I have read quite a few battles online lately that involve some portion of the population not appreciating some other portion. When you think about it, most folks work at something that is necessary in some sense to others or they would not be compensated for their efforts.
Anyway, I want to address those who believe farmers are not paid their due. I have mixed feelings about this position. I grew up on a farm and I can assure you that physical labor 50 years ago was very different than today. Sitting all day in an air conditioned tractor cab is not that different from sitting all day in an office. Farming is a business and presents unique challenges, but this is the case for most individuals who work alone or in small businesses. Much of what farmers produce is far removed from what you or I will eat. The production of corn to produce alcohol for gasoline or soybeans to sent to China has nothing to do with feeding you or me. As far as feeding folks go, I have far more empathy for those immigrants toiling in those small plots of land to produce vegetables to sell at our local farmers’ market. They have families to support just as much as the guy down the road with a thousand acres of land and massive equipment to work it.
Anyway, I do think that an appreciation of where our food comes from is important and I have long support school gardens as a way to develop such insights. Yes, I would not expect the kids to kill and pluck the feathers from chickens like I did growing up to appreciate the production of our primary protein source, but at least they can experience growing some what they eat.
I garden, but I also have a recommendation for those with little land. Grow vegetables on your deck. My recommendation would be a Garden Tower. The tower makes use of vertical planting and is combined with vermi – composting (worms converting material to compost). It is a like a science project on your deck.
Our tower is now operating a maximum capacity producing herbs, tomatoes, and other green leafy stuff we use for our salads. As you can see, the quantity of material is impressive. The basil (plant at top) is great for making pesto and we obviously have more basil that we can consume. Gardening is like that and it can be difficult to predict how much, if any, of a given plant you will bring to harvest in a given year.
The worms?
There is a cylinder down the middle of the tower in which you cultivate a culture of red wrigglers. You constantly feed these worms green material and they convert this material into compost (castings generated by the worms) to support your garden.
