It's important for me to take a few minutes every now and then and remember why I chose to adopt the vocation and lifestyle of a farmer. My goal wasn't to feed the world (although I'm happy to do my share!) and my goal certainly wasn't to get rich. I don't think I got swept up in the unrealistic expectations of an ultra-idealized/nostalgia based idea of farming. It's hard to anticipate just how unpleasant certain parts of farming can be, but I read enough and am cynical enough to know that it wouldn't all be smiling animals and sunny days. When it comes to the core of why I chose to be a farmer, it's because the work makes me feel human.
Farming makes me feel human because it brings my body and mind together through the work of acquiring food. In some of my many other jobs, my mind and body have felt disconnected. For instance, academic research is entirely mental, requiring long periods of concentration (often in front of a computer screen). Recycle truck driving on the other hand was entirely physical, to the point that my mind would start wandering on the job (resulting in one of the many fences/car mirrors/tires I destroyed). In farming, I feel that I'm using both my body and mind in an optimum balance. I constantly need to make economic and management decisions, but to enact those decisions I spend hours upon hours performing menial manual labor. For me, the labor is exercise, stress relief, and spiritual fulfillment--I can to see the results of my decisions immediately, which is very gratifying. My hunch is that this balance feels right to me because we as humans evolved to do this kind of work. Acquiring food is the most basic need of all organisms, and evolutions is constantly pushing us toward that need. As a human, I get to use my hands which are so perfectly suited for wielding tools, my eyes which are so good at spotting the different colors, patterns, and shapes essential for weed cultivation, and my brain, which helps me put it all together. Compare me to a cow, and you'll see an animal that's perfectly suited for the task of acquiring forage--not a good farmer, but a good farm animal.
The more connected to food that I become, the more human I feel. Now I really understand what it means to be humane toward animals and why factory farming can be so bad. Now I really understand why spending the time to cook food from scratch is so rewarding and healthful. Now I don't worry (so much) in general.
Farming makes me feel human because it brings my body and mind together through the work of acquiring food. In some of my many other jobs, my mind and body have felt disconnected. For instance, academic research is entirely mental, requiring long periods of concentration (often in front of a computer screen). Recycle truck driving on the other hand was entirely physical, to the point that my mind would start wandering on the job (resulting in one of the many fences/car mirrors/tires I destroyed). In farming, I feel that I'm using both my body and mind in an optimum balance. I constantly need to make economic and management decisions, but to enact those decisions I spend hours upon hours performing menial manual labor. For me, the labor is exercise, stress relief, and spiritual fulfillment--I can to see the results of my decisions immediately, which is very gratifying. My hunch is that this balance feels right to me because we as humans evolved to do this kind of work. Acquiring food is the most basic need of all organisms, and evolutions is constantly pushing us toward that need. As a human, I get to use my hands which are so perfectly suited for wielding tools, my eyes which are so good at spotting the different colors, patterns, and shapes essential for weed cultivation, and my brain, which helps me put it all together. Compare me to a cow, and you'll see an animal that's perfectly suited for the task of acquiring forage--not a good farmer, but a good farm animal.
The more connected to food that I become, the more human I feel. Now I really understand what it means to be humane toward animals and why factory farming can be so bad. Now I really understand why spending the time to cook food from scratch is so rewarding and healthful. Now I don't worry (so much) in general.
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