In the Lemmons household in Brandon, sustaining life is a family affair—the family that hunts, fishes and gardens together, stays together. With activities like camping trips to Choctaw Lake and daddy-daughter hunting trips, Lindsey Lemmons and her family—husband Scott and daughters Vicki, age 7, and Leah, 20 months—spend most of their time living on the wild side.
When not delving into nature, Lemmons, 33, serves as environmental management systems coordinator for the National Guard and advocates in Jackson for an end to manufactured foods and genetically modified organisms, among other activities.
Growing up in rural Amite County and majoring in wildlife science at Mississippi State University, Lemmons realized early on the importance of local farming and saw how corporate agricultural businesses began running the show.
"I have no reason to complain personally, because we pretty much subsist predominately off what we hunt," Lemmons said. "We have the land. We have the money and resources, but not everybody has that freedom."
Lemmons' activism roots began with Occupy Jackson, but now, she is an organizer for March Against Monsanto—a group of people standing against the Monsanto agriculture company, which produces genetically-modified seeds and chemicals such as herbicides.
Most would never believe that Lemmons was an activist, she said, because her family fits the bill for the stereotypical white, middle-class conservatives. However, that doesn't stop her from believing in local farming activism.
"We are big hunters and fishers, but most people at the march on Friday are not going to be hunters and fishers, they are going to be vegetarians and vegans," Lemmons said.
Lemmons sees the effects of big agriculture businesses like Monsanto coming full circle, arriving back at home and affecting her children.
"(Big agriculture companies) do go to public schools, and the food that is available there, I don't necessarily agree with it all," Lemmons said. "We are seeing more cheaply made food and less quality food. I hope we can kind of change that and bring it back around to provide high quality food here at home."
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