Contacts:
Steven McFadden
(410) 357-0042
www.wisdom-conservancy.org
Maryland Organic Food and
Farming Assoc.
(301) 432-2624
For Immediate ReleaseJanuary 11, 1999
Press Release
Author to Urge Maryland Community Action
As US Farms and Food Rapidly Mutate
PARKTON, MD January 11, 1999:
"The 1990's have been ruinous for many farms in Maryland and all across
America. We continue to lose the family farms that are the nation's social
and economic foundation. Now as global pressures continue to disrupt upon
the farm economy and as genetically engineered food floods the market, every
family and every town would be well advised to consider the model of
community supported agriculture (CSA)," says Steven McFadden, co-author of
Farms of Tomorrow Revisited (1998). "Community farms can help provide
Maryland towns and cities with a wholesome and secure food supply, and
improve the environment."
McFadden will speak on this theme Saturday, January 16, 10 to 11 AM, at the
annual Winter meeting of the Maryland Organic Food & Farming Association.
The meeting will be held at the Maryland Dept. of Agriculture, 50 Harry S.
Truman Pkwy., Annapolis, MD
The author of six acclaimed non-fiction books, and director of The Wisdom
Conservancy, McFadden says the foundation of our future is being laid right
now. "No matter what kind of civilization lies on the far side of the
millennium, it will be built upon farms. No culture, no technology, no
larger advancement of humanity can occur without healthy, thriving farms as
a sound base. But because of industrialization, chemicalization,
mineralization, global economic pressures, and genetic engineering, our
foundation is mutating rapidly and ominously. We must pause now, before the
millennium, to reflect carefully on the kind of agricultural foundation we
are establishing for our children and our childrenıs children. Farmers
cannot do this alone; they require wide community involvement and support."
With co-author Trauger Groh, McFadden explored the possibilities for
agricultural and social renewal in a landmark 1990 book entitled Farms of
Tomorrow. At that time there were about 60 community-supported farms (CSAs)
in America. But the CSA movement described in that book took off. While
the US has lost over 300,000 farms in the 1990s, CSA farms have prospered
and multiplied. There are now over a thousand such farms in America,
directly involving over 100,000 families. Noting the steady growth of
community farms while other small farms have declined, McFadden and Groh
returned to the subject to write Farms of Tomorrow Revisited.
In his talk McFadden will report on what he has learned about the state of
our farms at the close of the 20th Century, and about the mutation of the
food supply -- already up to 60% of processed food in supermarkets contains
genetically engineered substances, and a host of dubious additives. But
the central thrust of his talk will be to thank the organic farmers for
protecting the enviroment, and to inform them about community farms, and the
families, churches, neighborhoods, schools and food banks that support them
and benefit from them. He will describe the ideals and the realities of
community farms, and also report on what has been learned over 10 years of
practical experience.
According to McFadden, "there is a compelling need for something positive
like this in Maryland right now. CSA is helping to rebuild the foundation
of our nationıs farms, and by extension the foundation of society. Things
are moving very fast now with dramatic changes in farming and food. I
believe families, farmers, and communities must take action swiftly to
safeguard the wholesome character of their food, and their local environment
and economy. There is much to be gained."
- 30 -
Farms of Tomorrow Revisited is published by the Biodynamic Farming and
Gardening Assoc. 1-888-516-7797, and is distributed by Chelsea Green, Inc.
1-800-639-409
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