Seven Principles of Authentic Agriculture™:

Authentic - conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features, made or done the same way as an original

1. Acknowledges the Creator God, Lord of Heaven and Earth as the Supreme Agriculturalist and First Farmer, as He planted a Garden in Eden.  Gen. 1:1
As a result, Authentic Agriculture™ seeks to honor the Creator, by working in harmony with the laws of nature which He authored to husband, or cultivate plants and animals into healthy, available food.  God is the Author of Agriculture, and the way He designed it is the original. 

2. Sustains the farmer and his family.  Mt. 10:10b
One of the most glaring tragedies of the Industrial, Commodity-based, global food system now in place is that the price of food at the farm-gate is so low, that a small family farm literally cannot afford to produce it.  A pregnant, purebred hunting dog is potentially worth ten times as much as a pregnant farm animal capable of producing food. 

Authentic Agriculture™ is truly sustainable; a family can make a modern living on a modest holding of land.  When those who raise our food are dependent on other citizens for ongoing support of farming operations through USDA program payments, food production is neither cheap, nor sustainable.  There is nothing Authentic, or sustainable, when Mom is working nights to earn the family health insurance, and Dad is working 2 part time jobs, the kids are in public school all day, and with Grandma and Grandpa all night.  When we trust in the Lord to provide for us, there are many ways in which we will look different from the world around us, and that is the mark of one under Authority.

In addition, “sustainable” is a word which has come to mean “barely surviving” in many areas of agriculture.  To be truly authentic in our pursuit of a biblical worldview of agriculture, we must not be satisfied with simply living to farm one more day. Authentic Agriculture, by definition is multi-generational, and must provide for the prosperity of future generations as well as the current one.

3. Maintains a connection with the local community.  Prov. 27:17

Farms should enhance, not detract from the community.   If farms fail to be connected locally, the built in accountability and the interconnectedness is lost, alienating and isolating farm production from food consumption.  Authentic farms, working in harmony with God’s creation, and giving Him Glory, are an attractive, welcoming part of the community.  They provide food for people living close to the farm, and seek to reduce the negative impacts of farming on a global scale. 

4. Works in harmony with nature and the environment, not in controlling it. Heb. 11:3, Col. 1:16-17, Ps. 104:30, Rom. 1:20

Authentic Agriculture™ acknowledges God as the Author of food and food production, and additionally trusts in the Great Creator’s plan.  He invites us to join Him.  There is nothing authentic about killing all the insects in a corn field because some of them may hurt the crop.  Authentic means that we work with nature, not against.

5. Promotes freedom, trust, honesty; not control, verification and deceit.  Rom.13:9-10

It is impossible to fake authenticity.  Open in its nature, Authentic Agriculture™ is small and local, and as a result, the community which the farmer needs and which he supports is aware of his practices.  Each farmer is responsible for his own land and production practices.  Corporate agriculture provides an opportunity for farms to lose their individuality and therefore their accountability.

6.  Is family-based, multi-generational.  Eph. 3:21, De. 11:18-21

Authentic Agriculture™ and takes place by definition on family farms.  When a farmer grows his own food, a protection against improper methods is built into the system.  There is nothing authentic about a hog producer buying ham at the grocery store.  And there is nothing authentic about a successful family farm that in one generation becomes unable to support future generations.

7. Produces healthy food, not raw materials for corporate food producers. Gen. 9:1-3, 20

Corporate agriculture hinges on farmers producing raw materials at the lowest cost possible, which means that corporate products have the highest possible profit margin.  Authentic Agriculture™ is focused on providing healthy food to the customer, and a healthy living to the farmer.  There is nothing Authentic about dozens of “middle men” making a fat living, while the farmer is killing himself with work, and the customer is killing himself with the food.