Education

Our industrial agricultural model and its practice of monoculture farming, genetic modification, concentrated animal feedlots, and refrigerated shipping, has removed the connection between people and what they eat, and how we grow food. This system is seriously out of balance with nature, and as a result we have what food author Michael Pollan candidly refers to as a ‘national eating disorder.’ Without significant changes in how we feed ourselves, we risk ecological and social collapse. One of the most immediate ways that we can reduce our ‘ecological footprint’ is by making more informed choices about what we eat. At the core of both the organic and the local food movements is the belief that we need to grow food more like nature intended it and less like an industrial machine. Small, local, and organic is the most sustainable model of food production, but how many people know how to grow food, or have the time and the space? What about those who can’t afford to purchase organic or don’t have access to local food?

Inspiration

As urban areas across the globe continue to grow, it will become increasingly important to create strong urban agricultural systems and programs. This will insure increased access to healthy food for urban communities, as well as being less environmentally damaging and resource intensive. Seattle and Cuba serve as inspirational models for cities worldwide to follow, as their various approaches to urban agriculture have seen long-term success and have proven their resilience by continuously adapting and improving to keep up with changing needs.

http://www.seattle.gov/council/newsdetail.asp?ID=10500&Dept=28

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18018.cfm