Food Discussion : Has the Organic Movement Left Black Farmers Behind?

Clyde C Coger Jr

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In the Spirit of Agrarian Culture,



Has the Organic Movement Left Black Farmers Behind?
A history of discrimination and powerful cultural differences can often keep Black farmers from growing organic



Jahi Ellis is in survival mode. His island is the 91 acres of farmland he owns in Vidalia, Georgia, nearly 200 miles outside of Atlanta. His current shelter is a shed on his family’s land. His four-year land redemption agreement ends next fall and if he doesn’t come up with the near $60,000 he owes, he could lose it all. Organic farming—and the price premiums it brings—is one of his last strategies for saving his family’s 144-year-old vegetable farm ...



http://civileats.com/2016/01/04/has-the-organic-movement-left-black-farmers-behind/

shutterstock_26076253-e1451585677381-680x433.jpg


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They have resisted to certifying growing organicly because the practice of growing organicly has always been there. Doesn't make any sense. Or they thought they would be viewed as "weird"


Lot of crap in this article. if we get to the point of ensuring so many potatoes a year are grown by this race or that, it would just be insane.
 
They have resisted to certifying growing organicly because the practice of growing organicly has always been there. Doesn't make any sense. Or they thought they would be viewed as "weird"


Lot of crap in this article. if we get to the point of ensuring so many potatoes a year are grown by this race or that, it would just be insane.


"... Dr. Joe Leonard, USDA’s assistant secretary for civil rights, wrote in an email statement to Civil Eats that the agency has “made civil rights a priority, working to correct past errors and ensure all customers are treated fairly.”

The department launched its Cultural Transformation program effort in 2010, and has provided training for employees to work with underrepresented populations. And the agency says the initiative has led to a decrease in reported civil rights complaints from customers. The USDA also has an annual review process to ensure more women farmers and farmers of color are either elected or appointed to Farm Service Agencies on a county level.

But it might be a while before these changes trickle down to impact the lives of farmers like Ellis. For now, he says he’s staying busy, preparing his first winter crop. He’s growing a variety of greens, heirloom tomatoes, pomegranates, persimmons, and spices like ginger and turmeric. He says he sees opportunity everywhere for these foods.

“I want to leave a legacy for those who are coming,” Ellis said. “I want it to be 200 years of working this land and living off this land. If I can keep plugging away, something will crack” ..."

http://civileats.com/2016/01/04/has-the-organic-movement-left-black-farmers-behind/

...
 
They have resisted to certifying growing organicly because the practice of growing organicly has always been there. Doesn't make any sense. Or they thought they would be viewed as "weird"


Lot of crap in this article. if we get to the point of ensuring so many potatoes a year are grown by this race or that, it would just be insane.



You obviously don't know that this race or that got big farm subsidies that black farmers were denied. So the insanity has been going on for countless decades. For people that look like you





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