Every time you pick up the newspaper or tune into your Facebook feed, you read negative news about farmers, farming, and food.  The articles are largely anti-crop insurance, anti-“corporate farming,” and anti-GMO.

But a Washington Post reporter, Tamar Haspel, continues to seek out the middle ground between our rhetoric and the “anti” messages and spell them out in an easy to understand way. 

While every message might not be exactly what farmers would like to hear, her news is unbiased and sensible and worth pointing out because she’s getting some traction as a voice to listen to in the food and agriculture debate.

Her most recent piece, Why Everyone Who is Sure About Food Philosophy Is Wrong, boasts this very honest quote:

“All the farmers I’ve ever talked to are happy to explain why they make the decisions they do but are quick to admit there are lots of ways to do it differently. Nobody knows the shortcomings of the organic standard, or GMO corn, or no-till, better than the farmer who has put it into practice. But the farther you get from the farm, the louder the voices get.”

But her other stories are valuable too.  You would do yourself a favor to check them out.

In Defense of Corn, The World’s Most Important Food Crop

The GMO Debate: Five Things to Stop Arguing