Image courtesy of Farm Aid
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With a lineup including Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Wilco, Jason Mraz, and many others, Farm Aid is clearly among the top music events of the fall. But great music is not the only draw to 24th annual Farm Aid concert. The organization, which promotes good food and supports small farmers, uses the event to raise awareness and funds for the rest of the year.
Any advocate of local food understands the importance of small farms. Still, the significance is easily lost on shoppers browsing the season-deaf cornucopia that is the modern supermarket. Choosing to eat an avocado in December is one thing but choosing to push family farms out of business is something else entirely. Yet, everyday, with all kinds of food purchases, we vote for the industrial over the pastoral, the factory over the family.
Speaking on the importance of the issue, Dave Matthews said:
The heart of America is in the family farmer...it's worth fighting for as long as we have breath. Because I think we'll lose a lot more than just the family farm.
Indeed, the quality of our diets and the health of our planet are at stake. Farm Aid supports local and organic food by connecting consumers with famers' markets and assisting family famers. The organization has raised nearly $35 million to "promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture."
Money is only one part of the answer to America's farm problem. Getting people together, making them conscious of their food choices, and raising awareness of the issue, are also vital steps toward change. The annual concert plays a huge role in this process. As John Mellencamp explained:
We all see what's happening with agriculture, what's happening to our small towns. They are going out of business. That's a direct result of the farm problem. We're still doing Farm Aid because it is contributing. It's doing a job.
Contributing, helping farmers, supporting good food: Farm Aid is about all of these things. In the end, Neil Young explained it the best:
Just as rock & roll is loud and proud, so is Farm Aid. Farm Aid's greatest accomplishment, I believe, is in the spirit. It's the fact that we represent the spirit of the good fight, to keep something good happening. It just keeps getting stronger and stronger...
Find out more about Farm Aid.
Read more about local food:
How to Go Green: Eating
Who Owns Your Food?
How to Find Restaurants That Use Organic and Local Food
A Fast Look at Slow Food: How to Eat Slower and Greener Every Day
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