We Need Sovereignty, Not Saviors

Big Ag has normalized a dangerously inaccurate story to justify their extractive model. This story depicts Big Ag as the hero, the only actor capable of extracting the food we need to feed an ever-growing population.

Here's where they're wrong. The earth is not a passive entity to be exploited for maximum productivity. As Indigenous communities have known for centuries, the earth is a naturally regenerative body that can be cultivated to remain ecologically productive for thousands of years. Farming and land stewardship go hand-in-hand, as farmers are necessarily invested in the health of the ecological systems that sustain them. In pushing a narrative of industrial necessity, Big Ag has left a mess of environmental, social, and economic destruction in its wake.

It's true that the human population is growing, but without intensive industrial practices that flood markets, destroy soil, and exploit farmers, many communities wouldn't need a hero to provide food. They could simply feed themselves: already, 70-80% of people worldwide are being fed by smaller farms. Research shows that these small farmers could double or even triple their production without adopting industrial farming methods.

Today's local and regional food systems excel at feeding their communities. For example, think back to the worst of the COVID pandemic, when food was flying off the shelves and there was widespread panic over the food supply. Locally-focused producers and distributors adapted and worked overtime to feed their communities. Meanwhile, the Big Four meatpackers made record profits on increased exports to China while inflicting unsafe working conditions on their employees.

As long as our agriculture policies enable a small number of very powerful companies that prioritize profits over people, we will never successfully, equitably, and safely feed the world.