The Unsettling of America

In The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture (1977), author and farmer Wendell Berry critiques agricultural industrialization and its devastating effects on the environment, rural communities, and culture. Berry, a prominent environmentalist, cultural critic, and advocate of sustainable farming, draws on his expertise in both agriculture and literature to explore the intricate relationships between humans, the land, and the ethics of farming. This nonfiction work falls under the subgenre of environmental and cultural critique. Berry examines the destructive nature of industrial farming and presents a compelling argument for a return to community-oriented, small-scale agriculture. The book has become a cornerstone in the sustainable agriculture movement, inspiring both environmentalists and farmers to rethink their relationship with the land.

This guide uses the third edition, published by Counterpoint Press in 1996.

Summary

In the nine essay-style chapters of The Unsettling of America, Wendell Berry critiques industrial agriculture and its destructive impact on small farms, rural communities, and the environment. The two prefaces reflect on how Berry’s inspiration for the book stemmed from a 1967 report on agricultural policy that disregarded the value of small farmers’ lives and communities. Berry notes how industrial farming, despite appearances of agricultural prosperity, led to widespread financial ruin and societal harm, affecting both land and people. Examining the history of white settlement in the US, the book highlights how the exploitative mindset focused on wealth rather than a nurturing relationship with the land. This mindset persists through industrial farming, which prioritizes short-term profit over long-term sustainability. Berry advocates a return to nurturing agricultural practices.

The book critiques the hypocrisy in modern environmentalism, noting that conservation organizations often fail to align their actions with their stated values. Berry likewise criticizes specialization for isolating people from realizing the impact of their actions, thus contributing to environmental harm. Asserting that conservationists often neglect the complexities of land use, he promotes “kindly use,” which requires intimate engagement with and careful stewardship of the land. Berry emphasizes a balance between conservation and agriculture, noting that true sustainability requires not only protecting the environment but also working responsibly with it.

Berry reflects on the changes in rural communities, contrasting the diversified, small-scale, and self-sufficient farms of his childhood with present-day industrialized, mechanized farms. He argues that industrial agriculture, driven by the ideology of “bigness,” displaced small farmers and consolidated wealth and power. He laments that this shift prioritizes efficiency and profit over community and culture, leading to deterioration of rural values, loss of farmland, and disconnection from the land.

Exploring the disconnect between modern society and the natural world, Berry notes how homes transformed to centers of consumption rather than production and criticizes the emphasis on technological solutions to agricultural problems. He contends that modern culture sees humans as sovereign over nature, leading to a destructive sense of entitlement and disregard for ecological limits. He warns against unlimited technological progress reducing humans and nature to mere resources for exploitation.

Berry contrasts biological energy, which derives from natural processes, with mechanical energy, which derives from fossil fuels, arguing that overreliance on mechanical energy leads to waste and environmental destruction. He suggests that sustainable energy use requires recognizing limits and respecting natural cycles, noting how the Amish community successfully resisted industrialization by limiting technology and prioritizing biological energy to maintain cultural and environmental integrity.

Berry examines the relationship between humans and the natural world, emphasizing human limitation and humility as essential to humans’ interaction with the earth. In addition, he discusses the fragmentation of human relationships and communities, emphasizing that this division commodifies both human relationships and the environment.

The book argues for returning to a more integrated understanding of marriage, community, and the land, highlighting the importance of fidelity, not only in marriage but in people’s relationship with the earth. Exploring the concept of wildness, Berry asserts that a balance between order and wildness is essential for both agriculture and human relationships. The modern disconnection from fertility, both in agriculture and sexuality, is a symptom of society’s prioritizing control over natural cycles.

Next, Berry reviews the historical development of land-grant colleges, whose original mission was to support agriculture and rural life, aligning with the ideas of Thomas Jefferson and Justin Morrill. They advocated practical education to elevate the working class and ensure democratic liberty. Berry laments how land-grant colleges shifted their focus toward industrial agriculture and careerism (leading to rural instability, social disintegration, and environmental degradation) and away from promoting responsible and sustainable farming.

Berry notes how agribusiness aggressively rejects sustainable practices despite negative consequences. He highlights the importance of sustainability, community, and balance with nature, noting that true progress often comes from individuals exploring new ways of farming. Berry points to the Andean agriculture system as a pre-industrial example of how sustainable farming harmonizes with the environment and provides genetic diversity and resilience, which contrasts with how industrial agriculture’s use of chemicals and focus on uniformity significantly reduces ecological resilience. Rejecting the notion that industrial agriculture is inevitable, he advocates a more balanced approach that values reproduction, sustainability, and health over production and profit. Berry proposes remedies such as progressive taxation, local food self-sufficiency, and the reform of land-grant universities to prioritize farmers over corporations, emphasizing that small-scale, diversified agriculture naturally includes safety margins that allow for better care and resilience.

In the Afterword, which first appeared in the 1996 edition, Berry reflects on the continuing validity of his arguments, noting the mounting ecological, economic, and human costs of industrial farming. He bemoans the mechanistic worldview, which treats nature as a machine and disregards healthier, sustainable alternatives, and the dangerous belief that negative consequences are “inevitable” in human ingenuity and “progress.” Despite the resistance of mainstream leaders, Berry is hopeful about the growing grassroots movement supporting sustainable, local agriculture that values people, places, and communities over profit. He calls for a return to authentic, localized living, rooted in respecting ecological health, acknowledging that while the effort may grow without institutional support, it requires political representation to protect its progress.