and grow naturally on the farm, their feed is generally grown somewhere else far away and trucked into the animal manufacturing plant. And in most cases these animals are fed a diet rich in concentrates or starchy grains whether or not these animals should have grain or a more fibrous diet like grass and forage plants which ruminating animals and other herbivores naturally eat. These animals not only receive a poor diet but also are housed in confinement in large numbers without the freedom to move with adequate space. Sickness and death would be unbelievable if it were not for the large amount of antibiotics and other medical treatments given to them. These are meat animals intended for human consumption and as we say here at Real Farm Foods, "we are what we eat, eats". If the animals we eat are fed antibiotics or rat poison, as in most chicken feed, well... you figure it out.

This so called modern system of agribusiness was billed out to the farmers as great improvements in production and profits. The introduction of genetically modified seeds, which include almost all corn and beans produced today, and even many of the known and common vegetables we are all familiar with, there has been no increase in real production attributed to these Frankenstein foods. The biggest addition has been an ever increasing amount of pesticides and herbicides in the average American diet. These poor farming practices have contributed enormously to the worst health of our nation since its beginning. It is a fact that real profits have declined so rapidly over these last 75 years that in many cases the primary farm profits come from the federal subsidies which make up a part of the so called farm bill, and paid by you the tax payers.

Diversified farming is not only more profitable for the farm, more humane to the animals,produces more nutrient dense foods without harsh chemicals, has much higher yields per acre, puts more people to work, but by definition is a requirement for sustainability of the farm and its resources as well as for the sustainability of life itself on and off the farm. A diversified farm can be compared in many ways to a well rounded family. Can you imagine what kind of children and problems parents would be producing if they ran their household like a manufacturing plant? Just like the diversified farm, children need a great amount of diversification and exposure to many different aspects of life while growing up. We even know what some of the medical problems we can have when we go around trying to kill all the bacteria we come in contact with. Children need to be nourished with a wide range of healthy foods, and have some contact with an ever increasing and broad range of bacteria, viruses, dirt, and who knows what else to help build a strong immune system that can help them for the rest of their lives. We do the same thing with our livestock on our diversified farms. A great deal has been written over time on how a diversified farm is simply an extension of the family. Maybe this helps some of us understand better the benefits of a diversified farm. The valuable care given to a productive family can be simply extended into the practice of good farming. Mono-culture agribusiness is not family oriented and relishes in chemicals, pesticides, ecological and sociological destruction, and has bragging rights only for engineered profits and political entanglements for short sided and careless individuals.

Real Farm Foods continues to strive for diversification for the health and well being of our family today as well as for the families that will be here long after we have moved on. Other farms across our country as well as other countries are loosely bound together by this recognition of how our agriculture went wrong years ago. Many good folks living off the farm have joined with us to correct some of these wrongs. As you shop for your weekly meals that are intended to nourish your family you might inquire whether the food is coming from a mono-culture manufacturing chemical plant, or a local diversified family farm, and realize that it really does make a difference for yourself, for your family and for the families who grow Real food.