Who Cares Who Grows Your Food?

“Know your farmer. Know your food.” It’s a familiar refrain. But does knowing who grows your food really matter? And if it does, who benefits?

In this solo episode of One Bite is Everything, Dana DiPrima challenges one of her own long-held assumptions: you ought to know your farmer. We don’t know who makes our shoes, builds our cars, or produces most of the things we use every day. So why should food be different?

With an unexpected perspective from Georgia cattle farmer Wayne Swanson Jr. and revealing stories from the For Farmers Movement Listening Tour, Dana explores what it actually means to know a farmer. Is it about personal relationships, trust, transparency, understanding the economics of farming, or something more?

And what does it mean for farmers themselves to be seen, heard, and understood by the people they feed?

From the price of a tomato to a thank-you postcard that one farmer reads again and again, this episode asks whether closing the distance between farmers and eaters can change more than how we shop.

Because perhaps the most important question isn’t whether we know our farmers.

It’s what changes because we do.

Take action with For Farmers Movement

You don’t have to know a farmer personally to make a difference. Visit forfarmersmovement.com to nominate a farmer for a grant, donate to fund grants, shop a farmer’s wish list, or write a postcard of appreciation.

If this episode made you think, share it with someone who might see their food differently after listening. And please rate One Bite is Everything wherever you listen. It helps more people discover these conversations.

Coming next: More from Wayne Swanson Jr. of Swanson Family Farm in Georgia.

One Bite is Everything is hosted by Dana DiPrima, co-produced with Sonia Dhillon, with sound and music by Russell Chapa.

Eat like it matters. Because it does.