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April 30, 2008 at 00:03:24
Food shortages--grow your own and create a caring economy by Ann Kramer Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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Its a factor of our economic system–which accepts that the "market system" is based on supply/demand/profit for those who control resources. Profits for corporations like Archer Daniels Midland, ConAgra are exploding and we accept that this is the outcome of our economic system–and that it has to be this way. But our economic system can change–and it changes when we realize that we've inherited a system of values that we CAN question and change. It is not necessary for us to perpetuate this system–and if we truly care for our children we will change it to one that is built on caring for humans and the planet. One way to do this is to stop acting as if we're powerless victims and take charge of our own lives and survival. Food–one of the most vital resources on the planet (next to water), can be grown by anyone, any where. Yet, over the last 100 years, we've let ourselves become beholden to a few corporate powers to control this resource. Now, with farming highly concentrated into the corporate industrial farming systems and food prices being masterfully manipulated by the stock market to increase prices to the benefit of the few stockholders, we all find ourselves at the mercy of price increases that are leaving more and more people with not enough food. The solution? 
1. Grow your own food. Whether you have a lawn you can rip up or you use self-watering container gardening boxes (the easiest way to grow lots of food!), you can do this.
2. Build a neighborhood of people working together to grow food. Again–rip up your lawns or build a network of self-watering container gardens where you coordinate a group of 3-6 homes and determine who will grow which foods and then share the bounty–in a very short amount of time, you'll have food.
3. Buy two extra self-watering container gardens, enough soil to fill them and green bean seeds and donate them to a local food bank. Let the Food Bank give them to people who arrive to pick up food and show them how to start growing their own!
4. Send $100 to Mercy Corps which is working in 38 countries around the world to help those who need food. Put a request on these dollars that they are for the purchase of self-watering container garden boxes and soils and seeds. That $100 will purchase 3 boxes/soil/seeds and people in these areas can start growing their own–even if they don't own land. Within 4 months they'll be producing food and this will enable them to combat the rising food prices. (Imagine 10,000 garden boxes showing up in Haiti) :)
Want to build a caring economy? Grow your own food–and discover that your survival isn't dependent on money–but on your self. Remember, give a man a fish...and he eats for a day–teach your SELF to grow your own food–and you eat great food for a lifetime.
PS...the 3 links to container gardens are all different–giving you lots of options as to where you purchase them. And if you're especially handy–you can even build your own.
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| 13 comments |
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A new economy...
The most important piece for people to realize is that the current economy--based in a dominator value system (dominate or be dominated) is not the only option. Riane Eisler's The Real Wealth of Nations...creating a Caring economics shows us how we can transition to a "partnership" economy--where competition is achievement-oriented spurred on by seeing another's excellence, rather than brutal competition designed to humiliate, destroy or put an opponent (or culture) out of business. by Ann Kramer (21 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 62 comments) on Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 at 10:52:49 AM  (0+)
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Reply: inspirational and practical
With all the bad news, dire warnings and finger-pointing, it's great to see an inspirational article with a practical solution! Thanks. by Ellen Brown (40 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 93 comments [11 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 at 12:24:16 PM (0+)
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Reply: Real Wealth of Nations
great book so far; I just got it a few weeks ago and am still reading thru it. Thanks for raising this idea on OEN. by Rady Ananda (182 articles, 374 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 1718 comments [201 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 at 5:03:39 PM (0+)
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We all need back yard gardens
But we also need to be realistic. It takes about 1200 ft of row to feed one person for a year. We have that much land available but it will take major land use changes and community cooperation. Forget the lawn- plant a garden!! And talk to your neighbors. by Laudyms (0 articles, 1142 quicklinks, 10 diaries, 708 comments [138 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 at 1:47:42 PM (0+)
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We are not stuck with big agriculture
Great article....the solution is in our own hands. The ability to grow some of your food in a small space is a snap with new technology. The container concept (whether self watering boxes, or boxes you build (also in those 3 sites), makes growing viable. Before the 20th century move to big business agriculture, we taught our children how to "survive" by passing on the knowledge of growing food. It's not too late to "take back" that process and bypass big agriculture. Imagine science classes doing this as part of "earth science" curriculum. What kid wouldn't want to learn to grow food, do it, harvest it, and eat it? Imagine supplementing food sources at school through container gardening? It's happening, and all you have to do is research it, design a plan for it, and present it to your school. Don't ask the school to do it - go in with the solution! We CAN take CARE of ourselves, and I agree with the author, that Riane Eisler's Caring Economics concept in Real Wealth of Nations truly outlines the possibility of solving our economic/food problem. I work with the Women of Hope Project that assists Afghan women learning a marketable skill to support themselves. (www.womenofhopeproject.org) Our first project in Kabul was a simplified hydroponic project....done in containers built from reconstructed shipping pallets. Their garden space was bombed out buildings. The women learned to grow food, and excess was sold when possible. These women and their families now are relocated to a spot 90 miles outside Kabul. We'll start kitchen gardens now that we have land, BUT, Gardeners Supply also donated 50 upside down tomato growers (Gardners Revolution Planter), to help them grow more food. If 40% of the food grown in WWI came from "victory gardens", we can certainly do it today with the technologies and people we have. It's not rocket science....if they could figure it in the stone age, don't you think we can do it today? Get a move on....make it a family project to learn it, do it, harvest it, cook it and eat it. A little dirt under the fingernails is a good thing (and an excuse for a manicure too!). Have fun! by Lynn FRANCOIS (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 at 2:01:30 PM (0+)
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Food.... and more!
You are hitting the nail on the head. Food and shelter... and more, as we will soon find out. Food prices will continue to rise sharply. It's not only peak Oil that we need to be concerned about. It's also corn, soy and most metals and minerals that are at their all time high-price. A recent study we conducted with business leaders shows that one of their prime concerns is around the global socio-economic changes that we will be facing - as companies AND as individuals. Namely: re-distribution of power and shortage of resources. They predict a "new poverty" to spread. Most of us are still in the dark about this, so your posting is a good wake-up-call to take action. How? To get out of the "masses system". There will be a lot of road kill among the masses. We need to learn to adapt to this on a more individual way. Dealing with changes, and setting up a life where we are more empowered - starting with food and ending with the way we earn money. An exciting journey - unless we decide to be the roadkill, obviously... by Peter Matthies (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 at 2:08:43 PM (0+)
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Empowering Ourselves
Growing your own food is just another way you can empower yourself to live a full life. Even just making a small step in this area will build a better you, a better community and a better planet! by Jamie Davidson (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 12:20:42 PM (0+)
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The concept will work good in an environment
where the soil is tillable and water is not scarce. Much of the world's population does not have access to ground, as they reside in cities or the climate too poor to support garden plots. The need to stress NON-GMO seed is imperative too. by Stanimal (2 articles, 226 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 1254 comments [234 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 6:05:22 PM (0+)
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Reply: Water water
Stanimal....of course you can't get water where it doesn't exist, but this pump is currently being used in arid African areas....they don't just pull in a pump and hope for the best, they do their testing first etc. It's about a $10,000 process, but once its determined water can be gotten to, they install it. But the pump isn't the solution for everywhere - we need to get past the one size fits all solutions and deal with what is at the spot we need something. Problems are local, solutions are local...this oil/gas problem is going to push us to start looking at where we're at and making the grass greener there, not moving on to the next great spot. The only thing we really need to "walk away" from is this dominator or be dominated economic system if we want to have communities that actually take care of the REAL needs of the residents/environment, not the fake needs of growth growth growth. We could go on and on....but we don't need to - besides, I've got potatoes to plant. by Lynn FRANCOIS (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 11:21:56 AM (0+)
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Reply: Play Pumps
Yes clean water is a problem, but an innovative solution is the play pump...using kids on a merry go round attached to a pump, it brings up water. Also, where land is dry/scarce, simplified hydroponics is the solution and its being done world wide. We all have to get beyond this sky is falling mantra we've been digesting for the last 8 years, and look at the problems as opportunities for creativity. Its not enough to point out a problem anymore...if the problem bothers you, latch onto it, study it, research it, find other people who are interested and solve it, or if you can't do that, you can at least educate people on potentials solutions. We're all smart and aware enough to "see" the problems, but that's not enough and its not a good legacy to point it out to our kids and then not show them how we're working toward their solution. Go to the realwealtheconomy.com blog and read some of what people are offering as solutions....this is doable, but first you have to teach yourself a new way of thinking.... by Lynn FRANCOIS (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 7:57:43 PM (0+)
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Reply: tillable land and water
The container boxes would come with soil and seeds--thus, no one needs to go find dirt ==which wouldn't be possible in the city anyway. While water could be an issue--this is the most efficient use of water for growing because it prevents evaporation and maximizes use to the plant/roots and ensures great production by Ann Kramer (21 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 62 comments) on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 11:52:06 PM (0+)
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Lynn, you make the alternantive
water "Pump" sound as if its the answer to all the problems faced with lack of water around the world. Many places you can't just dig a hole into the ground until you find water, as the geography doesn't support it, or you have to go so far down that a drill-rig is the only means of reaching it, which is not available or cost prohibitive. Water storage for drip systems have the availability and cost barrier to address. Your talking about people who live on less than $1-5 a day who spend as much as a third of their daily time trying to secure water and food. Those with jobs must commit another 8-12 hours to satisfy the work commitment. Where are they going to find time tending a garden? The idea is good, but is limited to those that live in a water friendly climate, with ample arable land with people who have leisure time to commit to gardening. Which is a minuscule percentile of the total of the world's population. by Stanimal (2 articles, 226 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 1254 comments [234 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 9:48:37 PM (0+)
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Reply: time to garden...
Tp your issue that there isn't "time" to garden because most people are busy putting in their 8-12 work days...and have very little money. I repeat again why self-watering container gardening is an option--once planted, the only 'time' spent each day is to 'water' the container. You don't weed, spend hours walking through fields etc. It's right there and takes very little maintenance. Its also good because most 'pests' are eliminated since the box is 'contained' and the usual culprits can't get inside to cause havoc at the roots or eat the leaves. I want to say--I wrote this article to inspire towards solutions. there isn't one right answer--but this is a good answer for many--not all. Time is short and we need to spend all of our time building solutions--instead of showing why an idea won't work everywhere. That's a waste of time... As Buckminster Fuller said: "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model and that makes the existing model obsolete." Self-watering container gardening (as compared to the old model of industrial farming that leaves us all dependent) is a part of building a new model. by Ann Kramer (21 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 62 comments) on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 12:24:35 PM (0+)
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