Marty Strange-- Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
What the members of Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society are doing in response to the current conditions in the farm economy says a lot about your character as people and the organization you have built.
After my 25 years of life on the Plains, in one intermittent episode of crisis after another, nothing about your response really surprises me. My Neighbor's Acre is what you would expect of a generous people, cultured to respect each other, to share with one another, and to reach out even to those with whom we may have had personal differences. Hardship breeds a generous spirit. For many in the world, hardship is a way of life. It is so for more and more, every day. But take heart in the fact that those with the least to give are the first to offer what they can to others in need. It is a survival skill lost among the rich. It is why, ultimately, what you stand for will prevail. You might not all make it to the Promised Land, but you will pave the way for those who do.
In another way, Feeding the Village First carries an even deeper understanding of charity. According to the teaching of the ancient Hebrew, the highest form of charity is to give of yourself to correct the underlying conditions that lead to want and despair. The world's resources are ample, tended by the sustainable farmer for the nourishment of local communities, to feed people everywhere abundantly and indefinitely. No economic system that depends on greed, power, and the idea that more is always better, can do as well for as long. As important, there is this fundamental truth: people want to know where their food comes from. They don't hanker for food from virtual reality. The best food "label" is, and always will be, the handshake of the person who grew it. If you want to feed the world, feed the village first, and liberate the human spirit.
Adieu,
Marty Strange
