Who Put That Food on Your Table Anyway?

I recently over heard some people talking about “big” farmers and how easy they have it, yet when the weather isn’t cooperating their whole system derails and the average consumer pays for it. They went on to say that organic farming is a much better method. I was this close to interrupting their conversation and setting them straight, but I refrained as I didn’t know them from Adam.

What I would’ve told them is that yes, farmers are for sure hindered by this weather we are having and are definately happier when not only the weather goes as we would like, but when the markets and fuel prices do as well. But just because something doesn’t go as planned for them, they don’t give up. Farmers are fighters and work with the conditions that are given to them.

This has been the wettest and slowest year for harvest in 40 years. But despite this, we are looking at having record harvest numbers. Is that not amazing? Seriously. How many companies or organizations out there can say they are having their worst year in 4 decades yet are still producing record amounts of their product or service?

There are naysayers out there that think the way we farm should be changed, that we shouldn’t use pesticides or biotechnology in any way. Without these advances we wouldn’t be able to produce enough to feed the world. So which do you want… the “old fashioned” way of farming and letting people starve? Or using the technology we have and feeding the world? It seems like an easy decision to me.

Thanksgiving is next week and thanks to farmers we will have a table full of goodies to help us celebrate. So instead of standing in line at the grocery store and complaining about what farmers do, why don't we all take a step back, look at how fortunate we are for their efforts, and then go thank a farmer for what they do.

Wish I would've taken the five minutes to say that.