In 2006, the supporters of Jim Webb eventually coalesced into what Webb called his "ragtag army" of netroots activists. One of the best of those activists (and also a top-notch writer on RK) was a guy named Dave Murphy, now relocated back to his home state of Iowa and taking on corporate farming through his organization, Food Democracy Now!. According to FDN's website, Dave's group is "a grassroots movement initiated by farmers, writers, chefs, eaters and policy advocates who recognize the profound sense of urgency in creating a new food system that is capable of meeting the changing needs of American society as it relates to food, health, animal welfare and the environment." The goal is "to transform today’s system by advancing best practices in food production, animal husbandry, conservation of natural resources, renewable energy and soil preservation."Anyway, I'm raising this now because my friend Dave is featured today in a Washington Post article ("Where Policy Grows: Iowan Dave Murphy Is Challenging the Corporate Farming Of America"). According to the Post:
...for Murphy, the fight for good food isn't about pleasure or aesthetics; it's about justice and survival.
Three years ago, he left a good job in Washington to return home to Iowa, where a Minnesota corporation was threatening to build a nearly 5,000-head hog farm near his sister's home. "This is not something abstract," he said. "This is about people I know. People I went to high school with. When you speak to people from Berkeley or Manhattan, people on the coasts, it's a really different ballgame."
What Dave's doing in Iowa epitomizes what the netroots are all about, "thinking globally, acting locally." It's also about utilizing modern communications and organizational tools in order to effect change ("Murphy uses grass-roots community organizing methods, such as petitions and action alerts."). And Dave definitely seems to be having an impact, having "collected nearly 90,000 signatures for his petition." Congratulations to Dave, and keep up the great work!
