The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture

Introduction

Wendell Berry examines how American agriculture shifted from a local, life-sustaining practice into an industrial system driven by markets, technology, and the pursuit of efficiency. Writing from the perspective of a farmer and a critic, he traces changes in land use, farm structure, and cultural values that produced what he calls an "unsettling" of American life. The book combines history, moral argument, and practical observation to insist that farming is not merely an economic activity but a form of cultural care.

Central Critique

Berry argues that industrial agriculture separates people from the land they depend on, replacing the farmer's knowledge and responsibility with centralized technology and distant decision-making. Mechanization, chemical inputs, and monoculture chase short-term yields while eroding soils, undermining biodiversity, and collapsing local economies. He sees modern farming as organized around production and consumption rather than stewardship and relationship, with policy and corporate interests amplifying the trend.

Cultural and Environmental Consequences

The transformation of agriculture is, for Berry, also a cultural transformation. Small farms, family ties, and community obligations give way to migration, homogenization, and loss of local knowledge. Rural communities lose institutions and social cohesion as farms consolidate and people are forced into factory work or urban migration. Environmentally, the move toward monoculture and heavy chemical reliance damages soils, waterways, and ecosystems, making land less productive and communities more vulnerable over time.

Critique of Technology and Expertise

Berry does not reject all technology, but he criticizes the ideology that elevates technical solutions above practical, place-based wisdom. He warns against a faith in large-scale interventions and specialized expertise that ignore the particularities of soils, climate, and human relations. Extension services, universities, and agribusiness become instruments of standardization, favoring methods that can be scaled and marketed rather than those that sustain land and community.

Alternative Vision and Practical Proposals

Berry advocates a return to an agrarian ethic that prizes care, restraint, and attachment to place. He calls for diversified, small-scale farms that integrate crops, livestock, and human labor in ways that regenerate soil and sustain family life. Local economies, shorter supply chains, and a moral commitment to the land are presented as antidotes to the excesses of industrialization. His proposals emphasize limits on growth, consumer restraint, and policies that support the long-term health of land and people.

Ethical and Political Dimensions

At the heart of Berry's argument is a moral claim: farming is a responsibility that shapes character and community, not merely a commodity-producing enterprise. He links ecological health to social justice and argues that democratic practice depends on stable, rooted communities. Policy choices that prioritize the distant efficiency of markets over the integrity of local places are ultimately corrosive to civic life and human flourishing.

Legacy and Relevance

Berry's analysis helped inspire movements for sustainable agriculture, local food systems, and ecological stewardship. His insistence on "place" and care remains influential among farmers, activists, and scholars concerned with the long-term viability of food systems. Though written in 1977, the book's diagnosis of monoculture, corporate consolidation, and cultural loss continues to speak to contemporary debates about food, environment, and community.