New Crops In New Jersey

The other day I was watching a news report on New Jersey public television about preserving farmland in the state. With so many corporate farms from other regions of the country driving New Jersey's small farms to the brink of going out of business, many New Jersey farmers are growing different crops, such as exotic Thai and Indochinese vegetables to cater to the state's growing Asian population. Growing different vegetables . . ..  Hmmm, that's what Michael Dukakis proposed back in 1988 while running for President at a time when thousands of family farmers all over the country were hurting. He specifically suggested that they try growing Belgian endives.

Dukakis was laughed at for this suggestion, but that fact is that farmers in other countries have diversified their crops for centuries. American farmers, meanwhile, have dug a hole for themselves by growing single crops, like corn, to sell to buyers like, uh, Archer Daniels Midland for the purpose of making agribuisiness foodstuffs to turn into fatty junk food. By growing different crops, farmers here in New Jersey are staying in business. Guess Dukakis gets the last laugh. 

Pass the Belgian endives, please. :-)