Our project revolved around the theme of “community” and specifically, how food growth and the sharing of that food facilitate the emergence of community among individuals. Our presentation acted as a testament to the message we were trying to convey by showing how resources gathered from the community, along with the money used to buy that food acted as components to both an immediate community with those who share the meal, as well as a larger more implicit community that is facilitated by a circular movement of money and food that is retained within the community. By making the choice to buy locally, the money from your wallet goes straight back into the pocket of the local grower, which in turn makes it easier for him or her to sustain the operation as a sustainable food producer, thus providing you with more food in the future. Local growing eliminates many of the of the negative components and subsequent feedbacks inherent in systems of mass international food shipments that fill large grocery stores with food all year round. By eliminating the degree of fossil fuel use and lessening the exporting of monetary resources to large conglomerate food distribution companies, people can support their local economies through something as simple as considering where their food is coming from.
Just as the FH King program examined by Ben offers as a way for students to participate in this kind of community building, I would like to propose a potential extension of this practice that could be adopted specifically by students, but also others whose lives are too hectic and busy to commit that amount of time and energy to participate. Home-growing and rooftop gardens are both alternative options for attaining virtually free produce with varying degrees of work and difficulty depending on the size and scope of the garden one decides to create and maintain.
Rooftop gardens are growing in popularity amongst urban dwellers as the long-term recession continues to shrink wallets and a garner a revived sense of green awareness that appears to be convincing people to rethink the way they get food and at what expense. Many industrialized European countries begun popularizing the practice of rooftop gardening many years ago and today they exist as impressive examples of human sustainable ingenuity. As Jessica Kwik explained in an article in Alternatives Journal, “European countries such as Germany and Switzerland have become forerunners of green roof technology as research and government support have led to today’s thriving industry.” (Kwik 2000) More specifically speaking, sustainable architect Monica Kuhn notes, “In Germany, the green roof market expanded quickly in the 1980’s, with an annual growth rate of 15-20%, ballooning from one to ten million square metres. This growth was stimulated largely by state legislation, municipal grants and incentives…” “…Other European states have adopted similar types of support. Several cities now incorporate roof greening into regulations. Stuttgart, for example, requires green roofs on all new flat-roofed industrial buildings. Vienna also provides subsidies and grants for new green roofs at the stages of planning, installation and 3 years post construction to ensure ongoing maintenance. Over 75 European municipalities currently provide incentives or requirements for green roof installation.” (Kuhn, 2009) As she explains, the growth of these sources for plant growth have grown to garner support from city municipalities and federal grant programs that provide enough resources and support to boost it to industry status. However, before this degree of growth can be attained, local support organizations are necessary for proper public and cultural exposure. As this represents a potential future reality in American cities, urban home-growing must first grow as a viable option to those currently living in apartment buildings.
It is said that until the active participant understands the benefits of a behavior, the idea will remain unattractive as long as the current problematic behavior is seen as easier and more advantageous to the participant. In this instance, the idea of healthier food that can be grown without the use of chemical pesticides could potentially provide health-conscious city dwellers with the drive to begin creating a garden. If the rooftop is not an option, the benefits of alternative gardening methods such as hydroponic indoor growing are also a viable possibility. Trading outdoor roof space for indoor window-space, one can establish a simple hydroponic system that can yield growth from within the temperature-controlled environment in an apartment. For health fanatics, this could actually make fore even more pure, healthy food due to the absence of pesticides altogether. Alexandra Gross’s explanation in The Environmental Magazine examines this benefit further saying, “Without soil, there is little to no microbial activity, so the plants depend on direct nutrients from nutrient solutions. And because hydroponics occur in a highly controlled space and microbial activity is at a minimum, pesticides, insecticides and herbicides are not needed. “ (Gross 2010) Organizations supporting the use of at-home hydroponics already provide those interested in starting their own grow unit with downloadable templates and instructions for starting their own operation. Britta Riley, curator of windowfarms.org provides visitors with a plethora of information for both the novice and experienced grower in regards to making the transition to hydroponic systems. However as enthusiastic as she is about the implications widespread home growing could have, she is also aware of the obstacle s that we as a society must overcome, saying, “these things will not start to take root until people really want sustainable solutions, good nutrition and local food.” (Britta 2011) The benefits of Britta’s home growing awareness movement are explained more in depth in her TED Talk:
In tying these concepts into a cohesive idea for local action, the act of education and awareness on the issues of community sustainability through the means of food production and consumption as well as the idea of retaining our monetary resources within the community all translate to a more active student body as well as general community in contributing and actively participating in sustainable practices. Engaging in home growing reduces wasteful spending on international groceries and supports a more sustainable lifestyle by lessening dependency on an outside service to provide you with a commodity as essential as food. As our current paradigm of mass food distribution begins to strain under the weight of a slowly collapsing global economy, the prices of our groceries will inevitably rise. Thomas Helbling and Shaun Raoache’s article in Finance & Development describes, “The world may need to get used to higher food prices. A large part of the recent surge is related to temporary factors, such as the weather. Nevertheless, the main reasons for rising demand for food reflect structural changes in the global economy that will not be reversed.” (Helbling, Raoche 2011) Knowledge of self-sustainable food production might very well become a matter of survival if the consequences of our society’s sensational thirst for growth and resource consumption is not slowed and adapted. Simple changes such as sustainable gardens and window planters are a great way to enter a life lived by sustainable means, and we are confident the UW campus as well as the city of Madison is capable of embracing these ideas and modeling them to other communities.
Annotated Bibliography:
Gross, Alexandra. “Beyond Organic.” E: The Environmental Magazine 21.4
(2010): 18-19. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.
Alexandra Gross describes the benefits of hydroponic in-home growing as a result of a lack of chemicals used on the food through the use of pesticides. She goes on to suggest that hydroponic systems are actually “beyond organic” because they follow a rigorous food safety management system that addresses production, handling, manufacturing and distribution.
Helbling, Thomas, and Shaun Roache. “Rising Prices on the Menu: Higher Food
Prices may be here to Stay.” Finance & Development 48.1 (2011): 24-7.
ABI/INFORM Complete; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 14 Dec. 2011.
Thomas Helbling and Shaun Roache cite statistical trends such as the “dinner index” which graphs the food price surges throughout time. It also offers arguments for sustained high food prices in the future as a result of fuel costs, crop yields, production costs, and the international food market.
Kwik, Jessica. “Gardens Overhead: Rooftop Culture Sprouts in North American
Cities.”Alternatives Journal 26.3 (2000): 16-7. Alt-PressWatch; ProQuest
Research Library. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.
Kwik gives a brief albeit insightful examination into the recent trend of rooftop gardens being created in America. She cites the history of rooftop gardens and their steady popularization in much of Europe, explaining how many municipalities now require buildings to maintain green roofs for purposes of maintaining clean air conditions.
Monica Kuhn. Design Guidelines for Green Roofs. Toronto: Ontario Association
of Architects, 2003. Print.
Kuhn gives insight from personal experience as a Toronto-based “green” architect into how the rooftop garden industry has flourished and spread from Europe to the United States.
Riley, Britta. Windowfarms. Windowfarms, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.windowfarms.org/abouttheproject>.
Riley provides a plethora of information on her organization’s website about DYI hydroponic growing solutions for the home. Both selling kits and providing templates and instructions for growers to make on their own, her product has sparked a small movement of growers to turn to hydroponic systems.