Goal: transform our agricultural narrative
Completed: December, 2019
What: In my first semester of grad school, my final assignment was to conduct a "transformational narrative". The assignment focused on the fact that our whole food system is based on norms that are accepted by society and that govern the way the food system impacts the environment and our society as a result.
Why: The point of transforming the narrative was to identify these assumptions (for example, the belief that food should be cheap) and unveil an alternative narrative that is not often considered.
How: In class, we each worked with a partner or two to focus on a particular topic that we are passionate about. Marissa and I, both daughters of midwestern farmers, are strongly connected to our upbringing on the farm; neither of us would be the women we are today without it. Having chosen the topic of "regenerative agriculture", we decided we wanted to rewrite the current narrative that has formed the agricultural system that we grew up in into one that would support a transition into the type of farming we hope to empower.
Marissa and I with our final product!
First, we identified the current narrative of our "conventional" farming system. What follows are some of the assumptions that we uncovered:
- Food should be cheap
- Farmers should maximize yields
- Farms must fight with nature (drought, flooding, pests, weeds) in order to be successful
- Waterways and ecosystems are damaged because of how farmers choose to practice
- Farming cannot occur without inputs from corporations
- Farming is a method of extraction
These assumptions put farmers as the ones responsible for lessening the negative impacts of agriculture while also making it very difficult for them to do so.
We then worked to demonstrate that these assumptions are flawed and result in negative externalities. By doing so, we were able to shift the narrative to new ideals that can benefit many parts and players within agriculture. It helped to show a new system where farmers are not the only ones responsible, but one where we all are.
This new narrative is founded on the belief that these issues exist because we are not putting the farmer at the table; we are not saving a seat for them in our homes, in our congress, and in other positions of power and respect.
This is what inspired the transformation to take place.
Thank you for reading,
Lauren
- Scene -
You enter a restaurant named Last Call. The restaurant was titled as such because of the urgency of this transformation and also the desire to be inclusive in that process. As you enter the restaurant, you are greeted by a hostess, and she offers you a menu.
The first side of the menu that you see is for the current system. This side, titled, "Last Call - This Won't Last Long," iterates the current assumptions of the agricultural system and the resulting impacts on people, animals, and the environment. It demonstrates that such a degrading system simply won't last long, for it is unsustainable.
After discussing the "options" on the first side of the menu, the hostess flips it over to a new side. Before handing you the menu, the hostess brings attention to the fact that this back side has been marked as "UNAVAILABLE" with a red stamp. She apologizes that these options are not being offered at the moment because we have not been providing our farmers a seat at the table. Upon skimming the menu, you can see the differences. A new title, "Last Call - It's Time For Change,"is printed at the top. After reading, it is clear that it is time for change and that we need farmers to be valued and included in order to get to this alternate narrative. It shows that a shifted system, one with different expectations and values, can result in much healthier and regenerative practices that benefit all involved.
After handing you the menu to read, the hostess kindly offers you a glass of water. Water, a current "free" luxury in our country, is becoming scarcer with climate change and more polluted with agriculture. Fertilizers and pesticides contaminate it, and our vital topsoil erodes into it after fields are tilled.
This offer of water, contaminated itself, evokes an undesirability. It is clear that one would not want to eat in this restaurant. Rather, the unavailable menu, one that could be offered if the system better valued and supported farmers, becomes the desirable option. It leaves visitors also feeling that yes...
...it is time for change.