from YES! Magazine:
Young Farmers: A Growing Movement
In spite of the daily discouraging environmental, political, and economic news, coaxing living things to grow somehow seems to make folks optimistic.by Fran Korten
posted Sep 20, 2011
Recently during lunch at the YES! offices, online editor Brooke Jarvis made a casual comment I found quite stunning. Brooke, a sharp, talented 20-something, said “I don’t know a single person under 30 who doesn’t want to own a farm.”
What? Own a farm? I turned to several 20-somethings at the table and asked if they agreed. They did. They waxed eloquent about their love for lambs, ducks, chickens, bees. (No one mentioned weeding.) They confessed they weren’t sure they would ever actually own a farm, but their yearning was definitely real.
I think that just five years ago the 20-somethings in our office were not longing to own a farm. Something in our culture is changing. A growing segment of people don’t want to just buy organic, healthy food. They want to grow it. This new lust to farm seems to cross class, race, and politics.
For example, Robert Jeffrey Jr., an African American pastor in Seattle, started Clean Greens Farm to bring produce to the inner city, where fresh food is hard to find. He’s gotten a tremendous response from young people of all races ready to get their hands in the dirt. ..........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/new-livelihoods/a-growing-movement