Every day is Earth Day for farmers: Starkman

Apr 22, 2016

Farmers must care for the planet to produce food

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Every April 22 is recognized as Earth Day, where around the world efforts are being made to keep the planet healthy and maintain the environment for generations to come.

However, for one section of the population, it’s taking care of the environment that allows them to do their jobs – farmers.

“These farmers work every day to care for the Earth and steward the land that sustains us,” wrote Naomi Starkman, founder and editor in chief of Civil Eats, in a piece for MSNBC.

Naomi Starkman

Starkman highlights that farmers see soil as their “black gold,” and that implementing crop rotations and cover crops can help farmers reduce the need for pesticides and keep runoffs from entering water systems.

In her piece, Starkman says farmers need more support and outlines a few methods to offer it.

“What if we invested deeply in a food and farming system that supported and rewarded these types of farmers?” she writes. “And what if we created policies that would incentivize more farmers to transition to sustainable practices, while also creating better access to good, affordable food for all?”

Starkman says farmers need to be held in the same high regard as musicians and actors.

“We must invest in farmers and herald them as we do Hollywood celebrities and the tech rock stars of Silicon Valley,” she wrote.

Starkman writes the average age of an American farmer is 58 and younger farmers need support to introduce them to farming and keep them in the industry.

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