riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (11/29/83)
This is a pointer to and a request for more information about an
organization known as the Regenerative Agriculture Association.
According to the membership invitation they sent me the other day, the
RAA is a non-profit educational and research institution interested in
exploring the benefits of healthy and environmentally sound agricultural
techniques for both farmers and consumers. They run an experimental farm
in Pennsylvania as well as participating in national and international
research projects on such topics as water quality, pollution-free farming,
aquaculture (fish farming) and non-traditional crops. They conduct
workshops and seminars and publish a magazine, "The New Farm", seven times
a year. Water quality seems to be an issue of primary importance to them,
and they stress that concerned consumers are as important a part of their
organization as those more directly concerned with farming.
Membership in the RAA costs $15 a year and includes a subscription to
"The New Farm". They also request tax-deductible donations.
So far so good. I assume that the RAA sent me their flyer because I am a
member of the Sierra Club, and the environmental side of their interests
certainly appeals to me. I agree that if real progress is to be made
toward a sensible form of agriculture it will be less through governmental
coercion than by demonstrating that working alternatives exist which make
more sense in the long run. Unfortunately, the tone of the RAA's invitation
was less like a charity's appeal for funds than like a magazine sales pitch.
That got me to wondering.
The founder and president of the RAA is Richard Rodale, owner of Rodale
Press, which publishes magazines like "Prevention", "Organic Gardening",
"Bicycling" and "New Shelter", and which published "The New Farm" until 1982
when its ownership was transferred to the RAA. I don't know those magazines
very well, but I tend to think of them more as entertaining do-it-yourself
publications than as scholarly journals.
So the question comes up: is the RAA really a respectable research outfit
worthy of my membership and my contribution, or is it just an ingenious
magazine marketing scheme? If anyone out there can shed some light on this,
I'd appreciate it.
I hope that my doubts prove wrong, as I think that these are issues which
need addressing. You can get membership information (as well as a free
"Water Safety Action Kit", whatever that is) by writing to:
Regenerative Agriculture Association
222 Main St.
Emmaus, PA 18049
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Prentiss Riddle
{ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle
riddle@ut-sally.UUCP