• YouTube has done so much for the small family farm movement!  Videos that teach people in detail how to farm or build or can food or install a garden or install irrigation or raise animals are instrumental in training the next generation of farmers.  You can go on a tour of a farm while sitting in your comfortable suburban living room.  Justin Rhodes, Joel Salatin, Mark Baker and Darby Simpson videos have changed our world, just to name a few.
  • People want to know WHERE their food comes from, WHAT it was fed and HOW it was cared for. They long for transparency in their food chain.  Consumers have the right to know about the life cycle and preparation of their food and have the freedom to choose what they feed their families.
  • Our grandparents and great-grandparents grew up tending a garden, canning their harvest, and/or raising chickens for eggs and meat.  It’s just what they did.  They cared for their food because they depended on it to nourish them.  It makes me cringe when I see interviews on TV of kids who think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows.  Maybe our ancestors had more knowledge than we give them credit for and it’s time to return to our roots.  We’ve learned a lot of wisdom on this subject from the Weston A Price Foundation.
  • Another reason that small family farms are making a comeback is that consumers (mainly moms) are beginning to wake up and realize that we have been lied to and fooled by marketing tactics.  Studies and findings change with the wind (or who is paying for the study).  So smart mamas go with their gut and decide what is best for their families.  ‘No fat’ is not good.  Our brains need good fats to function properly.  Our bodies need good, healthy fats to carry babies.  Farm-raised eggs are healthy for you.  Perhaps the issue is with the quality of the egg, not the makeup of the egg itself…hmmm?   Soy is not a superfood.  It is full of phytoestrogens which add to the hormone levels in your body.  I could go on and on.
  • There is a lot of talk lately about being ‘food secure.’ There’s something to be said for knowing your local farmer vs. rushing to a big box store and being limited on the number of packages of meat you are allowed to buy or seeing empty shelves.
  • Now more than ever, it is so important to support your neighbors and to shop local!  Supporting small businesses and farms pours money back into the local economy, helping neighbors support their families rather than sending it away to large corporations.