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Feeding a Divided America
Reflections of a Western Rancher in the Era of Climate Change
New Century Gardens and Landscapes of the American Southwest
Published by: University of New Mexico Press
176 Pages, 5.50 x 8.50 in, 24 halftones
- EPUB
- 9780826366115 | May 2024
$24.95
In Feeding a Divided America, third-generation Montana rancher and international agriculture development specialist Gilles Stockton explores the causes of what he refers to as the “rural-urban divide” and how this widening chasm between rural America and urban centers threatens our democracy. Indeed, it determines the structure of our society, including the physical and political landscapes in which we live. Stockton shows how big banks, international food conglomerates, urban expectations, and US farm policy have all furthered the demise of small towns across America.
These essays provide a clear portrait of national food issues surrounding market competition, US trade policy, wildlife controversies, climate change, supply-chain disruptions, and US farm policy, topics that transcend all geopolitical boundaries. Stockton stands firm with American farmers and ranchers, offering potential remedies to these issues in the face of concerns over livelihood, the future of American food systems, and the future of our planet. Stockton’s essays are timely, and they challenge American urbanites and rural folk alike to find ways for all of us to coexist in a changing environment. Whether we eat may depend on it.
A third-generation Montana cattle rancher, Gilles Stockton raises beef cattle and sheep on five thousand acres in Grass Range, Montana. Stockton is an international agriculture development specialist, a member of the Northern Plains Resource Council, and the past president of the Montana Cattlemen’s Association. He is a regular contributor to agricultural news magazines such as Western Agricultural Reporter and the Tri-State Livestock News. Stockton advocates on behalf of the nation’s ranching and farming communities.
"In this series of penetrating essays on modern American agriculture, Gilles Stockton tackles the challenges modern farmers and ranchers face in making a living when giant monopolies control too many moving parts of the food chain. Stockton also looks at all the reasons rural and urban Americans, producers and consumers alike, talk past each other today while their real mutual interests lie in supporting a genuine remake of our national agricultural policy."--Baker H. Morrow, author of Best Plants for New Mexico Gardens and Landscapes: Keyed to Cities and Regions in New Mexico and Adjacent Areas, Revised and Expanded Edition
"Gilles Stockton takes a unique approach to storytelling. He represents a perspective on a serious topic that includes technical, cultural, and political viewpoints and interjects personal experiences garnered from of a rich life spent as a rancher, international agricultural development specialist, and conservationist."--R. Jack Meyers, contributor to Water for the People: The Acequia Heritage of New Mexico in a Global Context