The food movement has a problem: It’s right about what’s wrong with our system, but wrong about how to fix it.

How do we fix it? You’ve seen the bumper stickers. Buy fresh, buy local. Support the small, diverse, organic (or organic-ish) farm that supplies the farmers market and local restaurants with fresh vegetables. And that’s a great idea; local agriculture brings a host of benefits, from delicious strawberries to a much-needed reminder that food has to come from somewhere.

But it cannot fix that chemical-intensive system that crowds out biodiversity, depletes the soil, pollutes the water, etc. And that’s not a lack of confidence in, or enthusiasm for, that kind of small farm. It’s simply a recognition that there are economic, logistic, topographical and even arithmetic reasons that those farms can only be a small slice of a reimagined, responsible, food system. 

It’s time to change the focus. Local and organic are mission accomplished; awareness is widespread. Continuing to push those two things will further entrench the idea that they’re the only solution, and that idea is the enemy of real improvement. Move on to where a change in farming can make a much bigger difference: the hundreds of millions of acres of commodity crops.