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History of Organic Farming in America
By Anneliese Abbott
Organic History
Blog


The Last Primeval Forest: Reflections on Warren Woods State Park
I've always wanted to visit Warren Woods - the last stand of old-growth hardwoods in Michigan This week I finally visited a Michigan state park I’ve been wanting to see for years. It’s not very big or very well-known, but Warren Woods State Park is , as far as I’m aware, the only stand of old-growth beech-maple forest left in southern Michigan. Back in 1879, a visionary man named Edward K. Warren  purchased this 311-acre tract of forest solely for the purpose of preserving it

Anneliese Abbott
2 days ago3 min read
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Debunked by Nature: Exciting New Book by a Conservative Regenerative Farmer
I've been waiting for a book like this for years! For over forty years, there’s been a stereotype that only liberals care about the...

Anneliese Abbott
Oct 23 min read
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Organic Landmark: Exploring the Rodale Founders Farm
J.I. Rodale's original chicken house at Founders Farm is a work of art. After dropping my luggage in my room, it was time for my tour of...

Anneliese Abbott
Sep 253 min read
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Finding Rodale: The J. I. Rodale Farm at Last!
J.I. Rodale's original farmhouse--birthplace of the organic farming movement--is now owned and maintained by the Rodale Institute and...

Anneliese Abbott
Sep 183 min read
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Ruins of an Organic Food Mecca: Reflections on Walnut Acres
Walnut Acres, in Penns Creek, Pennsylvania, was the first organic mail-order food company in the US. I knew it was the right place. It...

Anneliese Abbott
Sep 113 min read
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Malabar's Caves: An Adventure That Didn't Make It into the Book
Bromfield dreamed of aging cheeses in caves at Malabar--but would any of them have been suitable? One of the hardest things about writing...

Anneliese Abbott
Jul 248 min read
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The Tour That Started It All: My First Visit to Malabar Farm
Getting a behind-the-scenes tour of Malabar Farm in 2015 started my career as a writer. I can’t believe it’s already been ten years since...

Anneliese Abbott
Jul 173 min read
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Finding Common Ground: Why I Am Excited to Keynote the 2026 OEFFA Conference
Being invited to speak on the topic of "Finding Common Ground" is a dream come true for me. I was thrilled when the Ohio Ecological Food...

Anneliese Abbott
Jul 113 min read
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Not the End of the World: I Agree, but for Different Reasons
I appreciate Hannah Ritchie's optimism, but disagree about whether organic farming can feed the world. I’m always on the lookout for new...

Anneliese Abbott
Apr 173 min read
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Is Kottman Hall a Fallout Shelter? Cold War Institutional Architecture
When I was a student at The Ohio State University, I always wondered why Kottman Hall had so few windows. The legacies of the Cold War...

Anneliese Abbott
Mar 133 min read
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Nuclear Tourism: How I Got Interested in Cold War History
On the surface, this just looks like a ranch-style house. But what's underground could destroy civilization. September 29, 2011—Rapid...

Anneliese Abbott
Feb 273 min read
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New Jersey and Ohio: My 2025 Speaking Schedule
I'll be presenting on "Can Organic Feed the World?" at both the NOFA-NJ and OEFFA winter conferences Now that the holidays are over, tis...

Anneliese Abbott
Jan 23 min read
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The Center of Opposition: Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
The original headquarters of CAST was in Agronomy Hall at Iowa State University It’s the first week of November, and I’m on the road...

Anneliese Abbott
Dec 26, 20243 min read
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Compost and Community: Biodynamic Farming at Threefold Farm
The Pfeiffer papers are in the basement of this building at Fellowship Community My final stop on my June research trip is in New York,...

Anneliese Abbott
Dec 19, 20243 min read
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Traveling to Bethlehem (Pennsylvania): The Rodale Archives
The July 1940 issue of You Can't Eat That contains the first article that J.I. Rodale reprinted about organic farming “But now you’re...

Anneliese Abbott
Dec 12, 20243 min read
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Cows, Horns, and Biodynamic Dairy Farming
It’s 6:30 a.m., the sun is shining, and it’s milking time in the Camphill Village Kimberton Hills dairy barn. I walk over from Sherry’s...

Anneliese Abbott
Dec 5, 20243 min read
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Off to Pennsylvania: Tales from My Organic Research Trip
What better time than Thanksgiving Day to look back with gratitude on all the amazing experiences I’ve had this year? I know, it might...

Anneliese Abbott
Nov 28, 20243 min read
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Preparing for the Apocalypse: Doomsday Fears and Homesteading
I find connections to organic farming in the most unexpected places. This time, it was in a random book I just picked up from the library...

Anneliese Abbott
Sep 26, 20243 min read
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An Inconvenient History: The Racist Roots of Progress
After completing my master’s degree at UW-Madison and moving home, I spent over a year trying to understand why highlighting a connection...

Anneliese Abbott
Sep 19, 20243 min read
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Forbidden Perspectives: How Breaking Academic Consensus Cost Me a PhD
There’s a big difference between graduate and undergraduate college classes. In most undergraduate classes, you sit and listen to a...

Anneliese Abbott
Sep 12, 20243 min read
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