{"id":3537,"date":"2008-09-17T05:44:44","date_gmt":"2008-09-17T11:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=3537"},"modified":"2008-09-17T05:44:44","modified_gmt":"2008-09-17T11:44:44","slug":"chicks-for-change-four-ways-women-can-instigate-an-agriculture-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/chicks-for-change-four-ways-women-can-instigate-an-agriculture-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicks for Change: Four Ways Women Can Instigate an Agriculture Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Denise<\/a>Quick trivia question: What\u2019s the second verse to \u201cThe Farmer in the Dell\u201d? Anybody? Here you go:<\/p>\n

The farmer takes a wife,
\nThe farmer takes a wife,
\nHi-ho, the derry-o
\nThe farmer takes a wife. <\/p>\n

Talk about stale lyrics in dire need of an update. As women make up the largest and fastest growing group buying new farms today, we should be teaching kids something more like:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wife took over the farm.
\nTo the land she did no harm,
\nHi-ho, times change, you know, These chicks can really grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consider Iowa farmer, Denise O\u2019Brien, chief song lyric rewriter and female farmer stereotype smasher extraordinaire. For the past twenty years she has led the charge of organizing and promoting the voice and face of women in agriculture and is founder of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network<\/a>. \u201cFinally, the tides are starting to turn for women farmers as policies start to change,\u201d explains O\u2019Brien. \u201cBut it should have happened a long time ago and there\u2019s still much we as women, from growers to grocery shoppers, can do to create a healthy food system for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien racks up a history of seeing opportunity in crisis. Her agriculture advocacy work started back during the farming crisis of the 1980s when many family farms collapsed and were forced into foreclosure. \u201cIt was the women on the farms who saw this economic gloom on the horizon as they often kept the accounting books and could see were things were heading long term,\u201d O\u2019Brien recalls. \u201cBut the problem was these women still often considered themselves \u2018just farm wives\u2019 and no one took their voice seriously. We women needed to get out of the role of just making coffee at meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n

This launched O\u2019Brien on the road of agriculture activism, balancing multiple roles of helping run her family\u2019s diversified dairy and produce farm, Rolling Acres, raising children and serving as a national advocate and spokeswoman for women in agriculture. \u201cI realized during that farm crisis of the 1980s that if I didn\u2019t step to the plate to organize women, if I didn\u2019t instigate something, perhaps no one would,\u201d adds O\u2019Brien. In 1997 she launched the Women, Food and Agriculture Network<\/a> to help women farmers develop the organizational and speaking skills to collectively advocate for a stronger voice and representation.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to be a farmer to support women in agriculture. \u201cWhatever your background, there\u2019s a role each of us women can play to support a healthy, green and fair food system,\u201d O\u2019Brien explains.<\/p>\n

Here are some steps to get started:<\/p>\n

1. Connect with Kindred Spirits<\/strong>
\nStart coalition building by connecting with others in your community who share your healthy food values. O\u2019Brien first met many of her local tribe of kindred spirits through starting a food co-op, drawing people together with a desire to purchase natural foods not available in their rural area. \u201cTurns out we were all kindred spirits on other levels as well, such as politics and organic gardening,\u201d adds O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

2. Be Available<\/strong>
\nMake yourself available to attend meetings, particularly those that are traditionally dominated by men such as local planning and farm service meetings. When her children were young, O\u2019Brien would often attend meetings with her kids in tow: \u201cI wanted my kids to grow up realizing the importance of being involved and active with the issues you consider important.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Support Other Women<\/strong>
\nSupporting other women goes beyond mentoring. \u201cWomen need to be each other\u2019s cheerleaders,\u201d O\u2019Brien explains. \u201cGive words of encouragement, show up at meeting and events, create connections and grow networks between women.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Join Advocacy Groups<\/strong>
\nAgriculture groups like the Women, Food & Agriculture Network<\/a> and the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition<\/a> synthesize key farming issues, making it easier for you to take action on food and agriculture policy, such as writing letters to representatives.\u201c<\/p>\n

Related links:<\/strong>
\nSee Jane Grow: Women Farmers Sow Seeds of Hope<\/a>
\nCows aren\u2019t Legos: Sassy Insights from an Organic Dairy Farmer<\/a>
\nA True Campaign for Change: Five Tips to Stir Up the Local Foods Movement in Your Community<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo Credit: Denise O’Brien<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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