Land Exploitation and Farm Culture—How Can We Ethically Cultivate the Land?

Transition from Exploiters to Nurturers—Industrialized to Farm Culture?

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Development of Exploitative Culture

Wendell Berry believes that our society’s current form of agriculture is exploitative of both the land, and people. However, he does not argue that this condition of maltreatment is merely modern. Berry begins his essay—How We Grow Food Reflects Our Virtues and Vices—by stressing the significant role that the history of American culture plays in the continuity of our current relationship with the land, and how we ought to question that relationship.

Berry opens his disquisition by delving into the genealogy of American exploitation of the land and human beings. He discusses how, in the quest for profit, European explorers subjected Native Americans and fellow Europeans—whom have chosen to settle and aggregate a select land for sustenance—to their culture of conquest and annihilation. “If there is any law that has been consistently operative in American history, it is that the members of any established people or group or community sooner or later become “redskins”—that is, they become the designated victims of an utterly ruthless, officially sanctioned and subsidized exploitation” (Berry, 1977, p. 7). Berry further expresses that workers use the land for resource mining, and ultimately industrialization, to the point that the land nearly ceases to exist. Berry states that this process “is an intention that was organized here almost from the start” (Berry, 1977, p. 8).

Furthermore, Berry relays how the Europeans’ culture of exploitation and evasion of hard work and discipline was contagious. In fact, the Native Americans were attracted to this simple-minded lifestyle and ultimately adopted it. “The Indians acquired commercial values and developed business cults” (Berry, 1977, p. 8). Berry addresses the development of exploitative, industrialized culture to provide full context as to how and why it persists today. “Now, as then, we see the abstract values of an industrial economy preying upon the native productivity of land and people” (Berry, 1977, p. 9). Moreover, Berry provides insight into how rampant industrialization presently damages our land to an unsustainable point. He describes our modern system of agriculture as “highly centralized, genetically impoverished and dependent on cheap fossil fuels, on long-distance hauling and on consumers’ ignorance...This is an agriculture with a short future” (Pojman, Pojman, & McShane, 2017, p. 598).

Returning to the Role of Nurturers

Berry views the path towards ending our “gluttonous enterprise of ugliness, waste, and fraud” (Berry, 1977, p. 14) to be one that leads backwards—returning to how humans cultivated the land before industrialization exploited our greed and simple-mindedness. He relays that “a model nurturer” is “the old-fashioned idea or ideal of a farmer” (Berry, 1977, p. 10). Berry argues for a society in which people move away from industrialization, and return to a farm culture in which as many people own their own small farm as possible. Additionally, the farmers will treat their land with care and integrity; as the land will be the source of the farmer’s good health and longevity.

The competency to no longer rely on industrialized agriculture and injurious transport of resources is obtained through knowledge. Berry informs his audience that “knowing how to grow food leads to food. Knowing how to grow food in the best way leads to a dependable supply of food for a long time” (Pojman, Pojman, & McShane, 2017, p. 598). Berry also holds that a farm culture could take root in our society when its people undergo a cognitive shift that has them think inward. When people revalue their actions so that they pursue livelihood and not acquisition, they will free themselves of simplicity while upholding the health of themselves, their families, and the land. “We see the likelihood that our surroundings...are the products of our inward life—our spirit, our vision—as much as they are products of nature and work...There is nothing more absurd...than the millions who wish to live in luxury and idleness and yet be slender and good-looking” (Berry, 1977, p. 14).

On a similar note, Berry conveys the need for a cognitive shift by endorsing the return to “ancient wisdom”, enlightening us to the fact that “good work is our salvation and our joy” (Berry, 1977, p. 14-15). Berry invokes society’s re-prioritising of basic needs in order to establish a farm culture that “proposes an economy of necessities rather than an economy based upon anxiety, fantasy, luxury, and idle wishing” (Berry, 1977, p. 16). Finally, Berry argues that for this metamorphosis to occur, it must be intergenerational, meaning that the first generation to conform to this method of agriculture must pass on the knowledge and skills required to practice it. “A healthy farm culture can be based only upon familiarity and grow only among a people soundly established upon the land” (Berry, 1977, p. 21). Berry urges society to realign its desires with what the Earth can provide when treated with respect—which will satisfy the needs of people and give their lives purpose beyond selfish fantasy.

My View on Berry’s Call for a Farm Culture

Wendell Berry’s appeal to a farm culture provides important insight in how modern agriculture came to be what it is, as well as methods toward achieving a practical solution. I also believe that if a farm culture were to be developed, it would be successful in producing longevity for humanity and the planet. However, I do not believe that establishing a farm culture is practical in modern America.

Expecting that millions of individuals will even consider abandoning their long-term aspirations to tend to a small plot of land, producing a limited variety of food, is an absurd assumption. Most people that are passionate about teaching—for example—will not be able to pursue that opportunity if they spend their youth learning about farming and working on their own farm (unless, of course, the person is passionate about instructing farming lessons). Musicians will not be able to tour the nation. Doctors will not be able to serve their community, etc. This is especially the case if the person is providing for a family. One might counter this claim by stating that one parent can farm while the other pursues another occupation. This argument is easily defeated simply by making note of the abundance of single parents in America. Ultimately, a farm ethic is just not feasible. Furthermore, Berry discusses how quick Europeans and Native Americans were to leave their original agricultural system. That in itself loudly proclaims that generally, human beings wish to do more with their time than farm merely for sustenance.

However, as previously stated, I believe that Berry makes note of a couple of important processes that people must embrace in order to ameliorate this disastrous agricultural condition we are in. The first is undergoing a cognitive shift to be aware of their actual needs, and how they can be pursued. Many people are greedy, gluttonous, and wasteful. These are infamous characteristics because even ancient people understood the importance of taming their abuse. Simply learning to not over-consume and to buy local products when possible will result in less damage to the environment in terms of violent devastation and pollution.

The second accurate invocation that Berry makes is for properly educating future generations. I believe that the most practical approach for the U.S. is to implement a “New-New Deal” policy. By investing in clean energy we can produce food while mitigating environmental damage. We will also be developing new agricultural skills. These are skills that instructors will be able to teach to new students. Also, innovators will need to produce new machinery, creating more jobs and a competent generation to take over the process. The “jobs” argument is key. People want jobs, and our country is in need of them. Thus, people will be quick to embrace a “New-New Deal”, especially when done in the model of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s successful“New Deal”.

Wendell Berry would not agree with this argument. He is opposed to the idea that society’s agricultural solution is to develop new technology to use in mass. This is because even if the new technology is better than our current tools, it will only slow down the process of degrading the environment. “Those agriculturalists who think of the problems of food production solely in terms of technological innovation are oversimplifying both the practicalities of production and the network of meanings and values to define, nurture, and preserve the practical motivations” (Berry, 1977, p. 20). I hold that these concerns can be largely addressed by properly educating the next generation, which Berry advocates. Each generation can only make a certain amount of progress. What matters most is that we undergo the cognitive shift that Berry speaks of and begin moving in the direction that protects our environment. Doing so will stimulate the economy and provide the next generation with the resources they need to make further accomplishments.

References

Berry, W. (1977). How We Grow Food Reflects Our Virtues and Vices. From The Unsettling of
America: Culture and Agriculture (p. 5-25). Reprinted by Sierra Club Books.

Schlosser, E., Nestle, M., Pollan, M., Berry, W., Duster, T., Ransom, E., Laduke, W., Singer, P.,
Shiva, V., Petrini, C., Coleman, E., and Hightower, J. (2006). One Thing to do About
Food. In Pojman, L. P., Pojman, P., and McShane, K. Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application. (7th Edition, 2017, p. 598). Wadsworth Publishing.

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Land Exploitation and Farm Culture—How Can We Ethically Cultivate the Land?

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