When I first began my internship at Rise Up Farms, I couldn’t tell you the difference between a squash plant and a tomato plant. Okay, so maybe that’s pushing it a little bit, but you get where I’m going with this, huh?
My expectations as an intern on the farm weren’t much…I gave Nick and Nicole a huge heads up that the most I’ve gardened in my life were some rhubarb plants and a few tomatoes with my dad when I was in elementary school. The great thing about Rise-Up, however, is that both Nick and Nicole were ecstatic even though I had very little actual hands-on experience. During my first farming days at the farm, I was given a tour of the place and basically a crash course on Organic Gardening 101. I was encouraged to always ask questions, especially since I rather enjoy learning new things. A huge reason why I took this on AFTER I had graduated last May was for the learning experience – to get my hands dirty and not just sit in a room of academics discussing our ailing food system. There’s been so much that has inspired me during my studies of sustainability, but none have stood out like our broken industrial farming sector which contributes to more than just climate change. A simple fact: 80% of our meat is produced by four corporations
(I encourage you all to check out Oran Hesterman’s book Fair Food: Creating a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for All. Click here.).
And to think that’s not even the worst…
At Rise-Up, the work that we do pertains to sustainability system condition number one by not degrading the land we’ve been generously given to use. While other farms use pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers for a higher yield of crops (seen as necessary to make a profit in this industrialized agriculture system we’ve been using for decades), we chose not to use such products. Not only are these things typically made from petroleum, natural gas, and combinations of caustic chemicals, they also drastically alter the quality of food you receive. The taste of green zebra striped tomato is not the same as a generic “homegrown tomato” from the supermarket.
I’ve learned an incredible amount and continue to help out on the farm during this terrible drought even though my internship is technically over. The people I’ve met and relationships I’ve formed with those of similar interests in wanting to know and grow their own food is a wonderful thing to be involved with while I’m in the area. ‘Til next time.
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