Urban Agriculture - Learning Through Competition
Promoting Local Self-Reliance in Fresh Produce and Food Security through Competition By Sean Masih
Abstract: With the looming food crisis, globalization, and increased population our food as we know it may be at risk. In the next 20 years the UN has reported that the world 's food production will have to increase by 70% to prevent hundreds of millions of people from starving. If we don’t do something to increase our food security and local self-reliance within city communities we may lose all control over our food. Urban agriculture, while not a cure-all, is the most effective and efficient way to combat the factors threatening our food.
Introduction: Agriculture has had a close relationship with urban society for millennia. About 10,000 years ago in an area in the Near East known as the Fertile Crescent, two very important inventions were made: urbanism and agriculture (Smith 1995). The fact that both urbanization and agriculture developed around the same time period was no coincidence. Prior to the settling of the Fertile Crescent most tribes were nomadic and they relied on whatever food they could obtain easily wherever they went. Because a major settlement needed a steady supply of food, agriculture not only became a way of life but a necessity. This symbiotic relationship between agriculture and urban society has however seen a deep separation in the last two centuries. This major decline can be attributed to many factors such as the population shift from rural to urban areas, the need for valuable space in cities, technological advances in transportation, and most importantly, globalization. Globalization is the unification of the world 's economic order through the dissolving of such barriers to international reliance and trade. Because of globalization, more and more countries and cities have been relying on outside sources for their supply of food. Once transportation was revolutionized in the 1800s, more and more cities had
Abstract: With the looming food crisis, globalization, and increased population our food as we know it may be at risk. In the next 20 years the UN has reported that the world 's food production will have to increase by 70% to prevent hundreds of millions of people from starving. If we don’t do something to increase our food security and local self-reliance within city communities we may lose all control over our food. Urban agriculture, while not a cure-all, is the most effective and efficient way to combat the factors threatening our food.
Introduction: Agriculture has had a close relationship with urban society for millennia. About 10,000 years ago in an area in the Near East known as the Fertile Crescent, two very important inventions were made: urbanism and agriculture (Smith 1995). The fact that both urbanization and agriculture developed around the same time period was no coincidence. Prior to the settling of the Fertile Crescent most tribes were nomadic and they relied on whatever food they could obtain easily wherever they went. Because a major settlement needed a steady supply of food, agriculture not only became a way of life but a necessity. This symbiotic relationship between agriculture and urban society has however seen a deep separation in the last two centuries. This major decline can be attributed to many factors such as the population shift from rural to urban areas, the need for valuable space in cities, technological advances in transportation, and most importantly, globalization. Globalization is the unification of the world 's economic order through the dissolving of such barriers to international reliance and trade. Because of globalization, more and more countries and cities have been relying on outside sources for their supply of food. Once transportation was revolutionized in the 1800s, more and more cities had
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