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Friday, February 29, 2008
Growing your own: Hobby or necessity?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Our responsibility for producing food has changed so much over the years, from the backyard gardens that many of our parents and grandparents tended, to the pots of tomatoes that food lovers still cultivate in summer, regardless of whether they’ve got any other vegetables growing.
In the next few years, more of us might be adopting the foodways of our grandparents, predicts George Siemon, who leads the Organic Valley cooperative.
Siemon showed his version of the food pyramid to the Georgia Organics convention on Friday night, one that shows an evolving organic food movement. At its base is the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program — an underpinning that’s still controversial among many long-time sustainable farmers — and progressing through an increasingly personal connection with food. Buying from a farmers market or from a community-supported agriculture program were almost at the top.
And at the peak, the ultimate evolution of organics? Growing our own food.
As we look into the future, Siemon said, it’s something people need to do. That’s an interesting thought, coming from a guy who not only leads a large dairy cooperative, but also one that sells produce, juice and meat. After all, if we’re all growing our own (maybe not dairy, though), why buy from Organic Valley?
I like growing a small garden in the summer, mostly for the juicy tomatoes and fragrant basil. But it’s not something I feel like I need to do. I like to support the work of local farmers by buying what they produce. I don’t like to weed, especially in July and August.
On the other hand, food prices and food scares are going up. More produce is imported. And although it seems like more farmers are joining the growing network around metro Atlanta, there still are nowhere near enough to feed its 4 million residents.
So — do all of us need to start a garden and plant enough to sustain ourselves and any family? If you’ve got a vegetable garden, what do you plant, and why?
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