Turn Here Sweet Corn by Atina Diffley6/24/2023 In part, this is the story of Atina’s transformation, from a battered woman almost devoid of self-esteem, to the woman who took on the Koch brothers and won. (No, the Keystone XL pipeline would not be the first.) She describes the “total ecological collapse” they saw as their first farm was gradually sold off to developers, and the shock when she discovered that their second farm might be subject to a claim of eminent domain by the Koch Brothers, who were planning to lay a pipeline across it carrying oil from Alberta’s oil sands. But it’s true.Īuthor of the beautiful memoir, Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works, Atina Diffley joins me this week to talk about the double assault on organic farms that she and her husband Martin have endured. Isn’t that just a bit much, as plots go? Maybe. Then add that Atina had survived five years in an early, abusive marriage. To top it off, she not only protects her own land from the pipeline, but she gets Koch to accept an agreement (at least in Minnesota) that will protect all organic farms threatened by pipelines. Start with this setup, and it’s a given that Atina takes them on and beats them. Losing one organic farm to development, okay but nearly losing a big chunk of the second to an oil pipeline? A pipeline owned by one of the two largest companies in the United States? When they try to make a movie of Atina Diffley’s story, some producer is going to reject it as unbelievable. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Apple Podcasts Android RSS
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