As you join Take Action, you will begin to learn or will continue your learning about the many ways we can help improve the Earth and why environmentalism is so important. A big part of the Earth’s health (which affects all organisms) is food production and the practices humans use to grow food and construct infrastructure. As you may know, many of these practices are not environmentally friendly and sustainable. With growing populations, the overwhelming, growing demand for animal products, soil tilling, purchasing out of season produce, increased erosion from runoff as a result of increased paved surfaces, etc., it is important for all people to know that every action they take, whether purchasing produce from a local farmer’s market or at a warehouse grocery store, whether planting herbs or annual flowers, whether using MiracleGrow or compost, or whether choosing to eat meat every night, that every decision affects the health of the Earth and consequently ourselves and each other.
Novelist, environmental activist, and farmer Wendell Berry said “Urban conservationists may feel entitled to be unconcerned about food production because they are not farmers. But they can’t be let off so easily, for they are all farming by proxy”.
Whether we grow our own food or not, we all farm by proxy because what we purchase represents us. It is our vote. We use our purchasing power to vote for practices which will improve the world or harm it.
The Take Action Garden/PV Produce believes that gardening, as a collective activity, is a powerful and simple tool for understanding the real effects of our food choices on the world and how we as a society can work together to make informed decisions that will improve the Earth and will be sustainable for the future.
Take Action Garden 