History of Organic Farming in America
By Anneliese Abbott
Organic History
Meet Anneliese
Anneliese Abbott lives in southwest Michigan, where her family runs a small organic CSA. She started gardening with her mom as soon as she was old enough to walk. As a child, she helped spread manure, pull weeds, pick green beans, and can tomatoes. She always loved reading books, being outside, and helping to grow and cook food.
In 2003, the Abbott family moved to a new, 10-acre farm, where they began homesteading. As a teenager, Anneliese helped in the garden, milked goats, kept honeybees, preserved vegetables, and learned how to spin wool. She was active in the beekeeping and local food communities in the greater Kalamazoo area and became extremely interested in sustainable agriculture. She studied sustainable plant systems at The Ohio State University and graduated with a B.S. in agriculture in 2016.
From 2016 to 2020, Anneliese worked at her family's farm and did research on Malabar Farm in Ohio, which was established by Louis Bromfield in 1939 and became a showplace for sustainable agriculture. Using information gathered during research for her book, she started a monthly series of articles on the history of organic and sustainable agriculture for Acres U.S.A. magazine. Her book, Malabar Farm, was published in December 2021.
In 2020, Anneliese went to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to do research on the history of organic farming. She graduated with a joint M.S. in Environment and Resources and Agroecology in May 2022. Since then, she has been working on her organic history research independently from her family's farm in Michigan. She is currently conducting oral history interviews and working on a book on the history of organic farming.
