The other day I saw an article relating how some economist at Harvard declared that urban farms would cause a rise in fossil fuel use, not a decline. His stance when this was written a couple of years ago was that using land within city limits to grow food would cause everyone to have to drive further to get where they needed to go. Rooftop gardens and long vacant land repurposed for growing food, mind you. Perhaps not everyone with an Ivy League education is worth listening too. This guy is obviously in love with overgrown properties, prefers stale food with reduced benefits, and possibly a puppet for some big lobby group(s) with interests that clash with sustainability and the good food revolution.
The truth is that locally grown food is a big boost for local economy and the improvement in health benefits is phenomenal. Check out this infographic done for just Central Illinois. Apply the data to wherever in the world you live. It could make a huge difference in not just food quality and food equality, but could do far more to restore suffering economies than anything governments and big banks or corporations have done. By the way, this part of the State of Illinois is roughly the size of the entire Dominican Republic. How much recession ease do you think this kind of cash flow would bring?
Why Eating Local Is So Important
Just look at why those with low incomes can’t afford good food. Its got little to do with the cost of the food and everything to do with the current food supply system. Top heavy.
Naturally, indoor urban farms would give any area a source of fresh foods out of season.
Infographic courtesy of TheLandConnection.org