Which brings me to the new agrarianism. Indisputably, it's on the rise. Across America, there is a resurgent interest in local, family-scale, sustainable food, fiber, and fuel production. It began slowly in the 1980s, but has gathered a great deal of speed recently. Local food is the focus and key to this new movement, but it's more than food systems – it's collaborative watershed groups focused on restoring health to riparian areas, it's the innovative use of livestock to combat noxious weed infestations, it's the carbon-sequestering practices of good land stewardship, and much more.

Agrarianism is on the rise for a simple reason: it effectively corrects the three shortcomings of environmentalism that I described, and thus addresses the challenges of the 21st century. First, it's economic. By implementing sustainable profit and work at local scales, it creates a viable alternative to the industrial economy. It's not theoretical either – it exists and it works. Second, by definition it puts our toes back into contact with the soil again. The new agrarianism's emphasis on stewardship, coexistence, and resilience requires daily contact with the earth, digging, planting, herding, sawing, working. Third, it walks the talk of a land ethic. It encompasses soil plants, animals, and people and strives for a harmonious balance between all. Perhaps just as importantly, a new agrarianism sparks joy and laughter. It requires care and affection and love to succeed, including affection for one another. It gives, not merely takes.