A
few hundred years ago, almost everyone either worked on the land or had direct
links to it. Then came the Industrial Revolution. Much land was taken from the
poor people who worked it and they had to move to the new industrial cities
to find a way to make a living. But even by the mid 1800s, more than half Americans
still worked on family-owned farms. Today fewer than 2 per cent do - and family
farms are in big trouble. But things are beginning
to change. Groups are getting together to support small local farmers by organising
farmers' markets. Over 3100 of these now operate across the US [1]. Others lend
a hand more directly: Community
Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a really great way to help local farmers
make a decent living as well as linking people to their own direct - and cheaper
- source of locally-grown food.