Women in Agriculture - Farmsecure

Agriculture in the Media
A More Feminine Food System: Farmer
Jane (a Book Review)
Leslie Hatfield
Senior Editor of GRACE
Posted: 23rd of July 2010
Let’s try something: Picture for a moment a farmer. Ok. Got your farmer in your head? What does he look like?
Most of us probably picture a typical farmer as an aging white man in overalls, when in reality, there are many people
of colour who tend land, though not without even more difficulties than the white male farmers who’re struggling to
stay afloat (the Latinos we call “farm workers”have a rich agricultural tradition, as do black farmers, many of whom have
lost their land as well, in part because of discriminatory practices in USDA lending). And of course, women of all races,
in the US and abroad, are farmers, too. In fact, women grow the vast majority of the food supply in the Global South.
Stateside, they make up the largest group of new farmers.
Yet, even within the “sustainable agriculture” movement, or the “good food” movement, whatever you want to call it,
there is a lack of attention paid to these female agrarians. Of the talking heads that filled the screens of Food, Inc and
Fresh, fantastic movies both, most were male. Both featured the well-spoken Joel Salatin, perhaps the most famous
livestock farmer of our time, who, rumour has it, refuses to take on female interns at his farm. To be honest, as a writer
who considers herself a feminist, I’ve probably been guilty of writing more about men than women, too, and have
probably hopped on the usual suspect bandwagon a few too many times .
The views and opinions published from personal materials and interviews in this editorial do not
necessarily represent the official views of the Farmsecure Group.