Farms & Frontlines – Episode 23: Reimagining Agriculture in the Wake of American Wars
In this episode, hosts Max Terzano and Jessica Rudo unpack their latest project, a paper titled Farms & Frontlines: Reimagining Agriculture in the Wake of American Wars. They explore how successive U.S. conflicts from World War I to today have profoundly shaped farming practices, food policy, and global agriculture.
World War I innovations: The military's early use of motorized tractors and tracked vehicles led to mechanized farming, while conservation efforts began after the Dust Bowl and Great Depression.
The New Deal & Farm Bills: Jessica and Max trace how FDR’s Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 and the 1938 Farm Bill introduced soil conservation programs and targeted subsidies—planting soy, reducing erosion, and stabilizing prices.
World War II mobilization: War sparked mass food production for troops, innovations in canning, transportation, and even deliberately flavorless emergency rations.
Military-industrial spillovers: Post-war, chemical agents—from Nazi Zyklon B to Bayer‑Monsanto pesticides like Agent Orange and Roundup—found a new home in U.S. agriculture.
Cold War soft power: With surplus production, the U.S. used agricultural aid (Public Law 480, “Food for Peace”) and the Green Revolution to influence developing nations and counter communist appeal.
Looking ahead: Building on past tools, the hosts suggest a “new green revolution” or even a “green devolution” that combines stewardship of soil and climate resilience with innovative tech and Indigenous and Black agrarian traditions.
Max and Jessica close by teasing the rest of their paper, including “The Great Grain Robbery”. America’s massive grain shipments to Russia in the 1970s and its geopolitical and economic fallout.
Join them as they trace the battlefield-to-backyard pipeline, from military needs to modern food policy, and reimagine how we can turn agricultural innovation toward regenerative, climate‑friendly futures.
