Gardens

Steffi @ Col. Summers Garden/SE Waterfront

Steffi believes that gardening can save the world.  By growing our own food we can reclaim our autonomy; we can make an immediate avowal of self reliance that fosters tenderness, attention, and sensitivity to the natural world.  Gardens engender localized economies that are in direct opposition to the paradigm of industrial agriculture that is currently degrading our planet.  Gardens are an alternative to genetically modified foods, epic deforestation, and corporate hegemony.  Gardens (and gardeners) are necessary to our community's long term interests:  Industrial agriculture currently accounts for 17% of the United States annual consumption of  fossil fuels, which begs the question:  What will we eat, when the oil runs out?  A culture of gardens NOW, will obsolesce the three days it would take for an industrialized nation to collapse from a fuel/food shortage.  

Starting a garden may be daunting at first, but resources such as Food Not Lawns and the American Community Gardening Association provide information and advice to aid your transition from servitude to sustainability.  Each garden is a seed planted against the scorched earth policies of industrial agriculture, a seed that will eventually yield lower food expenses, a healthier diet, exercise, relaxation, and pride in one's accomplishment.  Quality and longevity of life are a shovel away; it is time to bury the notion that we are well and truly fucked.  Factory farms are a short term investment; in the long run it may prove more fortuitous for us to get our hands dirty and rekindle our connection to the Earth, the seasons, and the interconnected natural cycles of which we are inextricably connected to, whether we acknowledge it or not.  The world is worth saving, plant the seed.