Wendell Berry and the American Dream

Wendell Berry (1934-2026) insisted that the health of the soil, the health of the community, and the health of the soul are one and the same - an insightful gift we'll be drawing on for generations.

Wendell Berry's political philosophy is, at its core, an agrarian conservatism that treats the health of the local community—not the state, not the market, not the individual consumer—as the irreducible unit of human flourishing. Writing from his Kentucky hill farm across more than half a century of essays, he argues that industrial modernity has committed a profound category error by replacing place with abstract space, substituting neighborliness with national economy.  For Berry, the central political question is not how to distribute goods more efficiently but how to keep a community intact: he champions small-scale farming, local economies, and the virtue of staying put over the rootless mobility that both corporate capitalism and bureaucratic government encourage. His famous "two economies" distinction—the Great Economy of nature and the little human economies nested within it—grounds his insistence that any economy that consumes its own sources is doomed, a critique he levels with equal force at strip-mining, factory farming, and credit-driven speculation. Though often claimed by both left and right, Berry fits neatly into neither camp: he is anti-corporate yet deeply traditional, a critic of centralized power who distrusts both the welfare state and the free market's tendency to dissolve community into transactions. His politics is finally a politics of limits—limits on scale, on consumption, on speed—rooted in the conviction that freedom is meaningless without the disciplines of membership, and that the good life must be stewarded, not engineered. In a culture obsessed with growth and progress, his steady refrain remains radical for its simplicity: think little, live well, and love your neighbors.

"...So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion – put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection."  -Wendell Berry

In honor of Wendell Berry contributions, here are some resources that will help us improve our communities in the best ways possible.

Organizations for Local Agriculture, Natural Health, and Clean Water

Here's a curated list of organizations and resources, broken down by focus area. These are the real players—not the corporate-captured fronts that dominate search results.

Organic Consumers Association (OCA) — One of the most aggressive grassroots advocates for organic standards, anti-GMO labeling, and fighting agribusiness consolidation. They don't just talk; they organize campaigns against glyphosate, factory farming, and the USDA's revolving-door capture by Big Ag.

LocalHarvest — The OG directory for finding CSAs, farmers markets, family farms, and co-ops near you. Direct farm-to-consumer, no middleman markup, no grocery chain gatekeeping.

Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) — Defends farmers' rights to sell raw milk, pasture-raised meats, and other direct-to-consumer foods against regulatory overreach. If your local farm gets harassed by the state, these are the lawyers.

Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) — Chapters across North America focused on nutrient-dense traditional foods, raw milk access, and local food systems. Their chapter finder is a goldmine for connecting with like-minded locals.

American Farmland Trust — Protects farmland from development sprawl.

National Young Farmers Coalition — Supporting the next generation of small-scale farmers, who are getting crushed by land prices and industrial consolidation.

Natural Health

American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) — Registry of licensed naturopaths.

National Health Federation (NHF) — One of the oldest health-freedom groups, fighting for supplement access and against Codex restrictions on nutrients.

Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) — International advocacy against over-restrictive supplement regulation and pharmaceutical monopoly.

Health Freedom Defense Fund (HFDF) — Litigates against mandates and defends medical choice.

Children's Health Defense — Focused on environmental toxins, vaccine safety transparency, and children's health advocacy.

Fresh Water & Clean Air/Water Advocacy

Find A Spring — The definitive crowd-sourced database of verified natural spring water locations worldwide. Real, free, tested spring water—no plastic bottles, no municipal fluoridation.

Waterkeeper Alliance — Grassroots network of local waterkeepers who patrol and defend rivers, lakes, and coastal waters from polluters.

Clean Water Action — Organizes on PFAS contamination, lead pipes, and industrial dumping.

Environmental Working Group (EWG) — Publishes the Tap Water Database so you can see exactly what's in your municipal water, plus the Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen lists for pesticide residues.

Food & Water Watch — Fights water privatization and fracking contamination.

Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) — Helps communities pass Rights of Nature ordinances to block corporate pollution.

Moms Across America — Grassroots testing for glyphosate and heavy metals in food and water.

Where to Find Raw Milk

Raw milk access varies wildly by state—some allow retail sales, some only herd-shares, some ban it outright. Resources:

• RealMilk.com (Weston A. Price Foundation) — The most comprehensive state-by-state raw milk finder, including herd-share listings.
• Raw Milk Institute (RAWMI) — Lists trained, low-risk raw dairy producers.
• LocalHarvest — Filter the farm directory for "dairy" and look for raw milk listings.
• Farmers markets — Many raw dairies sell direct or through herd-share agreements at local markets.

Finding Local Spring Water — Practical Steps

1. FindASpring.com — Start here. Verified springs with GPS coordinates, flow rates, and water quality reports from users.
2. State geological surveys — Many states publish spring location data.
3. Local hiking/outdoor forums — Old-timers know springs that never show up on any database.
4. Ask at farmers markets or health food co-ops — Locals often know the good spots.

Always test spring water before drinking regularly, especially near agricultural runoff or mining areas. Spring water can carry bacteria or heavy metals just like any untreated source.

One honest note: The "organic" and "natural" space has been increasingly infiltrated by corporate buyouts—many formerly independent brands are now owned by the same conglomerates they once opposed, think Garden of Life, and Megafood. Supporting local and direct sources (CSA, farmers market, herd-share, spring) is the only way to actually vote with your dollars against industrial consolidation.

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