Farmscape: The Changing Rural Environment

by Mary Swander, Gene Logsdon, Anna Lappé

Farmscape is inspired by the community play which documents the contemporary Midwest farmscape. Savor the taste of organic vegetables on a truck on its way to the local farmer s market, suit up in protective clothing and a mask before you enter a hog confinement operation. Experience the David and Goliath story of an organic farmer up against the economic forces of the 3500 acre agri-business operation next door. In the end, you ll understand that during the pioneer days, farming completely changed the ecosystem of the prairie. A hundred and fifty years later, this landscape is dramatically changing again. This book will feature a collection of well-known and talented contributors This book contains the full readers theatre script as well as commentary on both Farmscape and the Changing Rural Environment

154 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Cheryl Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading. The play on the page doesn't have the force of a good performance, but it captures a great deal of the burning issues in rural life in early 21st-century North America. It's a short play, and more than half of the book comprises short essays on rural issues and experiences related to creating and performing in the play. The quality of the essays is uneven, but they are all engaging and I found something of value in each of them.

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The play is excellent, snippets of interviews with real people affected by the farm crisis (traditional farmers, organic farmers, CAFO pig raisers, a Monsanto employee, etc.) assembled to create a dialogue that is quiet but quite telling. The play, however, is followed by several short essays--some of which are excellent and some of which I wonder at their inclusion. I really liked the collaborative quality of this book, but I thought there were problems with maintaining a consistent level of quality across all the contributions.