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AWOL from UCSC
I left San Francisco on a mission to Santa Cruz before dark. I wasn't as excited to get there because I
had just recently found out that my former colleague, Dave Trickett, had left UC Santa Cruz's organic farm
a bit early. After 3 years with him at PWI Energy, Dave, a far cry from a ladies' man, decided to take an
organic farming course at the very prestigious Center for Agroecology of UCSC.
I was quite impressed with this career change and commended him on making such a neat move in life. This
was after I gave him a hard time about driving his gas guzzling Suburban out there, of course. Part of my
job description was to annoy Dave. You won't see it on my resume, though, as it was kind of an unofficial
task appointed to me by me. I took pride in it and maybe was a little too good at it, I must say.
Although Dave was no longer at the farm, he put me in contact with his friend, Jay, from Chicago. I had a
wonderful time with him and met many of the other students there. It was really interesting to meet these
people because many of them were older and weren't just there because it had been time to go to college and
party. People had come from all walks of life and wanted to do different things with this knowledge they
were gaining.
After meeting people like this, I feel better about the direction we are going in agriculture. These people
feel strongly enough about issues like the dangers of beef and chicken intoxicated with hormones, crops that
are carelessly treated with chemicals, and land that is just so sucked dry of its nutrients and
effectiveness that unnatural fertilizers, more chemicals, and genetically modified seeds are then used.
The people that I spoke with there have plans to get a hold of their own plots of land and farm their own
foods. They are doing what I hope to do someday, which is change my demands. I will demand organic and won't
settle for hormone-injected chickens. I won't feed my children vegetables from far away places that were
treated with preservatives to keep them a color and texture that Americans have come to believe is
attractive, even though it may not be natural. I can't wait to be a part of a Community Supported
Agriculture program so I can get a box of all natural goodies each week while supporting local organic
farmers.
I thank Dave and Jay, and all of those who have taken or are taking that course at UCSC and have done and
will do something wonderful with this information. It was a pleasure and I look forward to going back and
eating some more food that is hours fresh and so natural. It is a taste that is amazing, but so rare to
find.
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