WWOOFing in Northern Europe: a Cross-Cultural Examination of Food, Farming, and Community

Industrial agriculture has changed the way Americans eat food. More food is available but many eat without knowing where the food came from, or the additives that were used to grow and preserve it. The implementation of this large-scale food system has caused many health issues among the American population. Large-scale agriculture systems, being primarily monocultures, are also the cause of many environmental problems affecting the United States such as deforestation, soil erosion, and the eutrophication of waterways. Small-scale, organic agriculture has the potential to combat these environmental issues while restoring local, more transparent food systems. This summer I spent two months in northern Europe working on two small- scale organic farms in the Netherlands and Norway. My goal was to learn about the small organic farm movement and food culture in places that were far from home so that I could compare the two region’s and America’s general philosophies regarding agriculture and food. This experience helped me to make connections between land stewardship and agricultural production firsthand.