Sustainable agriculture holds that a diversified agricultural system (polyculture) is stronger than a monoculture, or a system based on a single crop at a time. Not only is monoculture weaker for putting all its eggs in one basket (vulnerable to that basket being overturned by any one of a number of variables in weather, pest and disease pressure, etc), but it’s also top-down, as it relies on the farmer to fulfill all the “functions” necessary to keep the gears turning, so to speak. Polyculture on the other hand is decentralized, and more resilient and efficient (contrary to what Big Ag narratives would have you believe) because of it. Whereas in monoculture there are many separate lines of relationship connecting farmer to pest management, farmer to soil fertility, farmer to tillage, farmer to waste management, etc etc etc., in a diversified system those lines multiple many fold, and run in all directions. When the focus is turned to cultivating a variety of crops and species and cultivars together — and nurturing communities of beneficial insects and soil microbes and wildlife and so on — those crops/livestock/insects/microbes can actually help out with the work of the farm! It opens up a world of opportunity for relationships like beneficial insects to pest management, soil microbes to soil fertility, livestock to tillage, livestock to soil fertility, soil microbes to waste management, and so on.
Many proponents of sustainable agriculture understand this basic paradigm-shift as it’s applied to agriculture, but not as it’s applied to broader human culture — which, if we’re truly embracing a top-down model, is inescapably part of the farm system. To paraphrase Sir Albert Howard, we must conceive of the whole problem of health in soil, plant, animal, human, and community as one great subject.
Wendell Berry says that “Eaters must understand that eating takes place inescapably in the world, that it is inescapably an agricultural act, and how we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used.” Similarly, “Farmers — and eaters, and everyone — must understand that farming (and eating) takes place inescapably in the world, that it is inescapably a cultural act, and how we farm (and eat) determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is understood and conceptualized and constructed, in the sociological sense.
Therefore, we see it as imperative to take all measures possible to create as welcoming and inclusive and hospitable a “soil bed” as possible, in ASAN spaces. Only by doing so will we incorporate and reflect the impossibly wide array of voices and experiences and perspectives held within our state, our community. And only by doing so will be arrive at the very best collective solutions to the challenges we face.
There are many ways in which this work is carried out. These approaches are not static — they will grow and morph, both as ASAN’s internal conditions change and as external conditions change.
Gender pronouns
Gender neutral bathrooms
Language interpretation wherever possible
Child care
Registration fees, sliding scale, scholarship opportunities / fee waivers
Gender pronouns on nametags: You are asked to please include your gender pronouns on your nametag, along with your name. What are gender pronouns, and how do you know what yours are? Ask yourself, how do people refer to you in the third person? More than likely, they use she / her / hers, or he / him / his. For example, “He invited me to visit him on his farm.”
In English, as in many languages, we are typically taught that these are they only two sets of options. Many people, however, including many who identify as gender non-conforming / non-binary, use the pronouns they/them/theirs (in the singular), ze/hir/hirs, or others. For example “Pat invited me to visit them on their farm.”
You can’t assume someone’s gender pronouns by looking at them. To embrace and practice this, we ask you to write your pronouns on your nametags, and use the pronouns people have written for themselves. We seek to make the space we share today as inclusive and welcoming to all folks, as possible. Pronouns are just a small part of that. Please, be kind and open and gentle with one another. Our differences are our strengths.