The Queer Farmer Film Project

Kay Grimm and Sue Spicer of Fruit Loop Acres in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Queer Farmer Film Project is creating a full-length documentary film which explores the dynamic relationships between gender, sexuality, and agriculture, with a particular focus on the hearts and hard work of America’s queer farmers.

Excerpt from the Queer Film Project website.

Fruit Loop Acres is a 3/4 acre permaculture fruit farm in the heart of the city. Like many post-industrial midwestern cities, much of this urban center is fledgling, depressed, boarded up and faced with significant challenges to accessing good fresh food.

Kay and Sue told us that the name for Fruit Loop Acres comes from several double entendres- fruit because they are a fruit farm growing many delicious heirloom varieties of cane fruit and stone fruit, the word fruit as synonym for queer, loop because the farm is located near the loop of interstate highways running through the city and because in line with permaculture principles and practice the farm is a closed loop system always recycling and reusing what they have on hand rather than brining in outside inputs.

See the Queer Film Project website here.

What Does it Mean to be Queer in the World of Urban Farming?

By Meg Brown
Urban Farm Hub
February 11th, 2010

Excerpt:

Queering the Urban Farm

The scene: A person in their yard likely pruning tomatoes, picking at some weeds, sniffing rosemary or trellising some unruly beans. Perhaps picking strawberries with toddler.

At first glance you might just see a person growing a bit of food.

Look a bit deeper and you’ll see active engagement in building community/family around food and food issues.

However, what is at the core of my gardening is my queerness. My queer politic around urban farming is one of resistance. By tearing out my lawn and replacing it with space for food production, I am resisting. By purchasing non-GMO, non-Monsanto, heirloom seeds: I am resisting. By refusing to use chemicals, I am resisting. By sharing knowledge, seeds, tools and skills: I am resisting. By growing enough food to eat, preserve and share: I am resisting. By engaging in local food justice projects, I am resisting. Resisting the agro-industrial complex. Resisting systems that multiply oppress. So, while I grow, I also resist. See?

Grow and Resist.

Read the complete article here.