So, in thinking about my new goals and direction, I have been combing through all of my old files, writings, and photos... I came across my original "Manifesto" of motivation for why I started all of this so many years ago. I thought that it was worth sharing here as a testament to the fact that I have been working toward this for many years, and while I still have no idea where I will end up, I have been working toward a laudable end goal from the beginning. I hope you join me moving forward on this path, and I hope you enjoy this bit of history from more than ten years ago.
I don't know about you, but I have had several life events in the past few years that have made me reconsider what I felt was important and the direction that I was heading in. In no particular order, in these last four years, I have gotten divorced, remarried, changed schools I taught at, left the profession of teaching, witnessed the birth of my son, welcomed two daughters into my life and I have firmly made the decision to become a farmer.
But where did this decision come from? I remember one specific moment when I first looked into the eyes of my son, and at that moment, I realized that I wanted to do whatever I could to make the world he had just become a part of better than the one that I had entered. I felt at that moment that I wanted to do whatever I could to help make things a little better.
Now think about this, what better way in there to do just that, than through food? Food is a basic need. It is something that every single person of every race, religion, culture, or economic level requires. Currently, there are so many problems with our current food system, that they have become a mountain threatening to bury us all. But, there don't have to be. There are simple ways to free ourselves from this monster. For us to become less dependent on the beast that is the "Corporate Agri-business System." At that moment looking into the eyes of my son, I realized that I could make a difference and, more so, that I truly wanted to.
It was not until that moment that I really recognized within myself a deep-seated feeling of disconnection from the world around me. While I can't really put it all into words, the crux of that feeling was that I truly wanted to do something creative and constructive that actually makes a difference for the people around me. Now, I know that there are MANY ways to do this -- but in the days since my son was born, I have come to realize that MY way of doing this is to produce food, and to teach others how to do it themselves.
So this is my Mission and my path into the Future. I want to grow food and to teach others how to do the same. I want my son and daughters to know that it is possible to produce high-quality, nutrient-dense food with nearly no negative effect on the environment. That it is possible to live in balance with the world around us and even for us to thrive while helping the world we live in. One of my personal heroes, Will Allen of Growing Power has been working toward a food revolution for nearly 25 years. Today, I proudly put this forward and ask everyone to join me in the Good Food Revolution. We can change the food we eat.
The Revolution is Growing!