Spring Break
Economists, farmer point to positive trends in local and global agriculture
By: Chris Hokanson
Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: News
Stufflebeam, whose farm produces more than a hundred different varieties of fruits and vegetables, said small farms can be more resistant to fluctuations in the agricultural economy than corporate farms can.
"Farmers are the biggest gamblers," he said. "Why would I put everything into one crop? I'm a plant nut... I would get bored if I grew a thousand acres of just tomatoes."
Small farming is beneficial to the world in many ways, Stufflebeam said, from nutrition to the environment. Because all of his buyers are close, his food never travels more than 60 miles from his farm. This means less and less emissions in a world where food in a local grocery store might have travelled across the country, he said.
Stufflebeam also pointed to his goal of more "relationship farming" - a community supported agriculture in which the local farmers are accountable to their buyers.
"Why do I need the USDA to certify my foods as organic when all my customers trust me and can come to my farm and watch me grow their food?" he said.
The Association for Social Entrepreneurship's Agriculture Teach-In was their second teach-in this semester. Their first teach-in focused on the Fair Trade movement, and Elliot Hall, the ASE program coordinator, said he hopes that the events raise awareness about ongoing social issues.
"We as a student organization feel that it's our job to raise awareness about these issues," he said. "So that when A&M students graduate and move on, issues such as our agriculture system or pollution in our environment are still on their minds, so that the business they choose to work for is one that gives back and works to address those issues."
"Farmers are the biggest gamblers," he said. "Why would I put everything into one crop? I'm a plant nut... I would get bored if I grew a thousand acres of just tomatoes."
Small farming is beneficial to the world in many ways, Stufflebeam said, from nutrition to the environment. Because all of his buyers are close, his food never travels more than 60 miles from his farm. This means less and less emissions in a world where food in a local grocery store might have travelled across the country, he said.
Stufflebeam also pointed to his goal of more "relationship farming" - a community supported agriculture in which the local farmers are accountable to their buyers.
"Why do I need the USDA to certify my foods as organic when all my customers trust me and can come to my farm and watch me grow their food?" he said.
The Association for Social Entrepreneurship's Agriculture Teach-In was their second teach-in this semester. Their first teach-in focused on the Fair Trade movement, and Elliot Hall, the ASE program coordinator, said he hopes that the events raise awareness about ongoing social issues.
"We as a student organization feel that it's our job to raise awareness about these issues," he said. "So that when A&M students graduate and move on, issues such as our agriculture system or pollution in our environment are still on their minds, so that the business they choose to work for is one that gives back and works to address those issues."
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