Lot's of things to think about after reading this article that make me wonder what the author's credentials are for being able to write such a widely read/influential piece. First, no mention is made of what sizes constitute large and small farms. If you think those details don't matter, then think again. There is a huge difference in labor inputs, organization, meaning and PURPOSE between a 5 hectare, 20 hectare, 50 hectare, and 200 hectare farm. Second, the word "better"? I'm sorry, but aren't we able to get a bit more specific than this? This piece totally ignores why small farming is important, socially and culturally. Third, this only talks about the United States, but makes no qualifying statement about it only applying to farms in the United States. Very dangerous. Very irresponsible. The small family farm and intense farming practices of smallholder agriculture are still going strong, but are increasingly under assault by big farms, worldwide. These systems of agriculture reflect a long history of stewardship and intimate local knowledge of local farm ecology. The author does not respect small farmers who CHOOSE to work on small farms. Her assumption being, I think, that nobody in their right mind would want to put in long, hard hours of physical labor. That's a powerfully ignorant statement and ignores so much history and culture long defined by agriculture. This is not an easy cost-benefit analysis in terms of time at work and payoff. Farming is layered with meaning around the world and ignoring that meaning is, well, pretty dumb and short-sighted. Fourth, and in response to some of the comments, big agriculture is not necessarily better for the environment at all. And small farms are not necessarily bad for the environment. If we are thinking of agrobiodiversity and the interdigitation of farming landscapes with forested plots, small farms make much more sense. In much of Latin America and the "global south", small farms are the last hold out against huge swaths of monoculture soy, corn, cotton, and other crops. Let's move beyond our facile definitions of "environment" and what is good and bad for it if we're going to wade into these kinds of discussions.