perk those ears: a conversation with wendell berry

in the grassroots shakeup of our agricultural systems that's slowly creeping up on this country, michael pollan receives a mainstream sense of praise, or to say, is a household name, at this point of the movement. undoubtedly, he is its poster boy. but even pollan looks up to another man. wendell berry.

in yesterday's post i linked to an interview hosted by kqed public radio with mr. berry, but that wasn't enough for me. i wanted to bring this man directly to you as best i could.

i promise you, at one point or another, you've read this man's words.

he is a celebrated and decorated poet; he is, like pollan, an essayist of extreme wisdom and insight on the socioeconimic and cultural doings of our country; and, as goes in hand with his writings, from poetry to prose, a man who is in the business of agricultre, if not the business of improving of such.

for more than forty years mr. berry and his wife have tended to their kentucky farm, backing by practice what the words he writes implicitly preach.

i was first touched by this man's words in an undergraduate poetry workshop a few years back. several months ago, i was inspired again when i went at his groundbreaking book, now over thirty years since first printing, the unsettling of america.

play this while cooking dinner or folding laudry or sitting in traffic because now, it's your turn.

what's beneath the whispers

the sole reason i have content to post on this blog is because our food systems are in bad, bad shape. over the past months i've hit on everything from the disappearance of aquatic species and the fall of the fisherman to the criminal practices of the major meat processors to the need for cooks to reemerge within the home kitchen. well, the thing of it is, there's more and more to go off on every day.

take a look at these stories in major, national publications over the past few days:

ny times, november 3: fighting child obesity and nutrition
- a white house chef who wears two hats

ny times, november 3: the push for local and organic, even in our schools
- someone's in the kitchen with michelle: the secret ingredient is politics

la times, november 4: challenging the home cook
- chefs thomas keller and mark peel take on home cooking

boston globe, november4: again, more on child nutrition
- kids' menus should grow up to be as interesting as their parents'

food on the food, october 29: sustainable seafood (from a blogger who gets it)
- something's fishy around here

the atlantic, november 4: more on seafood and the sputtering way of life of the fisherman
- saving seafood from extinction

slow food los angeles, november 3: the man who reopened our eyes to agriculture
- wendell berry on kqed

and i could go on and on. the thing of it is, that's sad, don't you think? the slant of the hill for this battle is so steep, the issues so many, that it seems impossible to actually win. we have to worry about eating beef that's been to pasture, eating seafood that's on the current sustainability card, figuring how to feed our children the right foods, eating local, cooking more in our kitchens, and on and on and on... how does one do it all? even one who cares and wants to do it all, is it possible?

it sure makes the task of reform, of convincing the rest of the country to follow suit, a complete joke, right? but then again, who would've thunk a thrown together band of farmers and masons and skilled craftsmen would've ever defeated the army of the farthest reaching empire the world has ever known... these are the united states after all, aren't they?

with enough conviction, and the smallest of possible steps, taken slow bit by slow bit, i think we might just get there.

but you have to put in the effort. it starts with that, with clicking on just one of those stories above. with absorbing what people are trying to say. and call me crazy, but my gut's saying you just might end up reading more and more.

the thing of it is, don't stop there. spread it. talk about it. challenge your friends. ask if they know where that cheeseburger they're eating came from; how that fish they're eating is helping kill off a species, and a way of life; and why shopping at the major grocery chains is only further fueling the danger we face in climate change.

the ball's in your court, now.