Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance

Fair food for all Australians

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Farming Democracy

We want to open the farm gates, open the books, and open our hearts to the community and let the world see the true work, rewards, and costs of farming.

Farming Democracy tells the story of family farms doing things differently, working for a ‘new normal’ in agriculture that is fair to soil, water, animals, and people. These farmers are building regenerative, agroecological systems that are viable in an epoch that has seen a sharp decline in the number of farms globally.

To paraphrase a famous philosopher, those who control the means of production control the world. For too long that control has been in the hands of corporate, industrialised agriculture serving the interests and maintaining the wealth of distant shareholders at the expense of the planet and its inhabitants. But things are changing, and the number of regenerative farmers is growing, slowly wresting control back into the hands of the people to the benefit of local communities, ecosystems, and animals everywhere.

“Few vocations are as foundational to civilization as farming.  Few vocations can destroy civilization as fast as farming.  That’s not a conundrum; it’s a real assessment of trajectory.  With the industrialization and centralization of farming, most people have adopted an “out of sight, out of mind” relationship with this foundational vocation.  Before the wrong trajectory extends too far, we all need to immerse ourselves in the stories of those who dare to challenge the orthodoxy; who dare to follow a different trajectory that benefits the soil, the people, and the planet.

This collection of transparent, personal vignettes into the lives of real people caressing real land producing real food and fiber touches all of us profoundly with the peaks and valleys of farming.  Better than fiction, these stories articulate reality; the reality of how, why, and where food and fiber enter our plates and homes.  Knowing something about our intersection with food and fiber is a starting point for earth stewardship.  Let the lessons begin.”

Joel Salatin, Polyface Farm

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Summary

When we talk about the true cost of farming, it can be difficult to identify and quantify the costs that industrialised agriculture is externalising to the environment, animals, workers, and the public’s health and well being. This book posits that if there was full transparency across the food system, it would not look as it does today.

Farming Democracy shows the true cost and labour of farming. We’ve brought together diverse small-scale farms to tell their stories – how they produce their food, where and how it’s processed and value added, how they distribute their produce and connect eaters to the place in which it is grown, who they employ and under what conditions. Each farm has opened their books to share their true revenue and costs to shine a light onto these realities as never before.

This important book shares family farms’ stories, which we hope will inspire more people into farming, and offer insights into what the opportunities and challenges are in running a small-scale regenerative farm in Australia for those already on the land or wanting to know more about alternatives to the industrial food system. More, we hope it will inspire the food sovereignty movement as we work toward a future in which everyone has access to nutritious and culturally-appropriate food grown and distributed in ethical and ecological ways, and can enact their right to democratically determine your own food and agriculture systems.

Order your copy of Farming Democracy here

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Recent Posts

  • AFSA denounces misinformation from the far right in response to the Victorian Government’s ALA Bill
  • AFSA urges the Federal Government to change its definition of primary producers, to include smallholders seeking critical disaster recovery funding
  • AFSA is expanding: Join our National Committee or sub-committees and working groups
  • AFSA response to the National Biosecurity Strategy
  • Global perspectives: An update on AFSA’s international advocacy

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Latest submissions

AFSA responds to the ACT Capital Food and Fibre Strategy

  AFSA recently responded to the call for submissions to the ACT Capital Food and Fibre Strategy, which will “be a roadmap to delivering social, environmental and economic benefits based on secure, climate-resilient food and fibre production across in the ACT; and respond to the need to mitigate climate challenges via adaptation and diversification. It […]

A Licence to Sell Lettuce? ASFA Submission to FSANZ Proposal

  For three years FSANZ has been working on a proposal to more tightly regulate the production and sale of berries, leafy vegetables, and melons after several outbreaks of listeria, e coli, and salmonella from large monocultures. AFSA has provided feedback from the beginning on the need to approach any changes with a scale-appropriate lens […]

Protecting farmers and preserving farm land: Submission on the Protections within the Victorian Planning Framework

In October 2021 the Victorian Legislative Council tasked the Environment and Planning Committee to inquire into and report on: “the adequacy of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and Victorian planning framework in relation to planning and heritage protection”. Particular terms of reference were outlined for the Committee to address and AFSA provides its submission […]

AFSA supports proposed changes to landscape rehydration infrastructure planning rules in NSW

The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) supports the proposed changes to landscape rehydration infrastructure planning rules and applauds the NSW Government’s initiative to allow farmers to restore streams on their property through landscape rehydration techniques, without the need for council approval. AFSA represents small and medium scale producers and our vision is to enable regenerative […]

AFSA opposes JBS acquisition of Rivalea

The proposed acquisition raises a number of concerns for AFSA and our directly-affected members—small and medium-scale pastured pig farmers in Victoria. The concerns centre around the certainty of continued access for service kills and a lack of choice, reflective of a lack of competition, in the state for small-scale farmers accessing service kills. At a […]

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Recent posts

  • AFSA denounces misinformation from the far right in response to the Victorian Government’s ALA Bill May 13, 2022
  • AFSA urges the Federal Government to change its definition of primary producers, to include smallholders seeking critical disaster recovery funding April 8, 2022
  • AFSA is expanding: Join our National Committee or sub-committees and working groups April 1, 2022
  • AFSA response to the National Biosecurity Strategy March 21, 2022
  • Global perspectives: An update on AFSA’s international advocacy March 17, 2022

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