Are More Women Farming Today?

In my work traveling around the country for OrganicNation.tv, the majority of farmers I've come across happen to be men. That's why I was really excited when I saw the Women, Food & Agriculture Network booth at FarmAid 2009.

I was lucky enough to get a chance to talk with WFAN's Executive Director, Leigh Adcock, about the importance of women's roles in building sustainable food systems as mothers, gardeners, landowners, activists and farmers:

WFAN is a community of women involved in sustainable agriculture whose mission is to "link and empower women to build food systems and communities that are healthy, just, sustainable, and that promote environmental integrity."

The network's main goals are:

1. To promote sustainable agricultural and community structures.

2. Insist on social and ecological justice for current and future human and non-human communities.

3. Provide opportunities for education on economics and environment that articulate a holistic view of agriculture, instill a sense of place, and draw forward useful experiences from the past.

4. Create networks that support communities of growers, consumers, workers and others who strive for sustainability, increase effective access to and use of existing resources, engage participants in experiential learning, provide safe places for self-expression, and respect the spirituality of the land and people.

5. Advocate change by exploring alternatives and challenge the globalization of economies, cultures of domination and institutionalized discrimination, the disintegration of landscapes, and oppressive conceptual frameworks.

If you're interested in learning more, be sure to check out their 10th Annual Fall Harvest Gathering of Women in Sustainable Agriculture Nov. 13-15 in Whalan, MN.

Photo of farmer Gail Thorpe by Mark Andrew Boyer