A Call to Farms: Reconnecting to Nature, Food, and Community in a Modern World

Book excerpt: Hope for the future lies with a new generation of regenerative farmers. Within a decade, nearly half of all American farmland will change hands as an older generation of farmers steps aside. In their place, a groundswell of new growers will face numerous challenges, including soil degradation, insufficient income, and investors devouring farmland at a staggering pace. These new farmers are embracing regenerative agriculture—the holistic approach to growing food that restores the soil and biodiversity—in the movement to reclaim our health and the planet’s. But can their efforts help reverse an epidemic of diet-related disease, food inequality, and even climate change? To answer that question and more, award-winning journalist Jennifer Grayson embedded herself in a groundbreaking farmer training program, then embarked on this investigative journey. The diverse array of farmers, graziers, and food activists whom she profiles here are working toward better, more sustainable foodways for all. From a one-acre market garden in Oregon to activists reviving food sovereignty in South Carolina, A Call to Farms tells the captivating story of these new agrarians finding hope and purpose in reconnecting to the land and striving to improve the future of American food.