Interview: Tom Philpott Discusses ‘Collapse of American Farming’
RichardBH
Illinois is one of America’s leading agricultural states. We make soybeans and corn, and pigs, lots of pigs. Pumpkins, too. And farming is everywhere — the state’s department of agriculture says Illinois’ 72-thousand farms cover about three-quarters of our land area. But there are dangers for and in this bounty. Last year, a remarkably rainy spring meant 1-and-a-half million acres of Illinois farmland was not planted — a tenfold increase over the usual.
The 21st speaks to the author of Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It about the challenges facing our food system & agriculture.
Guests:
Tom Philpott, author of Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It, food and agricultural correspondent for Mother Jones and former farmer in Maverick Farms in Valle Crucis, North Carolina
Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi
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