Grow Some Stuff

Ron Finley gave a great TED talk where he talks about how he is making a difference in his community. I think it's awesome that he's turning unsightly and unused areas into flourishing gardens where people can help each other grow their own food. I lived in Detroit up until I was 20 and never saw anyone doing this with the abandoned lots and overgrown parkways. I see it in my imagination how amazing it could look if everyone came together to make something like that happen. This is only two cities, imagine if every city caught on and began cultivating unused plots of land to help feed the people of the surrounding area. This is a huge movement that could change the way the world looks at food. People would come closer to their produce and have a healthier diet by eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

The article about biotech not being key to solving the world's food security issue brings up both the problem and the possible solution. There is plenty of food in the world that can feed most people but the problem is what we're doing with that food before it's used to become our food. Like the author said about the way crops are used to grow animals so we can eat them, I think we could use that food instead to feed people and let the animals do what they need to do naturally. This means getting the animals out of factories and allowing them to forage for themselves instead of wasting our own resources on them.

Another article on organic food supporting the world brings up a few key points. The amount of calories people consume needs to be evaluated. If people took the time to look at the food they consume and consciously think,"Does my body really need all this food right now?", then there would be more food to go around. There is a growing trend of over-sized meal plans that is obviously leading to weight and other health issues. Sure we can keep blaming industries for producing this stuff but without the demand there wouldn't be supply. Of course there is a constant supply so at first there would end up being a surplus but eventually those corporations won't have a leg to stand on if people stop purchasing their goods. As consumers we need to take a step back and look at the choices we make and how making a change in those choices can make a change in our life.