Is bigger better, or is smaller the future?

What we can do is return to local and regional food production. We can allow the rest of the world to feed themselves by reining in the influence of multinational grain and chemical companies. We can redevelop local communities and keep local dollars local, rather than filling the coffers of offshore corporate bank accounts.

We cannot look at individual factors as causing the food crisis. Collectively, ethanol, corporate control and speculation are indicative of the failure of entire systems.

Waterloo is synonymous with defeat, but it was also a victory against empire. We need another victory against empire; we need to reclaim our sense of local and realize the necessity of being small and interdependent on community. We need to end thousands of years of thinking that bigger is always better.

Jim Goodman of Wonewoc Wisconsin is a dairy farmer and Food and Society Policy Fellow.

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