THE FREEMAN: Thanksgiving & the State of the Harvest
Keely Covello writes for “The Freeman” on America’s agricultural holiday and the land.
Thanksgiving is America’s one major holiday tied to the land. Writer Sarah Josepha Hale began advocating for its establishment in the mid-1800s, feeling the country was becoming industrialized at a time when two-thirds of Americans still lived on farms.
“For it is the farmer’s toil that feeds us all, let us then rejoice together in the harvest.”
Today, fewer than 2% of Americans work in production agriculture. In the five years between 2017 and 2022, the nation lost over 141,000 of our farms and ranches and 20 million acres of farmland. The average age of the American farmer is 58. The fate of our food sovereignty depends on the next generation.
As we the people move away from our agrarian roots, it is a good time to revisit Hale’s vision for an annual tradition where we are reminded of our dependence on those who grow our food and the God of the harvest. The consumer–producer divide is wide, and at stake are our sovereignty, soil, perhaps even our soul.
Farmers & Ranchers an Easy Scapegoat for Anti-Humanists
A product of this divide: producers have become convenient scapegoats for anti-human agendas. These men and women are out of sight and busy working. Media companies and marketing agencies don’t go far from major metropolitan areas. Well-funded NGOs fill the gap in storytelling. Terms like “factory farm” and “Big Ag” and “CAFO” muddy the waters. In this ugly landscape, well-meaning Americans busy with their own lives and responsibilities become confused and wary.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Thanks for your great reporting!