One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture

Similar to Phil, Kevin understands that his “land is part of an ecological whole in which they can’t manipulate one thing without impacting everything else” (123). In contrast to industrial agriculture, Kevin does not seek to specialize in one or two crops. Kevin also feels responsible for both the environment and community’s wellbeing. This sense of responsibility is one reason why he chooses to grow organic fruits and vegetables. He has worked as an organic farm inspector since the mid-1990s, resulting in his detailed knowledge of organic food policies and practices. Kevin believes that a national organic standard ensures consistency and purity. Both aspects are beneficial for consumers. Without these standards, consumers have no way of knowing whether something is truly organic. Kevin also believes that these standards keep growers accountable. Deceiving consumers by selling fake organic produce (i.e., produce that uses chemicals and other synthesized ingredients) is an affront to “consumer’s personal liberty and his or her philosophical commitment to supporting organic growers and practices over industrial ones” (125).

Anderson opens this chapter by explaining how we got to the majority of corn and soybeans in American fields being genetically modified (GM). The answer: Monsanto, an agrochemical/biotech corporation. In the 1990s, Monsanto created seeds that survived the application of Roundup, which was the company’s herbicide. At the time, Roundup killed both weeds and crops. With the invention of GM seeds, however, crops were now capable of surviving the herbicide. Similar to other conventional agricultural tools promoted by large agribusiness corporations, farmers embraced Roundup and GM corn and soybeans.

The use of herbicide and GM seeds came with substantial costs. Farmers typically sprayed the herbicide on their crops one to three times per year, which put evolutionary pressure on weeds. This pressure created “superweeds” (129), which became resistant to the herbicide. Farmers responded by increasing their herbicide usage, resulting in further resistance. In addition, greater amounts of the chemical made its way into the food chain, including into human bodies.

Anderson contrasts this situation with Kevin’s greenhouse. In his greenhouse, “every plant is what it claims to be, inside and out” (132). By this, Kevin’s produce is not human created. In fact, Kevin strongly disagrees with GM seeds. He believes that replacing natural processes with lab solutions is deeply wrong and a detriment to the health of humans and our planet.

Chapter 14 illustrates how regenerative agriculture can sustain farming families. Anderson’s father “has always struggled to balance time and money spent on the family and the ranch” (137). In most cases, the ranch wins. Her father has rarely taken vacations or been on extended stays away from the ranch. Families that practice conventional agriculture constantly fear being outcompeted by larger farms. This drives them to continuously expand their farms, which further exacerbates their exhaustion and inability to have free time. Given her father’s predicament, Anderson asks Kevin to honestly answer whether “the farm overtakes his life” (137). Kevin emphasizes that his farming style allows him to have the best of both worlds: He can have a successful business that provides for his family and community while also being able to prioritize family over work.

Kevin believes that the key to shifting from conventional to regenerative agriculture lies with consumers. This shift will not be easy. In capitalistic societies, profit is the only thing that matters. As a result, large corporations and businesses will not change until profits drive them to do so. Anderson argues that money is likely not enough to cause this shift. Rather, she argues that taking an integrated approach that considers the context of individual farmers and their communities will drive change.

One way to drive change is through the cooperative extension service (CES), which is a large education system that helps farmers adopt new and existing farming technologies and methods. Unfortunately, the main ally of the CES is agribusiness. Land-grant colleges oversee the CES and determine what information reaches farmers and non-farmers alike. However, agribusiness corporations often fund these land-grant colleges. Thus, agribusiness corporations have approved the research that reaches the public. Anderson believes, however, that voters and extracting land-grant colleges from the grip of agribusiness can change this situation.

A big part of why Kevin’s farm has survived and thrived is that it primarily services niche restaurants in Vero Beach. These customers not only care about organic food but are also able to afford the price difference between organic and conventional food. Kevin acknowledges that the niche he has created revolves around wealthier individuals: “I’m a farmer, but my job is to service the rich” (154).

Organic and local foods are more expensive for households, and access to those foods are easier in more affluent urban areas compared to poor urban or rural areas. Studies also suggest that higher educational attainment rates, more so than income, are correlated with buying organic. Part of why organic food is more expensive right now is due to the lower supply of organic farms compared to conventional farms. Because demand is higher than supply, this drives up the price of organic food. The government also subsidizes conventional food, which keeps prices artificially low. Thus, as more farms convert to organic food production and the government stops its subsidies, the cost of organic food will decrease.

Farmers’ markets are also a good way of ensuring that people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds have access to wholesome food to live healthy lives. For example, Kevin also sells his produce at the Vero Beach Oceanside Farmers’ Market, where the clientele is middle class. Because his produce at the farmers’ market is either cheaper or the same price as organic produce found in local grocery stores, Kevin is able to reach more customers. However, farmers’ markets do not always reach people from the lowest socioeconomic brackets, a point of concern for Anderson. To truly be able to feed all people healthy food, she believes that Americans need to reorient the food system to create a nation filled with diverse regenerative farms of all sizes.

In Chapter 17, Anderson introduces another “atypical farmer” named Fidel Gonzalez, whom she met through the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The AFSC is a farmer-to-farmer training program. Like Kevin, Fidel, who had no background in farming, became a farmer later in life. His farm, which is USDA certified organic, is in his backyard, which is located at Albuquerque’s city limits. The term urban farming, defined as growing or producing food in or around urban areas, describes Fidel’s agricultural practice.

On his farm, Fidel grows collard greens, kale, chard, radishes, arugula, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes, with plans for more varieties of vegetables and herbs. He supplements the soil’s nutrients with bone meal and blood meal; both organic-approved biological additives. To control insects and diseases, he implements crop rotation strategies rather than pesticides. He also waters his crops using drip line systems, which saves water. Water stewardship is important to Fidel considering New Mexico has been in a drought for the last several years at the time of this publication. He sells his produce to the community through restaurants, farmers’ markets, the city’s public schools, and through a community-supported agriculture program that provides produce boxes to members. In contrast to Kevin, Fidel’s farm serves the whole community. Given Fidel’s Mexican heritage, he also focuses on the Latinx community. Despite making up nearly 50% of the city’s population, very few go to farmers’ markets, in part because many are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. To Fidel, the fact that all community members cannot afford healthy food is an injustice.

Similar to other regenerative and organic farmers, Fidel sees agriculture “as a spiritual experience” (177) and “part of what it means to be human” (177). To him (and Phil), food represents the building blocks of society. Without food, individuals would not be able to produce art, make music, discuss politics, and so on. Fidel also gains great personal fulfillment from growing produce, especially when he sees his community and family eating it.

Fidel notes that one of the challenges of urban faming is land availability. Because demand is so high, plots of land are hard to come by and typically more expensive than elsewhere in the country. While he is looking to purchase more land, he currently works hard to figure out how to make his current greenhouse as productive as possible. The land is not what is important to Fidel though. Rather, it is how the land allows him to produce a community. He has the potential to educate more people about regenerative and organic produce and employ more local community members. In fact, farmers like Fidel are part of Albuquerque’s goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% over the next 30 years. Another city goal is to increase the number of urban farmers to help make the city more sustainable and its community healthier. The city is focused on building an inclusive future, something that needs to happen nationwide.