In old colonies and currently under new international development, culture and environment have been ruined with free-market expansion worldwide.

European Commission Directorate General for Agriculture repeatedly state a concern in "Agricultural Situation and Prospects in the Central and Eastern European Countries, Poland" (1998):

"...without destroying Polish rural communities..."

Answers about protecting Polish countryside weren't found in European Union (EU) policy statements. Reframing the concern of destruction from North American investment and European Union enlargement;

"How will Polish rural communities develop to thrive and conserve cultural diversity amidst the external and internal forces of adopting Western ideals?"

Poland in danger from the West?

There are both external and internal forces that endanger Polish countryside.

External Forces

• Free market appropriation (foreign control of domestic agriculture, food processing and related industries; f.ex. dumping of Western food products)
• Promotion of consumption (advertising and its dilution of culture)
• The right of foreigners to acquire Polish farmland once Poland joins EU (they're buying land illegally at present)
• Proposed property taxes under EU standards (may force hundreds of thousands of land owners to sell to foreigners)
• German revisionism (aims at re-gaining ownership of real estate on territories lost after World War 2)

Internal Forces

• Sub urbanization of villages/lack of planning (monster houses being built as country abodes with no development standards).
• American dream (Polish citizen's disillusioned with their life, belief in materialism leads to preferences for Western farm products and ownership).
• Lack of capital (infrastructure and entrepreneurial resources)
• Corruption (favours wealthy foreign investors)

These forces are due to old models of economic progress. The conservation of Polish countryside is an opportunity to lead a new vision learned from past communism and surging capitalism.

Why is Polish countryside so important?

Poland's countryside is tapestry finer than quilt. Poland is lucky to have tightly knit water, wild life, woods, mountains, farms, and settlements. These areas are sewn together with people and nature. Somehow land and nation have been able to accommodate tens of millions of people with out loosing their quality, fruit and flavour over hundreds of years.

Human-scale plots collage to form poly-cultures fostering diversity and resilience in the ecosystem and food chain.

There are all kinds of food on every corner in Poland. Food is wild, it is farmed, it is traded, and it is processed. Even in this partially industrialized system, food is grown, made, and shared by many hands. Polish food retains flavour and freshness without need of synthetic and artificial additives like pesticides and preservatives.

In my travels, I saw traditional methods working alongside modern ones. The old ways are often more effective than high-tech fixes. Chemicals are not in wide application. The farmer maintains a close relationship to nature. This adds to the health and safety of food and the environment. Food and environment are direct factors determining health of people and society.

The whole family, spanning generations, participates in the life of the home and community. People here enthusiastically cultivate and prepare food; share labour and its fruits; and, interact with laughter and conversation. This way of life is extended to the others in community. Even as a stranger, I was welcomed and given company, food, and rest.

Country folk are inseparable from the landscape, their culture. Small-scale farming means effective stewardship of the environment, on which food and culture ultimately depend. To allow this to be industrialized, developed, or assimilated would be to annihilate Polish culture and ruin Polish independence. These elements of human-scale integrated farms are crucial for a sustainable and sovereign food system. Is the value of culture, people, good food, and environment a question?

How do we keep the Polish countryside alive?

The answers are not coming from business despite their empty promotional campaigns. Nor are answers coming from domestic and foreign government despite their tiring reports of jargon. Answers have come from enlightened people who care for Poland, its people, landscape, nature, and beautiful living. I have learned that the answers are many and immediate so I say:

• Keep on farming fresh; buy from Polish farmers.
• "Eco Agro Touristika"
• Pay farmers for managing and conserving ecological resources.
• Enforce land use and real estate law and close any loop holes in them.
• Dissolve control by foreign ownership.

Poland has enormous ability to produce fresh, healthy, diverse, and delicious food for its populace. It has an opportunity to flourish as a culture sensitive to the environment and a culture that takes pride in its character.

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