27th
When my farmer friend Dan asked me if I had something to do with an article/slideshow of young, attractive farmers in the Huffington Post that he was included in, I had to admit that yes, “I curated half that piece,” I told him. The article was Katherine’s idea (HuffPost Green Editor) and we both thought it was a gas. Some people may be turned off by it and think it degrades the meaningfulness of these intrepid young farmers’ work, which I can understand. I simply think that we’re still praising their efforts, as well as putting farming in a fun light, and showing that farmers are attractive and healthy (they don’t look like truckers, right?), which is not such a typical stereotype. And I appreciate pushing the limits of taste. (I also made sure Katherine asked these folks for their permission before putting up their photos as a “hot farmer.”) The only thing I’m not too crazy about is that readers can vote for who they think is the hottest farmer. I knew Annie Novak from Eagle Street’s Rooftop Farms would probably win this from the start, and I just hope that she feels comfortable enough with that kind of attention, so serious about her work as she is.
Then, this NYPost article came out shortly afterward, talking about the “hotness” of Queens County Farm Museum’s Michael Robertson (aka my ex). Setting aside obvious weirdness and hilarity for now (“Indeed, being a farmer in New York City isn’t always a roll in the hay — especially when he tells people what he does for a living. For one, Robertson says it doesn’t make a good pickup line”), I would say that this article is pretty over-the-top. No more comment.
