When you make the choice to begin growing your own crops, it can feel as though it is an insurmountable endeavor, but this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. When you think about how many benefits in the long run that growing crops can provide, there’s definitely reason in doing so, and there are some easy ways to become involved without making the next step into full person sustainability. Whether attempting to be completely self sustenance or just starting your own garden, the choice to grow your own has a wealth of positive benefits.
With the rising price of food these days, making the choice to grow your own foods is becoming a much easier one to make, and help to drastically cut down on food expenses. Just looking at the average expense of vegetables versus that of a pack of seeds, one can see an extreme difference. More often than not the pack of seeds is drastically less expensive than one or two of the vegetables. For the expenses put toward fruits and vegetables, there is much more value in growing from seeds at home.
Another unbelievable benefit of growing your own food from home is the positive influence it can have on general health. If you grow your own vegetables, you can control what exactly has an effect on your food. There have been many cases of toxic chemicals and carcinogens like bisphenol A, melamine, harmful chemicals and fertilizers and even asbestos exposure being related to mass produced food. Cutting out the middle man and growing your own crops can ensure that you oversee all aspects process from growth to ingestion, keeping any potential health issues at bay.
The enjoyment as well as taste of growing your own food is reason enough to start your own home gardening projects. By removing delivery and shopping times, you can ensure a large increase in the reduction of food miles and maximize the freshness of the food, as well as having any foods you may want right at your disposal for the taking.
While home growth isn’t something to be taken in completely overnight, making a few small steps is a great way to begin this great experience. Even growing small berry and fruit plants can be quite a great start, and are incredibly easy to maintain. They live long and continue producing throughout their lifetime. With the growing knowledge of the benefits of beginning on a path to self sustenance, the amount of people trying out their own home gardening has grown in a big way; helping newcomers with resources and general knowledge.
Ryan Halston recently graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelors degree in English. Homestead and eco-friendly living is a major passion of Ryan's. Ryan can be contacted at rhalston.qa@gmail.com
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Showing posts with label guest posts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guest posts. Show all posts
Monday, May 23, 2011
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Sustainability Through the Consumption of Things Conserved - Guest Post
The following is a guest post written by Dan Grifen.....
"In other environmental issues we tell people to stop something, reduce their impact, reduce their damage," - US Ecologist Gary Nabhan
Since the beginning of the green movement, there has been a rise in the number of organizations and businesses that are doing their part in the promotion of sustainability through conservation. As human beings, we're told to reduce our carbon footprint, consume less unhealthy foods, and spend less time in the shower! But let's take a minute to step back and look at this from a different perspective; one that Gary Nabhan strongly suggests.
Gary Paul Nabhan, phD., is a Arab-American writer/conservationist whose extensive farming work in the U.S./Mexico borderlands region has made him world renowned. Specifically speaking, Nabhan is known for his work in biodiversity as an ethnobotanist. His uplifting messages and attitude towards life and culture has granted us access to multiple beneficial theories including his latest of eat what you conserve.
According to The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, about three quarters of the genetic diversity of crops been vanishing over the last century and that a dozen species now gives 90% of the animal protein eaten globally. In accordance, just 4 crop species supply half of plant based calories in the human diet.
Nabhan claims that by eating the fruits and vegetables that we are attempting to conserve/save, we're promoting the granular dissemination of various plant species. But this goes beyond what we typically buy in supermarkets, particularly because of price and abundance. We must remember to try new things and immerse ourselves in the very concept of diversity. Keep in mind- the benefits of splurging for that costly fruit/vegetable supremely outweigh the cons. Not only are you promoting biodiversity and further eliminating the needs of farmers to remove rare, less purchased crops off their agenda, but you're also effectively encouraging healthier lifestyles.
Agriculturist Marco Contiero mentioned that "biodiversity is an essential characteristic of any sustainable agricultural system, especially in the context of climate change."[1] With sustainable crop efforts being lead by the CGI (Clinton Global Initiative) and the IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) the duo plans to provide a more sustainable crop that can withstand natural disasters, avoiding food shortages like Haiti is experiencing. Contiero goes on to state "We need to ensure this is the basis for the future…" – This is exactly what Doug Band, the CGI, and the IRRI are doing by engaging in sustainability efforts.
So remember, next time you're in the supermarket picking out a common varietal of navel oranges or strawberries, turn your attention to something that's a bit more exotic. The same goes for salads/salad ingredients; shop outside the norm, picking spices and vegetables that you wouldn't normally incorporate into your everyday diet. During such economic downtime it isn't always easy to maintain the same level of grocery shopping intrigue, but we must also not forget that in this sundry of foods we can find fun!
Dan Grifen – Supporter of all things green and progressive.
Dan is a web engineer in Upstate NY with a passion for political blogging in his free time. As of late, he has been enjoying writing about hot topics in conservation, sustainability, and the environment. Sphere: Related Content
"In other environmental issues we tell people to stop something, reduce their impact, reduce their damage," - US Ecologist Gary Nabhan
Since the beginning of the green movement, there has been a rise in the number of organizations and businesses that are doing their part in the promotion of sustainability through conservation. As human beings, we're told to reduce our carbon footprint, consume less unhealthy foods, and spend less time in the shower! But let's take a minute to step back and look at this from a different perspective; one that Gary Nabhan strongly suggests.
Gary Paul Nabhan, phD., is a Arab-American writer/conservationist whose extensive farming work in the U.S./Mexico borderlands region has made him world renowned. Specifically speaking, Nabhan is known for his work in biodiversity as an ethnobotanist. His uplifting messages and attitude towards life and culture has granted us access to multiple beneficial theories including his latest of eat what you conserve.
According to The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, about three quarters of the genetic diversity of crops been vanishing over the last century and that a dozen species now gives 90% of the animal protein eaten globally. In accordance, just 4 crop species supply half of plant based calories in the human diet.
Nabhan claims that by eating the fruits and vegetables that we are attempting to conserve/save, we're promoting the granular dissemination of various plant species. But this goes beyond what we typically buy in supermarkets, particularly because of price and abundance. We must remember to try new things and immerse ourselves in the very concept of diversity. Keep in mind- the benefits of splurging for that costly fruit/vegetable supremely outweigh the cons. Not only are you promoting biodiversity and further eliminating the needs of farmers to remove rare, less purchased crops off their agenda, but you're also effectively encouraging healthier lifestyles.
Agriculturist Marco Contiero mentioned that "biodiversity is an essential characteristic of any sustainable agricultural system, especially in the context of climate change."[1] With sustainable crop efforts being lead by the CGI (Clinton Global Initiative) and the IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) the duo plans to provide a more sustainable crop that can withstand natural disasters, avoiding food shortages like Haiti is experiencing. Contiero goes on to state "We need to ensure this is the basis for the future…" – This is exactly what Doug Band, the CGI, and the IRRI are doing by engaging in sustainability efforts.
So remember, next time you're in the supermarket picking out a common varietal of navel oranges or strawberries, turn your attention to something that's a bit more exotic. The same goes for salads/salad ingredients; shop outside the norm, picking spices and vegetables that you wouldn't normally incorporate into your everyday diet. During such economic downtime it isn't always easy to maintain the same level of grocery shopping intrigue, but we must also not forget that in this sundry of foods we can find fun!
Dan Grifen – Supporter of all things green and progressive.
Dan is a web engineer in Upstate NY with a passion for political blogging in his free time. As of late, he has been enjoying writing about hot topics in conservation, sustainability, and the environment. Sphere: Related Content
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