The name says it all. It is brilliant simplicity.
Even to those uninterested in gardening or feeding themselves inexpensive healthy fresh food, the concept is sound. Why waste water, time, and money on an ornamental lawn when you could be feeding yourself, your family, your friends, or even providing fresh veggies for the local homeless shelter, old folks home, or shut in neighbor.
Besides, why allow Ag Industry behemoths, whose primary motivation is making trillions annually, hold the keys to one of our most fundamental requirements for survival?
Check it out yo and get busy! If you don’t have a lawn, you can volunteer. Get some fresh air, exercise, and most likely some fresh veggies. Donate funds if you are too busy building your empire. Or just be aware and spread the word.
Find your local group on the International Food Not Lawns website here or get information and assistance with starting a chapter in your town.
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If BP’s Gulf disaster and the financial industry’s cavalier profiteering haven’t demonstrated to you that we need to take care of ourselves, then you are not paying attention.
8 Comments
Yay! I’m a fan.
sweet! awesome idea! Local communities could have way more food if we turned ornamental lawns into food gardens. But no, the best ornamental lawn competition continues. In the LA desert, the richies sport lavish tropical lawns that would NEVER grow naturally in socal climate. Total waste of resources.
I have been talking about this for a few days now because we are starting to come up with plans for our yard and i do not want grass at all. I would rather deck the whole thing than to have to waste water on grass.
YAY!
There is SO much we could do with dwellings besides make ‘em look pretty with trademark lab developed blades of something resembling grasses.
I once saw a house that had a huge boulder on the South side that gathered heat all day to keep the house warm with at night. They’d even hose the thing down now and then so the slight breeze could create a cooling effect as the water vaporized.
On another train of thought – awhile back, I was shopping some auction vehicles and I was looking at Chevy Cavaliers. There were both a 1992 and a 2003 model year Cavalier coming up for auction and researching the two cars revealed that there was only a 2 or 3 MPG improvement in TEN YEARS of engineering. I was aghast. I simply do not believe that this is possible – it was intended, not forced due to the inability to improve the technology.
So then I think of Monsanto, wanting to sell ALL of the seed for ALL of the food we eat and I have a hard time thinking that they will conduct themselves any better than BP, the Financial Industry or the auto manufacturers who are only now making more fuel efficient cars because they HAVE TO to sell more of ‘em.
So what am I saying? Start a seed bank and keep it locked up. Grow as much of your own food as you can manage. The only vote that matters is the one we cast with our dollars.
Here is an excellent post on the International Food Not Lawns website entitled:
“How to Start a Local Food Not Lawns”
http://www.foodnotlawns.net/2008/12/how-to-start-local-food-not-lawns.html
I’m in.
So far, I’m only growing my own mint and garlic. And catnip. But it’s a start.
Oh hey, anything is better than nothing! Besides, the cats of the world appreciate you big time – even if they don’t know it.
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