Re-localizing Agriculture Through Connections by Meghan

Re-localizing Agriculture Through Connections by Meghan - July 2017 Scholarship Essay

I would love to give a Ted Talk. If given the opportunity I would focus on connections and agriculture. Food is at the heart of every good conversation, family gathering and community. Without food, we still have purpose in life, but our stomachs are simply empty. With this, agriculture runs the world. I currently study agriculture, and I can tell you that even I don't know what is considered "good" and "bad" production, or which diet is the healthiest. What I can tell you, however, is the importance of connection in the food industry. The way the current system is set up, we do not know where our food is coming from (mostly), who grew the product or how the food was treated. Civic agriculture is the re-localization of agriculture, and ultimately bridges the gap between producer and consumer. With ~9 billion people, genetic engineering may not solve all of the issues we face with feeding these people. The answer is to teach the people how to grow their food - how to connect with their food again, by connecting with each other! We need to appreciate our food again. Connecting with each other brings comfort, knowledge and wisdom into the community. Add food into the mixture and conversations are suddenly spoken through taste and smell.

To me, this is very important. There is a huge difference in eating a tomato from the store (most likely from California or Mexico) versus one grown down the street or in your own back yard. Educating the general public on their food rights is not only a duty of the agricultural industry, but a necessity for the future of food throughout the U.S. and the world. Food rights and knowledge are only a piece of the puzzle. We can connect with each other again by bringing food back into localities, and allow it to be the basis of conversation with our neighbors. This connection is important for the health and hearts of our communities and society; it is essential to the future.