Reply #184: I work with poor white farmers

[m berst]

"Anything foolish" includes concluding that ALL poor white farmers are the same...

My reference to poor white farmers was in a historical context, was regionally specific, and in no way meant to be derogatory about a group of people, as I carefully explained to you, and was specific to the subject of racial inequality.

Here is a list of the several hundred small farmers with whom I work closely-

http://www.applejournal.com/trail.htm

I have written extensively in advocacy of the small farmer, and in opposition to the stereotypes.

Here is a sample -

Modern urban Americans have an increasingly vague sense of where the food they eat comes from and how is it produced. Being 3 or 4 generations removed from the family farm, and subject to intense marketing of processed food and lured by the convenience of packaged or prepared on demand food, this diminishing awareness is accompanied by a declining quality in dietary habits. Media images of farmers as backwards, primitive and provincial - the rural "hayseed" or "country hick" stereotype - haven't helped in the struggle to educate the public about the life and death issues of food production, and the scientific and enlightened approach needed to succeed as a modern farmer.

The essential and time-honored art of agriculture, the very bedrock of our way of life, is one of the oldest and most dynamic civilized pursuits. When we say "scientific farming" we mean agriculture that is based on measurable, objective results, tested and reviewed by a wide variety of qualified and dedicated individuals and institutions. As scientific farmers, we are in close contact with the researchers at Michigan State University, we work with the pest management experts and read, study and attend conventions and classes constantly.