From the Farm to the Table describes many

aspects of the current farm situation as the

author, Gary Holthaus, sees them. He views

America’s farms as the nucleus of an expanding

set of circles that become the context in which

farmers and consumers of food, rural and urban,

must work and live.

The first third of the text, the first circle,

is devoted to farmers explaining what they are

trying to accomplish on their farms and the

strategies they have adopted and are following

to achieve their goals.

A second circle includes migrant workers,

processors and industries that all are part of

the context of food and farming in our area.

A third circle deals with the global context of

agriculture including free trade agreements

negotiated by the WTO (World Trade

Organization), ranging from NAFTA (North

American Free Trade Agreement), CAFTA

(Central American Free Trade Agreement) and

the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas).

The book then comes back home to look for

alternatives to our present system which many

of our local farmers support and understand.

One alternative lies in Kansas, with The Land

Institute, which is seeking long term perennial

grains for our prairies.

From the Farm to the Table concludes with a

description of the characteristics of the farmers

the author interviewed while researching the

book. The author summarizes those

characteristics as An Ecology of Hope.