Abolish Monoculture: Chapter 3

Welcome to the newest miniseries from the Poor Proles Almanac, The Gastropocene, a collaboration between Andy from the Poor Proles Almanac & Dr. Ayesha Khan, known on social media as @WokeScientist. In this multipart series, we're exploring the relationships between food systems, place, history, and colonization all within the framework of climate change and acceleration. How do these overlap, how do we engage with it comprehensively, and how do we move beyond this current intersection?

This audio series is part of a multi-sensory delivery process in an attempt to bring folks into the dialogue with us, not simply listening or reading our content. The series begins as a zine chapter, available at wokescientist.substack.com which is then extrapolated into meme form on Instagram both @WokeScientist & @PoorprolesAlmanac, and from there we take the feedback received to develop the audio, which is livestreamed on Twitch.tv/poorprolesalmanac where you can join in on the conversation. Building content in this format is complex, nuanced, and allows for a more meaningful discussion around solutions to our current system that any of these formats alone falls short.

In chapter 3 of the Gastropocene, we dive into the subject of monocrops; where did they come from, how did we get here, and what historical context did they originally occupy. Despite our understanding of monocrops as a reflection of modern agriculture, there's a long and complex history which monocrops existed under. Global capitalism has disconnected this food production system from traditional methods and specific place, and the ramifications of that become evident in the health of the soil and the quality of the food produced from these methods. What are some lessons we can learn, both good and bad, from the way food is grown today, and how can we detangle this knowledge from the capitalist framework it exists within today to understand what food systems could look like in the future?

You can support Dr. Khan on substack and the Poor Proles Almanac on Patreon.com/PoorProlesAlmanac