“Get big or get out.”
That was the slogan of Earl Butz, who served as secretary of agriculture under Richard Nixon from 1971 to 1974. In some ways, his policy priorities (enacted in 1973) were shaped in reaction to the New Deal, which traumatized a generation of farmers.
In the 1930s, the government forced them to plow up their own crops in defense of high prices. It was a crazy scheme born of crazed theory rather than reality.
Responding to the postwar resentment of such policies, Butz had a different priority: production first.
What could go wrong? Essentially everything. Because the policy was not really about restoring the free market but rather a different form of central planning, major sectors of U.S. farming were converted to maximizing grain production—wheat, soy, and corn—resulting in so much surplus that we’ve spent half a century finding places to put it. It landed in our food, drinks, and gas tanks.
As it turns out, corn is not a healthy sugar or an efficient fuel, but we are stuck with both because of decisions made half a century ago.
Part of this maximalist approach involved the heavy use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides, the patenting of seeds designed to be activated by these chemicals, and the conversion of vast miles of family farming into powerful agribusinesses managed by a thoroughly captured Department of Agriculture.
As a result, the U.S. food supply is compromised, and everyone in the world knows it. The results show up in health results of record obesity and chronic disease.
Get big indeed! That did happen, and now the country is in the throes of another movement that is making headlines: Make America Healthy Again. Doing so surely involves policy shifts, such as to stop subsidizing big agriculture and let the independent farmers compete in a deregulated marketplace.
It was such a joy this weekend to tour around at some surviving local farms in my area. These are locally owned and managed plots of land where they will raise anything that sells. They have a connected retail store that picks what’s in season that morning and puts it on the stand, alongside apple cider, fresh eggs, raw milk (hugely in demand), and real jams and jellies, which taste nothing like what you buy in the superstores.
I spoke for some extended period to a small farmer (95 acres) who opened up about the profitability issues that she and her husband face and all the ways they overcome them. They are out and about at any and all local festivals, advertise in every venue, maintain an extensive client list of local subscribers, and try out new pies, breads, or treats—anything to get customers in the door. They are 100 percent non-GMO and organic and make their own sausage and raise heirloom tomatoes and squashes. They do well with wreaths and Christmas trees in season and pray for rain—but not too much in planting season.
I asked her what her life would be like without government support of agribusiness subsidies from taxpayers plus superstores that, at this point, might as well also be a government project. She laughed and said that this would be the dream. They want no favors from the government. They only want a level playing field and the right to sell directly to willing buyers without dealing with an endless flurry of red tape.
There was a time, back before I bothered knowing such people, that I thought huge businesses and government backing was what was necessary to support 8 billion people. After seeing the incredible burdens local farms face, I no longer believe this. There is nothing wrong with big farms but nothing wrong with small farms either.
What would solve it all is a simple return to the free market: no subsidies or hindrances to anyone.
Another thing I used to believe that strikes me as wrong now is that farmers markets and organic produce are only for snotty and rich left-liberals. Actually, that caricature is completely wrong. Shopping with me today were people from all classes, races, and backgrounds. Yes, the products cost more than those at the local grocery, but how important is health? The people who go out of their way to support local farms are seeking better quality, not only for taste but also for their own personal well-being.
If you are careful, you can even spend less and enjoy a much higher quality of life. All it takes is an extra step or two to find the local farm. Half of Americans live within easy driving distance of the local farm, but not that many people bother to find out where it is or who it is. That extra step, along with a charming drive on a Saturday, can make a dramatic improvement in your life.
But we are creatures of habit. The superstore down the street, the one click on the website, are just too convenient. We do it and do it again without thinking. It’s almost unconscious at this point. I’m convinced that this is a huge mistake. We can all make a slight change and find healthy products within a hop and a skip from us while ignoring the screaming signs and fluorescent lights of the superstore.
That’s the thing: We don’t have to wait for politicians to get their act together. Without any real change in policy, we have a moment in time right now to enact the Make America Healthy Again agenda by simple changes in our buying preferences.
Remember that every dollar you spend in a capitalist-style economy amounts to a vote for what you want to grow. Every dollar you decline to spend is a vote against that which you oppose. Look what happened to Bud Light: A consumer revolt took that beer down from the No. 1 brand to something that remains to this day a marginal choice in the marketplace.
Consumers alone achieved this, as a major exercise of the enormous power of consumer sovereignty. The same power can be applied to support those surviving local farms too while pulling money away from the monopolists who have made such advances in the industry.
Farmers markets and farmers stands are not just for rich people. They are for everyone. It’s autumn and harvest season—the perfect time to get out and about and see what they have to offer. Who knows, maybe you will come home with a freezer full of meat or at least a few bags of fresh squashes and greens.
And you know what else? This way of shopping and buying is absolutely more delightful than any superstore or online grocery. You get out and meet real people and involve yourself in the commercial life of the local community. It is more satisfying aesthetically and even morally.
This is the path. Through your own choices, you can indeed Make America Healthy Again!
Butz said, “Get big or get out.” Maybe with a change we all make, we can say something different: Buy small and get healthy.
