Q&A with the Researcher:
Ron Doetch is the Executive Director at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, the second-largest non-profit organization in the country, researching and disseminating sustainable agriculture alternatives. His staff harvests and researches 1000 acres of biodynamic terrain as well as maintain greenhouses, a mill, bakery, dormitories, wind turbines, solar panels, water filtration, their Field’s retail store, and a spot at the year-round Milwaukee Public Market. MFAI offers classes to all levels and is currently developing a five-mile walking trail around their land with information kiosks. Eager to hear what Ron had to say about local agriculture, we sat down with him for an in-depth discussion. of what we found out.
Mercedee Renz: How would you summarize MFAI’s approach to local, organic agriculture?
Ron Doetch We want to demonstrate how the food system can change on a large scale. Farmer’s markets are quaint and give people a chance to get to know their farmer, but they are not going to feed a lot of people. And no one is talking about how, per-mile, per-pound, a full semi traveling across the country is less impacting than a farmer driving out an hour with his small bounty of produce. Truly local must be transporting large lots small distances. Local food must be do-able, not hypothetical. We are real, on the ground, and sharing in the values and needs. We have retail stores, warehousing, food policies pushed at county levels all the way to federal levels, and we’re out there farming. The consumers are open to change but the producer mentality must change to catch up. We know there is a better way and we are out to find it.
MR: Do you think something is missing in society when we lose connection to the land that makes our food?
RD:We lose the sense of community that we are in this together. We lose values—the reality that we are what we eat. How did we lose sight of the fact that we should be attached to our food culture? We’re too trained to not talk about food and where it comes from. But it’s our heritage. And it’s our health. Truly, the secret to longevity is to keep eating healthy food.
MR: An often-discussed obstacle for farmers is that between the worlds of urbanites and ruralites. Do you consider this a barrier for farmers to cross?
RD: Why do they need to cross that barrier? Farmers are not set up to distribute and sell. The farmer’s market system forces them to cross that barrier. But then again, it forces them to recognize the consumer’s wants. We need to get farmers to listen to consumers. A challenge I see is for farmers to learn to work as a community rather than as individuals. We need more conversation between farmer and consumer and about what’s available through government funding. Then we can hone efficient means to produce and sell. Other obstacles are for farmers who have just transitioned from conventional. They come in with basic technological knowledge but lack an education that’s derived directly from the soil; they lack a passion for sustainable agriculture. They’re ingrained in a habit of survival, to chase the dollar—which is often why they are drawn to the organic side. A huge learning curve for them is essentially letting the environment dictate crop cultivation instead of forcing crop cultivation.
MR: So is local better? Does it taste better? Is it healthier?
RD: Yes but not necessarily. It’s healthier if the water and soil is healthy. We still have barriers to overcome. Because of poor post-handling, shelf-life is still poor. We basically have to reach a critical mass of production to reach core changes in the ways we cultivate, process, and distribute our local products. We need a regional warehouse with PLU’s, stickers, and boxes. Further on, I envision RFID tags—basically a code on the item’s sticker that can be scanned by an I-pod to feed all sorts of information: Where it comes from, certification, recipes, nutrition.
MR: From your perspective, what can consumers do to support a more sustainable food system?
RD: ASK for local food wherever you shop! Be more vocal in all aspects, at school and with politicians. Talk about it. But don’t talk about what’s bad. It just perpetuates it. Talk about the change that is good. The consumer has a big voice. Its momentum forces change.
MR: Where does Michael Fields come in to help consumers make changes?
RD: Our policy work is extensive. Our electronic newsletters let consumers know what food policy issues are being discussed and who they can call to leverage change.
MR: How do you like working with Goodness Greeness?
RD: I love working with Goodness Greeness. I do. They provide a real food distribution system that is wide and prompt. We are working with farmers to connect with them to Goodness Greeness because they provide unselfish information that doesn’t make the farmer captive to them. You hear a lot of negative references about the middleman or the distributor. But there is a reason that guy exists. If they don’t want him around, they better find out what he does and do it better—but these farmers can’t be everything to everybody.
For more about their classes, signing up for their newsletter, and how to get to MFAI, visit: www.michaelfieldsaginst.org/
