The University of Delaware’s journalism program held its latest Front Page Café at Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton Jan. 19, where the topic was the environment.

Part of a series of informal talks, this event featured McKay Jenkins, founder of University of Delaware’s Environmental Humanities Program, current professor of journalism and author of eight books.

Sponsored by the University of Delaware English Department, Delaware Humanities Forum, Dogfish Head and others, Jenkins began his Front Page talk while holding a glass of Dogfish Head’s Namaste craft beer, one of his favorites.

Jenkins described the changing national landscape since World War II, with forests and farms giving way to subdivisions and shopping malls. He said the interstate highway system, now over 47,000 miles long, encouraged people to move west, leaving densely populated cities for places with more wide-open spaces.

“This change was not unique to the landscape, but it altered the way we think about our land, our food and ourselves,” Jenkins said.

The population burst of the Baby Boom also spurred changes, Jenkins said, in the way products were made and in the methods farmers use to keep up with overwhelming demand.

Jenkins said materials for products changed from wood and metal to petrochemicals and plastisols for cheaper and more efficient production, and chemical companies today produce raw materials for 70,000 products in a $637 billion industry. But testing standards in the United States for the chemicals used in these products are much lower than in Europe, Jenkins said, adding that European standards are designed to ensure chemical-based products do not have detrimental effects on the environment and human health.

The food landscape also changed in the post-war period, as fast food emerged on the scene and Americans sought easy, inexpensive food choices. Farms that previously grew a diverse array of crops became more focused on one-crop farming, Jenkins said, growing mainly wheat, corn and soybeans.

“The local farm changed, and not only were generations of farmers losing their land to large corporations, but the introduction of new pesticides and insecticides was beginning to pollute the landscape and affect the species of plants, animals and insects,” said Jenkins.

Many people in the audience could relate to the changes Jenkins discussed, as the number of farms in the Cape Region and along the East Coast continues to decline as farms are sold off for development. Continued development can cause increased runoff, polluting the local watershed and leading to the disappearance of millions of species of birds, bees, butterflies, insects, mammals, fish and plants. Deforestation and increased development also lead to forest fragmentation and the loss of habitat, he said.

“I am not here to depress you, I promise,” Jenkins said. “Despite these things occurring, there is hope, and there always will be. It lies within each and every one of us and our drive to educate each other, especially the younger generation.”

Jenkins is a certified Maryland Master Naturalist and currently plans to start a program in Delaware to educate people and encourage them to get involved in their environment.

“We need to educate ourselves. Although our landscape has changed, wisdom has always existed. Seeking an equilibrium with nature is such a powerful and healing experience; we need to begin to develop a relationship with nature again,” he said.

“Taking the time to look, getting out in the field and remembering how to get our hands dirty is so important to making that connection whole,” he said. “Nature is out there ready to be explored by you!”

Jenkins ended his talk saying, “First we learn, then we love, then we heal.”

Jenkins can be reached at mckay@udel.edu or by going to https://mckayjenkins.com/.

The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.