Food for Life – Community Gardens #BAD11
In celebration of World Food Dan and Blog Action Day I am making the observation that for several years, I have known fewer people than I can count on one hand who,
year after year, cultivated backyard vegetable gardens. Suddenly, this year, everywhere I go, I seem to hear about community
gardens, many of which are not off the beaten track in country backwoods but in the heart of urban areas, thriving in inner cities. I have not seen
them in real life, but those that appear on television appear to be flourishing.
The sudden apparent
explosion of interest in vegetable gardens everywhere; in likely and unlikely of
places leads one to wonder why. Is the interest related to First Lady, Michelle Obama's high profile
White House vegetable garden? Is it related to rumors of a coming global food
crisis? Is it distrust of GMO foods? Is it because people can't afford to buy food because of the rising prices?
I love gardening. But in my own small home gardens, I have always concentrated on
ornamentals. Here in the Southwest, I have been doing the same, emphasizing low-maintenance native plants suitable to our dry,
high desert climate. My current garden is a fragrant garden with a few edible plants
that would not go far in sustaining life but do much to enhance the flavor of the meals I prepare. These plants are herbs -- rosemary, varieties of mint, thyme, oregano, sage. Because I no longer have cats, I removed the catnip and created room for
a tomato plant that took over but bore little fruit. The potted chile plant, on
the other hand, continues to yield a bountiful harvest of bright red peppers,
demonstrating that plants for food can also be decorative.
That is why, next year, I will experiment with putting in more plants for food in my garden. We don’t have to travel halfway around the
world to be made aware of hunger and the need for food in our world. Food banks and homeless shelters
in all our cities report an increase in the population they serve. Are we
in danger yet of running out of food on earth? At 16 billon people and growing,
it would be naïve not to consider the possibility.
So it is not too early to start thinking about food sustainability
on planet earth and of how much each person can contribute. Are genetically modified organisms
(GMO) a solution? GMO with its uncertainties and controversies and is already a
reality. But, be that as it may, food is too important both in terms of
quantity and quality, for its production to be left entirely up to others. If
we don’t participate in conversations about food and food production, we run
the risk of ending up without choices and with devastating consequences. Community and backyard gardens may be
the first wave of participation in food
sustainability action as we become more proactive about how and what we eat.
Let’s all go out and plant vegetable gardens before it is
too late!
Eloise Gift
Gift Realty NM