"Small farms farm better.
And large farms can’t.
Small farms are the best hope that we hold of feeding a future of 9 billion (and beyond). At the same time they hold the potential to redistribute wealth, conserve biodiversity, secure livelihoods for some of the world’s most marginalised and ensure a continuation of traditional cultural relationships with the land. They are truly our most sustainable option."
"Sustainable development in agriculture would ensure that the economic, social, environmental and cultural needs of present and future generations are met. Sustainable agriculture rests on these four pillars."
"Perhaps the most compelling argument for small farms, though, is this: they hold the promise of healing the disconnect between food producers and food consumers. By their very nature, they force us to come into closer contact with the person who grows our food — or for farmers, the people who consume it. Aside from the reduced transaction and transportation costs associated with small farm food networks, this connection is vitally important because food is a visceral experience. Preparing and eating food is an intellectual and emotional experience that binds us together, connecting us with one another and with ourselves. Society’s cultural foundations have been bound with food; our ever-increasing disconnection from our rural origins has seen those foundations become dangerously unstable.
If
we truly want to create a sustainable future, then we must first
reconnect the pieces of our support structure — small farm by small
farm."
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