The Failure of Farm to Table
Well I failed. But if this is what failure looks like, I can only imagine the happiness and joy that would accompany success. But, on its primary mission, which was to get a Farm to Table TV show on the air, as of now, it hurts my soul to tell you that I have failed. I’ve known for a few weeks now, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit it, to write it down, to edit it, and to share it with the amazing community that I have been only too blessed to be a part of.
I have done almost everything I can to get a Farm to Table TV show up and running. I’ve made hundreds of little revisions and decisions. I’ve compromised where I was told I needed to. I stood firm when I felt I had to. I’ve had countless meetings and phone calls. We got really really close to something. And to be honest there is still a sliver of a chance that something might happen. But what has been clear for quite some time is that I can no longer devote all my energies trying to make Farm to Table a reality.
As many of you know, I started a business helping restaurants and other businesses with their social media needs. It’s only a few months old and I already know that this is what I’ll be doing for a good long time to come. I love this new work and am satisfied on both an intellectual and personal level. But I would not have been able to start this business, and hopefully thrive with it, without my experiences with Farm to Table.
Learning to blog, finding my voice, gaining the confidence to speak with authority on a variety of matters, trusting my instincts, understanding where and how I am wrong, self-correction; these are just a few of the skills I’ve picked up. On top of that, coming to understand the absolute and transformative power of social media as I took Farm to Table to the most unexpected and lovely places.
What hurts most is that I feel like I am letting down the wonderful people in the local sustainable food movement. I wanted to so much to give voice to this most restorative movement.
This movement is carefully and patiently waiting in the wings, ready to jump into the mainstream of this great country and continue the long hard work ahead of us. The work of fixing America’s broken food system. A system that has left us over fed and under nourished. A system that has decimated our environment. A system that institutionalizes the immoral treatment of our livestock. A system that by its very nature undermines our food heritage. A system built on big, on scale, on the dehumanization of the food we eat. A system that has made us nothing but sick and vulnerable.
I’ve said before privately and publicly, that, from what I can see, the best opportunity to bring things to the next level of attention, of funding and of success, is for local sustainable bloggers to band together and join a community site. Ideally, a site with 40 or more bloggers all working on their own projects, with everyone’s voice and “brand” respected, but whose stated goal would be to become the absolute essential website and online community for the sustainable food world. The problem is that people are so darn attached to their own brands and businesses, their politics, their voices. There will always be reasons NOT to join a community.
For me, real maturity means working through the reasons not to and finding out the ways to actually do it. Social media gives us these tools, and yet for all our savvy and talents, for all the amazing content that is produced in the local, sustainable food worlds, the community is disparate, segregated. I’ll be here, watching, talking and listening. When we want to do this, when we want to get even more serious about how badly we all want to fix America’s broken food system, I’ll be there waiting, willing to continue to do the next generation worth of work we have ahead of us.
Image Source: DillHunk on Flickr
Farm to Table has done a lot for sustainable food, and it has become an authoritative voice on developments in the SOLE food movement. Maybe you didn’t accomplish your stated goals with the blog, but the blog, and your encouragement has given me personally the courage to step up and take a stand for what I believe in when it comes to food and the food system. As I’m sure you know better than most, this kind of road is built one person at a time, forging ahead just a little bit, clearing the way for the next person, so they can take a few more steps. Before you know it, there’s a flood of people, but it’s also not the kind of thing you can do when other paths are calling.
So, while you didn’t get the TV show, you showed how one person can make a huge difference just by putting his ideas out there and standing by his convictions where food is concerned. That’s a huge inspiration to the thousands of people who want to fight for sustainable food but are afraid they’re voice won’t be heard. You have given various individuals, myself included, the opportunity to have their voice heard in the sustainable food community. I can’t thank you enough for that, and I’m sure that there are a lot of people who feel the same way. You didn’t let down the sustainable food movement. Just by putting out your idea of joining everyone together, you have given it another nudge forward. People will carry on, pushed forward by the momentum you’ve created.
So, thank you, and good luck,
(**
I am so sorry to hear this. I am a bit shocked, but then again, not (mainstream television being the beast that it is). Zach, you have good solid idea, that could easily grow big, and it’s amazing at the audience you have built from your concept! You will go far with your enthusiasm, tenacity, and knowledge. Alas, “The only real failure in life is the failure to try.” You went well beyond. Go get ‘em with your new endeavor.
.-= Rebecca Gerendasy´s last blog ..KQED’s Quest: the Great White Shark =-.
I don’t have much to add to what Khaled already said, so I will just leave it at that and make a mental note that you are there in the wings, waiting and listening for the right time to push ahead with a brilliant (another) idea.
This just can’t go by the wayside – there has to be a means of getting this up and running. Rebecca is right – don’t give up – it’s a solid idea!!!
.-= Cliff Etzel´s last blog ..Dream Girl =-.
thanks guys, im still gonna write about this experience and hope to find a new way to engage!
thanks Cliff, that note really means something to me.
its all good becky!! maybe in death there will be NEW life!!
Never give up my friend! A good concept always finds it’s audience
.-= SkeeterNYC´s last blog ..The Underground Lobster Pound: A Purist, An Apartment & The Perfect Lobster Roll *food curated* =-.
Hey Zach!
Well – I can’t imagine your voice will go away. We will still have you via other means. I wish you every success in your new venture. Keep on keeping on.
- Liz
You didn’t fail; it just hasn’t happened yet. There is a time and place for everything and this will happen at the right time. Thank you for your perseverance and commitment to the cause.
I just came across this blog and I commend you for trying to get a TV show on the air to promote this food movement…I am sorry to hear it didn’t happen for you. Don’t give up! I believe that many of our voices together will be the only thing to create real change, so we all have to keep going. I am now going to explore the rest of the blog, and I hope you continue it anyway, regardless of a TV show. Cheers, Heather.
Very, very often in my life I’ve never been further from a goal than immediately before reaching it. Let it go for now, breathe and let new ideas and revisions come. Roll with it, ZAC, it’s not failure, it’s life!
.-= Peggy´s last blog ..Real Food Challenge: Day one =-.
Zach, it isn’t over until it’s over. This particular deal may not have worked, but the idea is fabulous. Let it rest a while, come back to it in a bit and take a fresh look as to how it might be reworked or what new opportunities present themselves. Can you film some short segments and post them on your blog or on youtube, which will then interest the television people? Can you make a low budget documentary which can then be a springboard for a program?
This can work. The timing of the deal or the format or the people involved may not have been correct, but you and the idea are.
Never give up the fight for what is right. Consider online TV, as with all else, more and more people are moving away from “mainstream television” and embracing a more socialized viewing experience on their terms and not the production companies. It is my belief that television will, in a few short years, be undergoing the same strain that the traditional music industry is still fighting against; that is, a fan and musician base that is going around them to find each other. (Note Lady Gaga’s free music; Time Warner’s move into online media/TV; Hulu’s burgeoning.) Some ideas are simply conceived before their time; yours is one.
Too bad about the TV show but keep up the good work of promoting local food and sustainable agriculture. Trying to do all we can here in Canada too – and yes it IS an uphill battle.
Angela Lovell
.-= Angela ´s last blog ..International Year of Biodiversity off to a fishy start. =-.
Gonna do whatever I can going forward. L thanks for the support. I feel very loved!
Zac, I am really sorry to hear about the show. It is even more sad because we know how important a show like that would be and you would be a great host.
You are a very generous person and that is why this site was such a success. I wish you all the success in your current ventures:)
.-= Ulla´s last blog ..Much To Do About Grass-fed and Social Media! =-.
I am so sorry to hear about the show. Don’t despair though – talk about working against the momentum of the industrial machine! I love your concept of a community site for the sustainable food world. I am far less plugged in than you are, but I think (hope?) that it is a possible and even probable future development.
.-= Jess @OpenlyBalanced´s last blog ..Conscious Living: A Love Story =-.
You’re a real asset to a movement already full of amazing individuals. You’ll make it happen yet. If not one way then some other way.