Faceless Farmers
Apr 21st 2025
Most farmers are faceless farmers. Faceless essentially means anonymous. In fact, it's much worse, most farms today are owned by absentee investors, many who buy farms sight unseen solely as an investment without even caring if it is profitable because if it loses money, it's a tax writeoff and the investor isn't risking the loss of their entire investment like other investments. The farmland will hold it's value or most likely increase in value making it one of the most sought after investments by investment firms.
Unless you know your farmer and buy directly from your farmers, it's highly likely you're buying product from a farm with an absentee owner who may have an investment firm in San Francisco and has never visited his farm. This is extremely commonplace in agriculture today which is why it's more important than ever to support family farmers.
If you're not buying directly from the farmers who grow your food, then you are most likely buying food from complete strangers who you don't even know which seems crazy when you realize it right? Most of the produce stickers you see at your grocery store such as the ones on each avocado are actually the processors who buy the avocados from the farmers for bottom dollar.
Our society has created a system where direct relationships with the farmers who grow your food is more and more rare as consumers settle for whatevers convenitely available without ever pondering the food chain that feeds them. Most people have completely abandoned the most important questions to one of the most vital sources of life.
Who grows my food? Family Farmer or Major Corporation?
Where does my food come from? California or International?
How is it grown, harvested, & processed?
What is done to it after harvest?