We are not on planet Earth, we are Earth. Nature is our mother and we are made of the four elements. One of them is the earth. We are the earth because almost everything we eat comes from the earth. It is what keeps us alive. The fertile soil is a very thin layer, thinner than the atmosphere. We are the Earth, we are the ground. We dissolve what we eat, what we put in our mouths, and make it what we are: living organisms.
Life is what creates the soil in which we grow our food. Soil has the strength to produce vegetables, it is not simply an organic conglomerate. It took a long time for the soil to acquire the conditions it currently has. It is the product of the wear of rocks through water, of chemical reactions and interactions of roots of vegetables, animals and microorganisms. To form a centimeter of fertile soil, a three hundred year wait is required.
Soil is full of life and is the perfect habitat for microorganisms, which feed on other organisms. Soil must have the right balance for crop growth, which is why organic agriculture – an ancient and at the same time novel method – promotes ecological circulation, the variety of crops in one place and the avoidance of monocultures. Organic agriculture does not exploit the soil, it enriches it.
Something very different happens in modern agriculture. Standard farming techniques impoverish the land through over-fertilization, excessive plowing and the consequences of using heavy machinery year after year. In this agricultural method, there is a constant struggle against nature, and the consequences are innumerable for humanity. The custom is to grow the same plant species every year, using large amounts of chemical, synthetic and pesticide fertilizers, which causes pathogenic bacteria to originate in the soil over time as a result of the imbalance.
When agrochemicals did not exist, several ways of preventing disease in crops had been devised. For example, farmers used to practice mixed crops (which is still done, but less than before), jointly planting spring onion, melon and beans, for example. Soils that always depended on synthetic and agro-toxic fertilizers possess less organic matter, making it more easily eroded by rain and wind. Consequently, the soil hardens.
Nature is equipped with a recirculation system, which returns its own waste to the ground with the help of micro and macro organisms. What can we say about man? Since the 50s, man has been producing many things that did not exist naturally. Garbage has affected nature’s recirculation system.
How did this historical agricultural change occur? There have been many famines throughout history. In the mid-twentieth century, those who devised what is known as the Green Revolution thought that if we could only systematize agriculture as we did with heavy industry in the nineteenth century and bring a system that works to the rest of the world, we could solve the problem of famine.
We started using new biotechnology such as agrochemicals to fertilize and avoid pests. The nitrogen-based bombs of World War I led to the development of nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers. The neurotoxic gas created in World War II led to the invention of insecticides. Before, the biotechnology we used in crops was very simple. For example, for 6,000 years humans have used yeast, a living organism, to make bread rise. We have also used biotechnology to ferment wine and beer for thousands of years. Another good example is the cultivation of rose bushes in the vineyards; these serve to detect and prevent the attack of the fungus called “oidium”, which by attacking the rose bushes first, allows the vines to be protected by spraying them with sulfur.
Then those who use biotechnology to, for example, modify genes, say that there is nothing new about what they are doing. But in reality the technologies that modify genes are cell invaders, and the only thing that is good for invading cells is bacteria. In subsequent decades, production increased dramatically. Year after year, huge lands were planted with a single crop variety. These monocultures created an ecological vacuum that insects and diseases took advantage of. Thousands of crop varieties also disappeared. For example, more than 5,000 types of potatoes were grown worldwide, now only 4 types are widely grown. Genetic uniformity has caused some of humanity’s greatest agricultural catastrophes.
Although those who initiated the Green Revolution did it with a good heart, we currently consume foods that have minimal nourishment, are harmful to our body and are produced by harming the environment and causing damage to nature that can take hundreds or thousands of years to overcome. It is important to understand that to create natural conditions in the countryside, mysterious works of nature are required, as well as human dedication. Once we know that reality, we realize how important it is to have sustainable agriculture that protects the environment and produces healthy food.
That is why organic agriculture is different, because we think about the relationship that human beings have with agriculture. The goal is to produce quality foods that are healthy, based on a sustainable system, and respect the logic of nature, a process which has worked for thousands of years with the support of human beings. Perhaps growing organically is not the most economically viable initially, but it has invaluable benefits in terms of our health.
Oganic agriculture advocates aim to completely eliminate the use of pesticides and other chemicals. We want to eliminate the dependence that our farmers have on the use of poisons provided by large international corporations that do not care about damage to the environment or people who consume food. As a way of counteracting the damage that modern agriculture does to our environment and to the health of human beings, we strive to promote food based on sustainable, organic and local agriculture.
For many, the idea of a garden is usually associated with a field or plot. We think that the city has no available space, making it very easy for us to choose to go shopping at the supermarket. However, in my home city of Mexico City, and doubtless many others, there are spaces where we can grow food organically, which will help us consume more vitamins and minerals, necessary for the well-being and enjoyment of our family.
A small terrace, balcony, roof or garden can work wonders. The most complicated thing when starting an urban garden is to overcome the idea that it is not feasible to plant in the city. Urban gardens help to improve the environment by increasing greenery and decreasing the ambient temperature in hot weather. The urban garden also allows us to have a pleasant space to share, talk, work and relax with our family and friends. In the beginning, the production of an urban garden is modest, but it will help us improve and complement our diet, while allowing us to save a little on family spending by not having to buy products in the market.
One of the main reasons for having an urban garden is the great taste of harvested food; Any person who eats vegetables, species or ingests infusions can instantly notice their superior quality compared to any product purchased at the supermarket. This is mainly due to the fact that the fruits and vegetables we buy in a supermarket face a long distribution process before reaching our meals. During this process they lose quality either because they are cut too early or because they are subjected to cold supply chains.
Another reason is that products purchased in supermarkets contain chemicals that are not useful to our body and are present only for the purpose of highlighting the aesthetics of what we buy. By having an urban garden we are free to choose what to put on the plants. Another important reason is to connect once again with natural cycles. Having an urban garden puts us in contact with plants, showing us how dependent they are during the cycles of the year. Once again, we can feel the importance of spring, the difference between summer and winter and the abundance of autumn. This confirms our worldview as a great cycle.
Installing urban gardens is no longer just a fashion, it is a necessity. Each square meter serves us. An urban garden helps reduce our carbon footprint on the planet. We consume products from thousands of kilometers away, thus contributing to the pollution that results from their transportation and the electricity required to keep them fresh. The products produced in urban gardens do not have wrappers, they go directly from your terrace to your table without generating the enormous amount of plastics that are used in the food industry.
Crops consume CO2, as they capture the emissions present in the environment. It is estimated that one hectare of tomato plantation can capture up to 16 tons of CO2 per year. Naturally, you are unlikely to plant such a quantity in an urban garden, but part of the idea of doing this is associativity: if your plants, your neighbor, your university, building or plaza do something similar to what you do, the result is an increase in the total area planted.
To summarize, an urban garden:
- Brings us closer to healthier eating habits
- Introduce the satistfaction of eatingf food you have grown yourself
- Costs little money and only some time
- Brings us closer to self-reliance
- Helps us discover ancient knowledge that cities have forgotten
- Prevents us from alienating ourselves from nature
- Shows the natural cycle of things, how nature works and the need to respect it
- Contributes to the increase of scarce green areas in the city
Pablo Sepúlveda lives in Mexico City and is dedicated to urban agriculture and psychotherapy.
Photo: SPUR
