Farm Aid 2018 Memories: "Eat As If Everybody’s Watching"

Neil Young + Promise of the REAL

Farm Aid 2018 - Hartford, CT, Sept 22

Photos by Rand Snyderman

(Click photo to enlarge)

Here is a Farm Aid 2018 memory from last weekend in Hartford, CT on Sept 22: "Eat As If Everybody’s Watching" by Rand Snyderman.

Rand Snyderman is a photographer and film producer/Director. His first rock gig was as a roadie for the Flying Burrito Brothers. He also worked for NFL Films and owned his own media production company. We welcome Rand to the Thrashers Wheat family.

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Eat As If Everybody’s Watching

by Rand Snyderman

"Hey! Maaaaaaaaannnnnnn…. isn’t this concert great!?" The millennial asks me, as I’m walking down the aisle to my seat at Farm Aid.

“Yes…. yes it is.” I reply with a smile… and I think back... to 25 years ago… my first Farm Aid… my chance, after having lived abroad for many years… to see my musical idols and to “wallow” in their music.

Lukas Nelson

BUT! BUT! BUT! It was so much more than “just the music, man!” It proved to be my reawakening.

After all, I had attended many events in my life, all over the world. This event however changed my life. I heard about the family farmer, the loss of the family heritage, the rise of the evil empire known as corporate America, the inability for those of us working stiffs, to receive our daily bread in the manner of our parents, our grandparents and those before.

I was forced to think again. Not about the evils of the world… after all, we have been bombarded by those thoughts since we, the boomer generation, were in our teens. No.. this time I was forced to think about a more local demon. The inability to find food that hadn’t been altered, filled with chemicals, or worse yet infected with insecticides that would slowly eat away at the fabric of my body and tear it down.

Why was I always tired? Why did I have reflux? Why did my stomach always hurt after a big meal?

I did my research. I listened to the alternative medical world. And I thought long and hard about what I was putting into my body.

It was bad enough I couldn’t control the air I breathed, or the traffic in which I drove everyday. BUT!… I was able to control the substances that I was applying to my life… and food all of a sudden took on a whole different meaning.

This year at Farm Aid, we heard the anguish yet again… and we listened to the successes which always make me feel uplifted and hopeful. Most importantly however, I heard and knew in my heart that the fight is not yet over. We are still losing family farms at an unprecedented rate and we are still fighting big business from using our food as another way to manipulate society.

There was a beacon this year… the beacon was in the form of Neil (Young). This year, instead of anger, I heard a plea, an order, a mantra…. “Every time you see a Local Farmers Market, stop and go in and look at all the beautiful food that has been grown locally by real people… and connect with them… speak to them… get to know them… and most importantly… buy the food they have grown.

Yes… yes… yes.. Neil… right on.. you got it this time… and now… as I continued to “groove to the music man”…. and to Dance like No one was watching.. I remember to Eat Like Everyone is Watching.. to be thoughtful about what I eat… where it comes from… and what it means to my personal health and the general health of my neighbors, friends, and family.

So… next time YOU see a farmers market…. what do you intend to do? Stop? Look? Listen? and buy the “good stuff”.

Neil Young & John Mellencamp

Peace Out.

Rand Snyderman
rands@me.com

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Thanks so much to our new friend Rand! A really fine read with some wonderful imagery from the day.

And -- yes -- we do try and "Eat As If Everybody’s Watching". A very good mantra, indeed. See you at the Farmer's Market! Lastly, thanks to Hounds That Howell for making the connection. Oh yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone...

More on Farm Aid 2018:

• Farm Aid 2018 - Hartford, CT, Sept 22 (reviews, photos, setlists, etc.)
• VIDEO FULL SET: Neil Young + Promise of the REAL @ Farm Aid 2018 - Hartford, CT, Sept 22
• Press Conference Farm Aid 2018: Neil Young + John Mellencamp + Dave Matthews - Hartford, CT - Sept 22
• LOOKING FWD: Farm Aid 2018 This Weekend - Hartford, CT
Renee Catches Willie Nelson's Bandanna at 2018 Farm Aid

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