Farm Internships -- Will Work for Food

[OneGrassRoot]

Some of the most sought-after internships this summer weren’t on Capitol Hill or in the Vogue fashion closet. They were on farms. If you hadn’t applied by the end of the spring, you could forget about it. Ag-department graduates, career-changers and cooks looking to deepen their knowledge of ingredients are among those who have been turning to farmers to show them how to plow their trade. For months they live in group housing — even tents — working long hours for little or no pay beyond all-you-can-eat produce. It’s a cross between Michael Pollan summer school and Barbara Kingsolver boot camp.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/magazine/12food-t-000.html?_r=1&utm_source=Ode+Newsletters&utm_campaign=f3d89f86c3-daily-rss&utm_medium=email

:hi:

[tama]

1. Sounds great

I spent the summer working in ecovillage garden - not getting any money but paying a little for my food. Best time of my life, so far.

[Skidmore]

2. The price of education in the US.

I spent almost 3 years of my life giving free labor to services as part of my graduate work and certification. No one has wrung their hands about the many other professionals who have done the same over the years. This is not new.

[OneGrassRoot]

3. I know :)

It's not new, yet the growing trend toward the ecological and "back to basics" aspect of internships is a positive thing, IMHO. That was my intent in posting.

:hi:

[Dappleganger]

4. K&R

[JDPriestly]

5. Back in the 1930s, my dad worked on a truck farm summers between

school years. He learned enough to become a very good backyard gardener -- which helped feed us kids and teach us to love, love, love our veggies. This is good news. Cooks who really understand how food is grown are needed in this country. This movement, if real, could help solve some of the big nutrition problems we have. Obesity could become a thing of the past if eating fresh vegetables becomes popular.