How The Farm Bill Helped Me Find My Calling
One day in early 2008, I attended a symposium on the Farm Bill which was held at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, CT. I had no idea that this would be a life changing day.
I was interested in attending simply because most of my family are farmers and I thought I would learn more about the challenges they face. That day I listened to Michel Nichan, the executive chef at The Dressing Room Restaurant in Westport and Annie Farrell, the farmer at Millstone Farm in Weston, CT. They spoke about farm subsidies, commodity crops and the lack of subsidies for specialty crop farmers. (Specialty crops are basically vegetable crops that are not sold as commodities. Commodity crops are rice, wheat, cotton, corn and soybeans). I also joined NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers Association) and went on organic farm tours a few months later.
As I began to read books like Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver it became clear to me that as a nation we have become too dependent on others for our food. I also realized that there are major issues with not only the quality of our food in this country but environmental and health related concerns that are linked to our food system. I began to see that feeding our families from local instead of international sources is not as easy as it once was. Other problems like low nutrient foods, obesity, diabetes, food safety and food security are prevalent in our society.
I began to talk with my close friend Jennifer about the things that I was learning and told her I wanted to do my part to make some changes. She thought I should start my own business installing organic veggie gardens in our town and she imagined many of us growing unique varieties of heirloom vegetables and then trading veggies and seeds with our neighbors.
After that conversation I began to feel that I had found my calling (or it found me) and there was no turning back. For those of you who have experienced a calling, you know that you find yourself saying "yes!" even though it would be easier to say "no". I thought about the logistics of starting a business when I have young kids at home, how to fund my new venture and also went through periods of self-doubt. I wondered if I had the experience and tenacity to continue and found a thousand other reasons to say "no" but I kept saying "yes!".
Now I realize that I still have much work to do. We need to learn backyard gardening skills, we need to be self-sufficient, we need more food from local sources, we need nutritious, local food in our schools
and we need to know our neighbors, our local community and our farmers.
I am grateful to my friends, family, colleagues and clients who have supported me in my work. I hope you will stay in touch and send me updates and pictures of your gardens.
Declare Victory,
Vonne Whittleton
Note:
A link to the policy highlight of the 2012 Farm Bill: An Opportunity to Support Farmers and Promote Public Health is below
http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/20100803flag.pdf
I was interested in attending simply because most of my family are farmers and I thought I would learn more about the challenges they face. That day I listened to Michel Nichan, the executive chef at The Dressing Room Restaurant in Westport and Annie Farrell, the farmer at Millstone Farm in Weston, CT. They spoke about farm subsidies, commodity crops and the lack of subsidies for specialty crop farmers. (Specialty crops are basically vegetable crops that are not sold as commodities. Commodity crops are rice, wheat, cotton, corn and soybeans). I also joined NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers Association) and went on organic farm tours a few months later.
As I began to read books like Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver it became clear to me that as a nation we have become too dependent on others for our food. I also realized that there are major issues with not only the quality of our food in this country but environmental and health related concerns that are linked to our food system. I began to see that feeding our families from local instead of international sources is not as easy as it once was. Other problems like low nutrient foods, obesity, diabetes, food safety and food security are prevalent in our society.
I began to talk with my close friend Jennifer about the things that I was learning and told her I wanted to do my part to make some changes. She thought I should start my own business installing organic veggie gardens in our town and she imagined many of us growing unique varieties of heirloom vegetables and then trading veggies and seeds with our neighbors.
After that conversation I began to feel that I had found my calling (or it found me) and there was no turning back. For those of you who have experienced a calling, you know that you find yourself saying "yes!" even though it would be easier to say "no". I thought about the logistics of starting a business when I have young kids at home, how to fund my new venture and also went through periods of self-doubt. I wondered if I had the experience and tenacity to continue and found a thousand other reasons to say "no" but I kept saying "yes!".
Now I realize that I still have much work to do. We need to learn backyard gardening skills, we need to be self-sufficient, we need more food from local sources, we need nutritious, local food in our schools
and we need to know our neighbors, our local community and our farmers.
I am grateful to my friends, family, colleagues and clients who have supported me in my work. I hope you will stay in touch and send me updates and pictures of your gardens.
Declare Victory,
Vonne Whittleton
Note:
A link to the policy highlight of the 2012 Farm Bill: An Opportunity to Support Farmers and Promote Public Health is below
http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/20100803flag.pdf
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