Sustainable Agriculture worth Measure A Support
Andy Naja-Riese, AIM CEO, February 20, 2022
Wendell Berry, the well-known environmental activist, said “Eating is an Agricultural Act.” If you eat food, wear wool clothing, or plant vegetable starts at home, then you already benefit from sustainable agriculture here in Marin County.
We want to commend the Marin County Board of Supervisors for preserving the future of Marin County’s agricultural land by allocating 20% of Measure A funds toward land stewardship, conservation easements, community gardens, and land access for beginning farmers and ranchers.
Besides increasing the climate resilience and economic viability of Marin’s agricultural sector, sustainable agricultural production—including organic and climate-friendly agriculture practices—offers public benefits to our health, environment, and economy. For example:
Marin’s sustainable agriculture practices help increase nutrition security and lessen chronic diseases.
Foods that travel shorter distances from farm to plate reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Foods, nursery stock, and wool fibers grown on land that’s managed to emphasize healthy soil can retain more water, require fewer chemical additives, sequester carbon, and provide protection from catastrophic wildfires.
Every dollar spent on local goods can add up to $2.16 in local economic stimulus.
We continue to depend on local small farmers and ranchers using responsible practices to feed us. Many of the foods produced on Measure A-protected farmland are sold at Marin farmers’ markets and farmstands, are served in schools and restaurants, are purchased through CalFresh by families experiencing hunger, or are donated to food recovery organizations like ExtraFood.org and Marin Community Fridges.
Measure A protects land for the people who currently grow and produce our food, while helping assure that the next generation of farmers and ranchers, including beginning farmers and farmers of color, will have access to land and technical resources to continue producing local foods that nourish us and heal the planet.
We are glad to report that we’ve been able to pave the way for the future of sustainable agriculture in Marin County. The Marin Board of Supervisors adopted AIM’s request in partnership with the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Resource Conservation District, and UC Cooperative Extension to allocate 20 percent of Measure A funding for Parks and Open Space towards Sustainable Agriculture Programs. We believe these programs will protect, restore, and sustain agricultural working lands and foods systems. Next up the Measure is headed to voters for renewal in the June 7 election.