Many Cultures in Agriculture
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. We recently discussed how the non-farming public views what a farmer looks like in their mind and how it’s not that simple. Are there plenty of older, white, male farmers out there?
Washington Policy Center’s Ag Director, Pam Lewison says sure, but the farming community in our state is much more than just old white guys in overalls …
LEWISON … “And when we look at the kind of diversity that Washington agriculture has, it is truly vast. You know, we have people from all walks of life, all kinds of different cultures, communities, faiths, and they all are participating in food production. And I think a lot of that gets ignored.”
And, Lewison says when you really want to dig deeper and break it down …
LEWISON … “I think I’d go so far as to mention, you know, some of the backgrounds and diversity that we have. That we have Seik and Muslim and Thai and Iraqi and Native American and Portuguese and Catalan and Dutch and so on, who are all represented within our agricultural community.”
And that, Lewison says is just here in Washington state …
LEWISON … “So, when we start looking at what the backgrounds of people look like in Washington’s agricultural community, it is incredibly diverse.”
Bottom line, Lewison says do not assume that all farmers look alike or have the same backgrounds, because you might be surprised.
