A new and growing crop

This summer has been filled with acrimony about the federal budget, with red versus blue politicians squaring off to hurl criticisms at each other. For a lot of us, turning on the news has felt like an exercise in masochism. Imagine my pleasure, then, at going to a recent meeting where Americans from quite different walks of life were gathered to learn together about something we all need – a nutritious food supply.

On a recent and beautiful summer morn’ without even a breath of wind, a diverse group of citizens gathered on land belonging to Washington State University. Those assembled ran the...