Selection 27 Summary

In the Agriculture Crisis as a Crisis of Nature by Wendell Berry, he discusses the cultural aspects of agriculture. He Begins by telling us how Henry County where he grew up changed from a farming county. He says the farms used to be small, family owned and had highly diversified crops and livestock. They could live off these crops and make a living by selling the surplus. He follows by saying that since World War 2 agriculture has become increasingly mechanized. Farms are now becoming larger and the owners fewer. The new technologies and big businesses are leaving more abandoned land then ever before. He then says that the young people are not staying to inherit the farms because its too expensive. A farmer can no longer make a living from minor produce because of the expensive machinery now required for sanitation. there is less germs but more poisons in our food as a result. he then brings up the fact that farmers are being forced to get big or get out. he says that agriculture has shifted from quality to quantity not realizing the two are interconnected. He states that food is a cultural product not a technological one. the best farming requires generations of accumulated knowledge and community cooperation not found in big farming. the new way changes farmers from thinking of agricultural responsibilty to financiasl responsabilty. He then says that both agriculture and culture needs unity if they want to be long lived. H concludes by saying we have exchanged cultual responsabilty and cooperation with moral ignorance that comes with new technology.