BY: JONATHAN MOSS

Photo: © Eva Verbeeck

Eating engages every mouth. Food connects us all. What we let enter our bodies is the most intimate choice we make, yet city dwellers are often disconnected from their food sources; from growth to distribution, most seem to think that vegetables simply sprout on grocery store shelves.

Most city dwellers are disconnected from their food sources and don’t think about how they got to their grocery store shelves.

Family farms are the foundation of life in North America, but disinterested youth are suffocating the industry. Today, the average age of a farmer in America is 57 years. Currently, only six percent of farmers are under the age of 35. We have a greying farming population that, “if left unchecked, could threaten our ability to produce the food we need, and also result in a loss of tens of thousands of acres of working lands that we rely on to clean our air and water” says Secretary Vilsack at The Drake Forum on America’s New Farmers.

Only six percent of North American farmers are under 35 years old because youth are disinterested in the farming industry.

This is why young North Americans must rescue farming. This is why Director Spencer MacDonald and photojournalist Eva Verbeeck travelled from Portland to Vancouver to work and live with young first generation farmers across North America who run small scale organic farms. For the film Age of the Farmer they document the dirty hands, worn boots and sun pressed skin of young farmers in an attempt to help the agricultue sector return to its former power.

Photojournalist Eva Verbeeck and director Spencer MacDonald captured the work of young North American farmers for their film Age of the Farmer in hopes of returning power to the agricultue sector.

Image sourcing: squarespace.com, evaverbeeck.com