If you visit rural America, many of the roads will have names like ‘Farm to Market’ – implying an ebb and flow of life centered around agriculture. As America developed in the 20th century, many of these places grew less populated, and those near city centers were replaced by shopping malls and suburban housing as the country shifted from a rural farming model to a more urban manufacturing and services based economy. For farmer Tom, who joins us this evening, his family has remained for generations in the occupation that built America, setting him apart from the millions of atomized and rootless consumers that populate the cities of today. We discuss how the country shifted from a nation of small, local and decentralized growers to one of large, multinational, and centralized big farming that separates production and consumption as part of the ever churning marketplace that defines the modern agriculture complex.
— Brought to you by —
Very special guest Farmer Tom
Myth of the 20th Century – Episode 124 – The American Farmer – Tradition in Modernity
— References —
– Dark Energy – Peak Oil and its Consequences, Myth of the 20th Century (2018) – https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/dark-energy-peak-oil-and-its-consequences/
– The Big Fraud – Savings and Loan Crisis, Myth of the 20th Century (2018) – https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2018/11/14/the-big-fraud-savings-and-loan-crisis/
– Industrialized Agriculture and its Consequences – Mischa Popoff, Myth of the 20th Century (2018) – https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2018/12/19/industrialized-agriculture-and-its-consequences-mischa-popoff/
– The Agricultural Origins of the United States, Myth of the 20th Century (2019) – https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2019/05/01/the-agricultural-origins-of-the-united-states/
– R-CALF USA, cattle feeders sue packing plants, Schlect (2019) – https://www.agweek.com/business/agriculture/4611132-r-calf-usa-cattle-feeders-sue-packing-plants
– How America’s food giants swallowed the family farms, McGreal (2019) – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/09/american-food-giants-swallow-the-family-farms-iowa
– American Chernobyl, Burning Platform (2019) – https://www.theburningplatform.com/2019/05/30/american-chernobyl/#more-197465
– No Tillage Cropping Systems – https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_015627.pdf
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