Garth Brown

Garth Brown
6 POSTS17 COMMENTS
https://cairncrestfarm.com/blog
Garth Brown writes about navigating digital life and whatever else interests him at The Hard Reset, as well as raising cows, pigs, and sheep on Cairncrest Farm in central New York. He is interested in cultivating an intentionally myopic perspective, the essays of E.B. White, how to balance the demands of an agricultural ecosystem with those of the market, and how to use modern technologies without having them become a time stealing, soul destroying drain on his life. He is lovingly tolerated by his wife, daughter, and son, and adored by his disgustingly energetic dog.

Recent Essays

Socialism, Localism, and the Future of Industrial Agriculture

If I’m honest, I am skeptical that the localist approach I advocate will bring about a quasi-utopian future of widespread flourishing, at least within my lifetime. But at least localism can materially change things. And while such changes will necessarily be modest, they will almost always be more impactful than all but a minority of a minority of policy arguments.

Does Food Policy Matter? A Review of Small Farm Republic

Folks reading this site might, and there is a minority of the public that spends the time and money to grow produce or seek out good, local farms. But most people only really think about food when they can’t get it or when the grocery bill increases. A big reason we have the system we do is that the majority of the populace prefers cheap, convenient, processed food.

Please Eat Cows

Animal agriculture, we hear over and over, is horrific for the environment and horrific for the livestock involved. Yet most of us can’t or won’t change our ways. There may be a general sense that beef is horrible, but there is a literal sense that steak is delicious.

The Irreducible Reality of Pork Belly

When cut into chunks, tossed with salt and some brown sugar, and then roasted all afternoon in a very low oven, perhaps with a bit of sauce for the last bit, pork belly becomes a gateway to the real.

On Pigeons

Two autumns ago you couldn’t take a dozen steps without tripping over the decapitated corpse of a pigeon. There’d be one lying on the...

Cheese Should Be Dangerous

The cheese crafted here came about as a byproduct of a larger whole, the natural dividend of a complete way of life, and this is the foundation of the best farming.