Urban sprawl...paving over farmland...turning once-fertile fields into cheap, poorly-constructed housing developments with evocative names like "The Olde Country Farm," or "Meadowlands Retreat," or something meaningless like that.
Aside from the fact that it makes anyone who works the land want to cry (or bust some developer's head), it begs the question of just how these people plan to eat. Someone, somewhere has got to raise that food from the ground and/or run that livestock.
"Oh," those proud homeowners say, "we just go to the Mega-Lo Mart down the street."
Right...
The whole scenario – combined with the issue we covered over the last couple of weeks on how human population is threatening to outstrip food supply – points up an issue that people will, sooner or later have to face: namely, where their food is coming from. Too many things in that grocery store travel over 1,000 miles from where they were produced. Not only does this require the use of petroleum (most of which is imported from nations whose people are no fans of the U.S.A.), but it also means that if the weather turns ugly, or a landslide or other disaster takes out major transportation routes, there are going to be serious shortages.
Generally, it is a really bad idea to be so dependent on distant food sources.
In some places, people are starting to understand this and taking action by buying more locally-produced foods (from within a 200-mile radius) and adapting their diets throughout the year to what's available seasonally. Here's a good example: most lettuces and leafy salad greens are not readily available in the winter unless imported from warmer areas – but cabbages do quite well in the cold. What's wrong with coleslaw instead of a Waldorf or Caesar Salad when there's snow on the ground? And do you really need avocado’s from Mexico when its already summertime in your hemisphere?
Looking at country of origin (COOL) labes is a good start, but more could be done. Community gardens and home "victory gardens" are also part of the solution. The city of Portland, Oregon has already taken a vast inventory of arable land within its city limits for a time when they may have to depend on local resources.
In Detroit, Michigan, some folks are thinking about putting the idea of "community gardens" on steroids.
Without going into the economic policies of the last thirty years that have literally destroyed Motown, I'm happy to report that one of the last millionaires in that city is thinking of revitalizing it by re-inventing it – as a huge urban farm.
Urban farming is not a new idea, but it has not yet been proposed on such a massive scale. If John Hantz, who is willing to put $30 million of his own money where his mouth is, can convince the Detroit City Council to give his proposal a try, Detroit may yet be reborn into a better, more prosperous city than it ever was before – while feeding hundreds of thousands and serving as a model for the world.
More on this as it develops.


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