Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Gaia Made A Farmer...

Everyone's been talking about the Dodge Ram Super Bowl commercial, but no one's been saying what I'm thinking. The commercial actually aired during one of the few moments I was actually watching the TV, rather than hanging out in the kitchen talking to farmers. Although I couldn't hear all the words over the talking in the room, the imagery and soundtrack very much caught my attention.  Having just driven through Missouri, where an idealized "American farmer" billboard advertised Monsanto,  my first guess what that it was a Monsanto commercial. Realistically, though, Monsanto wouldn't advertise at the Super Bowl; it was obviously for a truck.

What I did hear of the commercial moved me, because it does represent the hardships of an agrarian lifestyle, and that there are people who choose to live that way, despite, if not because of, the struggles, and I recognized the commercial as a tribute to those people, amongst whose ranks I hope to join. I know some of my fellow farmers have been similarly moved. But among most urban/suburban liberals, the response has been criticism. The racial critique I agree with. "God made Mexican farm workers," I might say, tongue-in-cheek. And, as someone who initially linked the ad with Monsanto, I certainly see the validity of the factory farm critique. But none of the criticism that I have read resonates with me as much as the ad did, because it is too busy critiquing the system (as though the critic is not a contributor) to honor the individuals, who even in a conventional system dedicate their days and lives to feeding the rest of us.

My critique of the response to this ad is essentially the same as my critique of the response to the Chipotle ad at last year's Super Bowl: the consumers (myself included) need to take responsibility for their part in the system, rather than just criticizing it. At the same time, these two ads give me hope because they reveal national attention to the causes that move me, even if that attention comes in the form of dreaded greenwashing. These companies chose to advertize through tributes to farmers because they think it will sell, because they think the people care about these issues. And that's a good sign.