Green Options

When the only factor that determined if farms lived or died was the price of food, farm income was rather boringly steady. Now that biofuels have given agriculture a value greater than staple food crops, farmers have seen some huge rewards. But with those rewards have come greatly increased risks — risks that farmers are finding out the hard way right now.

You may have read, especially from various press releases, about this restaurant claiming to “green” or “sustainable” or that chef doing “farm-to-table” cuisine. Now don’t get me wrong. I am a huge proponent and supporter of sustainable cuisine and local artisans, as long as it isn’t used just for PR purposes. But with all do respect to my fellow locavore restaurateurs, the Real Farm-to-Table cuisine is represented by restaurants like the recently opened Founding Farmers in Washington, DC. The North Dakota Farmers Union, which has 42,000 members, made a $6 million investment (in a  pair of Washington restaurants) despite the economic downturn, high food prices and risks inherent in running a restaurant.

Source: Founding Farmers

Foodies love to forage for new discoveries at the farmers’ market, often finding fresh produce booty at the booth of a new immigrant farmer. From gai cho, an Asian mustard cabbage favored by the Hmong, to epazote, a pungent Mexican herb, new flavors and possibilities can increasingly be found as these immigrant farmers grow in number.

But supporting these new immigrant farmers can go beyond unique produce experimentation. We currently don’t grow nearly enough produce in the United States to meet dietary guidelines domestically. This country desperately needs more farmers to raise fruits and vegetables. With only 2 percent of Americans still farming, even the Census doesn’t count agriculture as a profession anymore. With each of us, aside from Native Americans, having immigrant roots of some sort, supporting new ethnic farmers draws on that American pioneer sprit that the land can gift you with a livelihood.

Got some epazote, gai choy on your farmers market list this week? As new immigrant farmers plant agriculture careers on American soil, our produce options increase with fresh flavorful options like the pungent Mexican herb, epazote, or Asian mustard cabbage, known by the Hmong as gai choy.

But these new farmers represent more than undiscovered greens. Like the American pioneers of 150 years ago, this current crop of immigrants also seeks a new and better life through working the soil. However, these new immigrants don’t need to forge along and isolated out on the prairie today. Through our food purchases we can seek out and support this new face of American agriculture.

Call it a chick thing. Call it too many episodes of “Little House on the Prairie” growing up. Call it a quest for crafting a livelihood around our inner female pioneer, wanting to create businesses around our passions for food, the land and leaving this world a better place. While the number of farms in the U.S. continues to decline overall, the number of farms purchased and run by women under 55 is on an upswing. With most of these new female farm ventures embracing sustainable agriculture principles — and many moving into farming after careers in other industries entirely — these chicks add a significant positive ripple into our food system, one organic, heirloom tomato at a time.

“Women farmers today are reinventing the face of organic agriculture,” explains Denise O’Brien, executive director of the Women in Food and Agriculture Network. “They’re focused on raising healthy food for their community and often sell their products through farmers’ markets or community supported agriculture initiatives.” Young women, such as Zoë Bradbury in Oregon, are ditching traditional career paths early on to go for their dreams of being a farmer and contributing to creating a local, healthy food system. Or these women may run diversified farm-based businesses, such as Marguerite Ramlow who runs Artha Sustainable Living Center from her farm in Wisconsin, conducting organic gardening, yoga, renewable energy and sustainable living workshops on-site.

Why this trend of women launching farm and food based businesses?