b'small, diversified organic farms are so vital. They are repositories of radical affection, generating and regenerating working relationships between economics and ecology at a comprehensible scale. What they contribute to society goes far beyond the nutrient-dense food they produce and the carbon their soil sequesters. Small and midsized organic farmers are essential workers in the long emergencywell, no longer as long as we once thoughtof climate change, toxics, fast food, the substitution of the lowest common denominator for the common good, fast money and the spiritual crises of a culture that has cut itself off from the land, slicing and dicing the whole into myriad pieces.In the following voices, hear affection, pragmatism, poetry, mutuality, activism, rootedness and entrepreneurial grit that can help us heal:Just like the sunflowers, who turn their heads towards the sun each day, so too do I. Towards injustice, towards the unknown and the uncomfortable, towards the fear and the privilege I carry. Towards those who need to be heard. Hannah Muller, Full Belly FarmWe cant talk about sustainability, we cant talk about food systems, when theres a whole group of people, who first and foremost were the ones that were growing during the develop-ment of AmericaFarming is part of our DNA and is something that we should be proud of, something we should continue to immerse ourselves in. Karen Washington, Black Urban GardenersIf we can grow food together and feed ourselves, what else can we do together? The sweet potatoes, watermelon and spring onions are just a way to bring us together. Who knows what this will spin off? Rev. Dr. Heber M. Brown III (cited in Soul Fire Farms blog)26'