Culture And Agriculture: The Mythology Of Farming And The Crisis Of Democracy

The endeavor of this essay is to connect the system of mass-production agriculture (what is often called “Big Ag”) with political, social, and economic systems. Hence, the environmental problems produced by mass-production agriculture can be comprehended as cultural problems. I further connect the environmental problems with myths that fund cultural identity. “Myth” is not simply conflated with “fiction” but is understood as how cultures create meaning from social and material circumstance. I go on to argue that myths can become damaging and regressive as they outlive their context. Specifically, the myths of farming created a cultural meaning that has done significant damage to ecological progress (progress across systems). Myths concerning the meaning of a farming community have been strongly supported by closely related “traditional values” which are no longer precisely relevant to actual cultural circumstance. I then argue that the stale myths lead away from a democratic process to an authoritarian process. The essay strongly suggests solutions to these problems with what I call “ecological literacy.” The state of Iowa USA is used as a paradigm of mass-production agriculture, but Iowa is then connected to national and global environmental problems. Finally, the argument goes, the humanities must support the sciences in addressing systemic environmental problems.