It's no secret that close to 20% of the people in the world go to bed hungry every night – including a shameful number of working folks right here in the land of plenty (yes, believe it or not, most people who don't get enough to eat in the U.S. actually do have jobs...)

Out of control population growth is often blamed, as well as global climate change, poor water management, disease and pestilence and other factors. The most serious cause however is not shortages, but use and distribution of resources.

A couple of recent news articles caught my eye recently. Both were about food security in poor regions of the world. One story, published on the Voice of America website, was about re-investing in local agriculture in parts of the African nation of Niger, which has been especially hard-hit with droughts and predatory insects over the past 35 years or so. The other story was one in the Financial Times, reporting about a "major shift" in U.S. government policy regarding food insecurity.

What heartens me about both of these stories is that they talk about something we haven't been too good about for a long time.

For too long in our society, we have focused on treating symptoms while ignoring the underlying disease (and this goes for a lot of different issues). For a long time, what we've done in this country is ship our surplus grain over to countries in need. It's a nice gesture, but it really doesn't address the root of the problem – and even hurts farmers in these countries by driving down the prices they can get for their own produce.

Another problem is many of these countries are ruled by oppressive, predatory regimes, and often, this food aid doesn't get to the folks who need it the most.

This week, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture announced a plan to spend $3.5 billion on long-term, sustainable solutions "focused on developing sustainable solutions to eliminate food insecurity."

The new program is called Feed The Future, and while details are a little sketchy at this point, it's going to focus on improving access to new farming technology, land reform and long-term food storage (remember the story of Joseph in the Old Testament?)

And if you're worried about your taxes going overseas and thinking the USA is going this alone, let me put your mind at ease. Seven other countries are pledged $20 billion toward this project, and the whole thing was kick-started by the creation of an $880 million fund supported by the governments of Canada, Spain, South Korea as well as Bill Gates.

There are some other implications here as well; if you are thinking about a career in agriculture but aren't quite ready to buy and run your own farm, you can be sure that Uncle Sam will be hiring agronomists, bio-technicians, land and water management experts, ecologists, and people in related fields. After all, you just can't simply throw money at the problem; at some point, human ingenuity and expertise is going to be necessary – and that means job opportunities (not to mention travel).

The name John Chapman may not be familiar to you, but he's a character you probably know.

In a short Disney cartoon that came out several decades ago, he was depicted as a ragged wanderer, who owned nothing but the clothes on his back and a bag full of seeds that he'd dropped here and there at random, singing a happy son song: "Oh, the Lord's been good to me – and so I thank the Lord – fer givin' me the things I need, the sun and the rain and the apple seed..."

Yes, we're talking about the legendary Johnny Appleseed.

The real, historical John Chapman was actually a whole lot more interesting – if less romantic and idealistic (though he was a devout and charitable man as well as an early animal rights activist).

Far from being a ragged mendicant wanderer who just went around dropping apple seeds. He was an entrepreneur who wanted to show American farmers how to grow a profitable cash crop. He was also an early environmentalist who saw the value of good land stewardship. Johnny was born to a poor New England farmer and his wife in 1774 and apprenticed to an orchardist as a teenager. His father had an apple orchard; not surprisingly, apples became his favorite fruit.

As an adult, he moved westward with his family (in those days, the "West" meant Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana). Unlike the Disney story, Chapman did not simply go around dropping seeds; he built nurseries with fences around them. These became the basis of a thriving business that really gave the American apple industry its start. A lot of folks today would raise an eyebrow at some of his business practices; he offered credit freely, took goods in trade and wasn't too concerned about when (or in many cases even if) he was repaid. He also lived frugally, going barefoot most of the time in order save on leather.

The only reason I bring up old Johnny today is because New York senator Chuck Schumer is introducing legislation in Congress that would help apple farmers in his state.

Here's the thing: apples can be difficult to cultivate, particularly the more desirable varieties like staymen winesap (the king of apples in my opinion), honeycrisp, spitzenberg (Thom Jefferon's favorite) and gala (sorry, red so-called "delicious" does not qualify). The senator is proposing a $20 million program through the USDA that would help New York apple farmers to upgrade their orchards and grow more of these varieties – which command much higher prices on the world market.

While it would be nice to help apple orchardists outside of New York as well. Assuming the bill passes and the President signs it, we look forward to seeing if this turns out to be a good investment in agriculture that eventually pays for itself and serves as a model for apple orchards elsewhere – in the tradition of John Chapman – or it winds up being another government boondoggle.

I'm not talking about an interplanetary catastrophe such as was depicted in the 1951 science fiction film (with a remake scheduled for release sometime in 2012). Rather, I'm talking about when the old collides with the new – when ancient traditions collide with modern reality – and individual rights collide with public safety concerns (or government intrusion - take your pick).

One morning in April at 5 am, agents of the federal government suddenly descended on the dairy farm of one Dan Allgyer of Kinzers, Pennsylvania for a "routine inspection." (Admittedly, dairy farmers are up and at their jobs by that time of day, but it hardly constitutes "normal business hours.")

The next day, Farmer Allgyer received a stern written warning from the Philadelphia field office of the Department of Health and Human Services: stop selling raw milk across state lines, or your farm and its products will be seized and we will shut you down.

A few months earlier, federal agents trespassed on Allgyer's private property and demanded that he submit to inspections because he had cows – and therefore was producing "food for human consumption."

Here's the rub: Farmer Allgyer is Amish. If you know anything about this sect, you know that the Amish pretty much reject any kind of industrial technology. Although they have had to make small concessions over the decades, the Amish have done a pretty remarkable job of maintaining their old traditions. Furthermore, Amish farm communities are starting to serve as a model for the kind of small-scale, localized agriculture that built this country – and that most of us would like to see brought back.

On 22 April, Debbie Stockton of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association told WorldNetDaily that Allgyer represents "the type of farmer who exemplifies what we are trying to restore."

Besides, people from the Middle East, Europe and North America have been drinking raw milk for centuries, and the majority are no worse off for it. There is even some evidence that raw milk can have some health benefits for certain individuals (see my recent post on "A Dairy Good Idea?").

But let me play devil's advocate here and suggest that maybe raw milk is not a good idea for some people, such as those with compromised immune systems. Farmer Allgyer wasn't hiding anything; his customers were well aware that they were purchasing raw, unpasteurized milk, and presumably were willing to assume the risks that came with drinking it.

It's interesting how the folks in D.C. who are advocating for "small government" are really advocating it for mega firms like ADM, Monsanto and Con-Agra (who really need to be reigned in by responsible elected officials) – but when it comes to the small independent farmers like you and Farmer Allgyer, that government seems to be getting bigger and more intrusive every day.

What do you think?