In the mid-1940s the United States government asked the people to plant edible gardens to help support the downwardly spiraling economy and the war effort.
During that time millions of people all over the country planted gardens called “Victory Gardens” and harvested nearly one-third of all the vegetables consumed in the country.
That means 33% of all our vegetables came from small-scale gardens! Gardening became a popular family or community effort planting vegetables, herbs and fruit trees.
While we may not be sacrificing our own food to send fresh food to our troops, we are facing a potential threat to the security of our food and the health of our ecosystems.
By a threat to food security, I am referring to the way our food is produced and access to healthy food.
Current agricultural practices involve many unsustainable and environmentally harmful practices, among concern of these, are:
•It’s contribution to climate change*:
o Excessive tillage – increases loss of critical topsoil and sequestered carbon
o Exposed soil – loss of carbon in the soil and addition of carbon dioxide to atmosphere, increased water usage
•It’s contribution to ecosystem degradation:
o Application of soluble fertilizers – harms aquatic ecosystems through runoff
o Use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and GMOs – harmful to human and ecosystem health
It’s contribution to the decline of human health:
o Lack of attention to quality – less nutritious food