Just like last weeks reading we are looking into racial injustice and discrimination within the food industry, more specifically farming. This weeks main focus was the ownership of land by African Americans and the difficulties and injustices they have and/or still have to put up with.
I really enjoyed how the we saw some of the thought process Olivia Watkins had towards her grandmothers land and how this perspective changed after learning more about struggles with African Americans and owning land. While she was first hesitant, after learning more about black land loss and the struggles her ancestors faced to get land, she decided she would not allow that to continue to with her family. With this land newly acquired Atkins began adventuring into the land to see what she could do.
The section about Atkins was interesting to me solely because of her desire to not conform to societal norms. She would take no part in clearing her forest for crops. Instead she decided to grow mushrooms. Not only would this be supported by the land already there but it would allow for low maintenance and would not be too expensive to start. Keeping up with agrofarming and avoiding the common wood pellet industry, Atkins is able to help the wildlife around her rather than harm it.
Like the previous chapter, there is a nod to some history and going back to a viewpoint of the past to get a comparison of how things have changed for the better or for the worse. Later in the chapter we start to hear about George Washington Carver who is well-known for his farming with various beans and nuts, most notably peanuts. Carver seemed very knowledgeable in the farm work he was doing. Schools don't necessarily teach all of what he actually accomplished. One thing I had seen that I had not known before was that Carver had been farming beans, peas, and other legume type plants as they can turn nitrogen into natural fertilizer. This prevents the use of chemicals or purchasing fertilizer that could contain various unnecessary chemicals.
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I also found the section of the chapter on George Washington Carver to be particularly interesting. Before starting this class, I already learned the basic principles of regenerative agriculture and had a broad idea of what it was trying to accomplish. However, after reading this chapter, I quickly realized that I had no idea about where this concept originated. Learning about George Washington Carver, Olivia Watkins and her ancestors, and even the indigenous groups of people already practicing this method gives me an entirely different perspective on regenerative agriculture. I figured that it was a fairly new concept introduced by scientists and researchers, however, this could not be farther from the truth.
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