The first time I was in Columbia, Missouri, was 20 years ago -- almost exactly to the day! It was on a cross country tour with Paul Clarke, Charles Margulis, Al Cardwell, Peter Bradley, and Nathan Santry to connect community based fishermen with family farmers. TIME Magazine was doing a profile piece and when I told them to meet us in Columbia, they thought we were nuts! Why were we in farm country to do a story on fishing? We wanted to show the similarities between the struggle to stop factory farming and factory fishing. We held a press conference with the Missouri Rural Crisis Center (MRCC), and that's the first time I met the powerhouse couple of Rhonda Perry and Roger Allison. Roger founded MRCC in 1985, in the heart of the farm crisis, and Rhonda has been its program director for many years. MRCC has been a dedicated NFFC member since we were founded a couple of years later.
Last night, we all got together again on our tour stop in mid-Missouri -- and we were once again strategizing to take back our farms, our ocean, and our food from the industrial food complex. Thanks to the The Root Cellar for hosting us; thank you to Margot McMillen for your hospitality and having us on your farm. (And hosting us on your wonderful Farm and Fiddle radio show!)
Heading out to Sioux Fall, SD this morning...
