Backstage

When we first started talking with Mark Arax about a profile of Stewart Resnick and his vast farming empire, we figured it would need to be a big piece. Resnick has lived a big life, a fascinating life, and until now, he has mostly declined to talk about it in public. His story is the story of what we eat in America, and why, and where it comes from. (If you look in your kitchen, there’s a decent chance you’ll find something that grew on Resnick’s land.) It’s the story of the migrant workers who harvest fruits and vegetables from fields that stretch to the horizon in every direction and the tenuous lives many of them live. It’s the story of the rise of supersize farming — of billion-dollar harvests and Super Bowl ads. And it’s the story about how far we can bend nature to our will and for how long. We thought about how much story there is to tell and decided to devote this month’s entire Features section to telling it. I can’t imagine a better author than Mark.