For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Genetic Engineering page, Millions Against Monsanto page, and our Health Issues page.

Eric Herm is a fourth generation farmer on a 6,000 acre cotton farm in West Texas. After graduating from college and working for a spell in television broadcasting, Herm traveled extensively before returning to the farm. Shocked by the changes he saw in the land, he implemented new practices and began to speak out against the ravages caused by commercial agriculture. With a stirring mix of cold hard facts and ardent metaphors, Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth: a Path to Agriculture’s Higher Consciousness is a call-to-arms both against commercial agriculture’s assault on our natural resources and delicate ecosystems, and for a transformation of farmers from corporate-motivated producers back to the flesh and bone guardian angels of the Earth.

What are your fondest memories of growing up on a farm?

Just the overall freedom of living out in the country. I always had the feeling that I could do whatever I wanted (within reason) by living out in nature. Walking barefoot in fresh plowed fields, riding three-wheelers and lightning/thunderstorms.

What are the harmful effects of GMOs to our health and the health of the planet?

When talking about human health, we’re still very much guinea pigs as far as long-term effects. But many studies already show many negative side effects on our organs, particularly our digestive system. I can’t imagine how many neurological disorders will continue to rise as a direct result from further GMO exposure. Essentially, we’re eating fake food even poison in the form of food. It’s not real. In livestock, who consume much more GMOs than we do, studies have shown high rates of SDS (sudden death syndrome), high infertility rates, and premature death in foetus and baby animals. In nature, this stuff can react or act as a poison. We have no idea how many different reactions can happen yet. We’re still learning not comforting facts. There have been direct studies that the use of Roundup Ready GM crops are decimating the monarch butterfly population. Studies also show that when three consecutive generations of mammals consume an all-GMO diet, they can no longer produce another generation. That should scare the hell out of us.