My Doubts About Pollan's Changes

            I want to respond to a point that Michael Pollan brought up in his NY Times article Farmer-in-Chief. First of all, it was excellently done. I agreed with almost everything he had to say, except for one proposed change. According to Pollan, one change needed to correct and re-regionalize our food system, was that millions of more people needed to become farmers–one way to do that was to change the status/prestige associated with farming. One way to so would be to start early on in our education system. There we can reconstruct the farming occupation and attribute to it the prestige and status it deserves (in doing so, more young kids will want to become farmers). Second, recreate the position so there is more room for agricultural innovation that supports a healthier climate and leads to a more sustainable system. I do not disagree with all of this, but rather, I am very pessimistic about implementing this change. I do not think it can be done.

            Even if farming had lots of prestige, maybe even as much a lawyer, I do not think the millions of young people we need to become farmers, would. Prestige does not change the fact that running a farm is physically demanding, and very restricting in terms of lifestyle; especially when we consider that Pollan wants more farms cultivating a variety of crops and animals. Animals are so much work because they require constant care. Vacationing is very difficult for any farmer because the cows always need to be milked, stalls cleaned, and crops harvested before they rot in the ground. I don't think a farmer will be finding anyone to "pet sit" for his cows, because my family has a hard enough time finding a pet sitter for our dog. A farmer's life is restricted in his daily routine. He needs to be home on time early in the morning and later afternoon to milk the 10+ cows. Also, I love working on the farm for this class, but I do not want it to be my life–there are so many other things I like doing as well. I am happy with a small backyard vegetable garden.

            So, my point is that I do not see many people buying into this lifestyle, no matter what the compensation or reward is. If Farmer Boy taught us anything, it is that the work never stops.