History of Organic Farming in America
By Anneliese Abbott
Organic History
Books
The Cold War Against Organic
By the 1930s, Western civilization was sick. Literally. A combination of poor agricultural practices and too much food processing led to an epidemic of "degenerative diseases." But there was another way—healthy food grown on healthy soil. The people who developed this health-based farming system called it "organic farming." But in 1945, scientists launched a "cold war" against organic farming, trying to discredit it and keep it from becoming mainstream.
Malabar Farm
Established in 1939 by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and farmer Louis Bromfield, Malabar Farm was once considered "the most famous farm in the world." Farmers, conservationists, politicians, businessmen, and even a few Hollywood celebrities flocked to rural Ohio to see how Bromfield restored worn-out land to lush productivity using conservation practices. Permanent, sustainable agriculture, Bromfield preached, was the "New Agriculture" that would transform the postwar world.
The Albrecht Papers
As part of my job for Acres U.S.A., I've gone through the files left behind by the late Charles Walters and edited the two final volumes of The Albrecht Papers. Volumes 11 and 12 provide a fascinating glimpse into agricultural science in the 1940s and 1950s and feature forewords by me. Available Fall 2026.