Tom,
This was an excellent series.  Thank you.

Informative and offering some hope when it's sorely needed. You really made me wish I could have been along for the ride. Thanks
peace

But why does the series have to end?!

Agricultural reform and food system issues are near and dear to my heart, and food is so integral to our existence and so tied up in our social fabric, I must ask, why does the food series have to end?

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading all of these excellent articles and wish the trend could (and would?) continue.

Even though the series has ended (as I suppose all good things eventually must, though the Grist series seem to keep getting shorter!), I hope to see more excellent coverage of issues and trends within the American food system (and the global food system) in the months ahead. So in other words: please keep up the good work!

Hi Tom,

I'm with "SnoDragon" here, there's no need for it to end.  I'd be happy to help keep this series going any way I can.

In the meantime, everyone above is correct in saying that it has been an informative, intelligent, and entertaining series.  I live in Iowa and learned things I didn't know about my home.

Keep up the great work.

Peace,
kmf

Of those few needs truly fundamental to our existence, I think none is so rich, so integral to our personal and social identity, so delightful as food.  Just as we eat daily, we ought to be aware always of the implications of our dietary decisions.  In that spirit, I hope to see this series back by popular demand as a regular feature.
Well done!

You make some very good points, but you miss many.  You fail to point out that our state universities had a lot to do with the failure of farming in Iowa.  The universities pushed for decades to have farmers specialize in one major area of production.