Comments on: The Economics of Urban Sprawl- What’s Happening to Our Farmland?

By: Uncle B

Uncle B — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:50:51 +0000

Smaller, Zero upkeep, Zero running cost homes with greenhouses attached, or as part of the overall heating, cooling design, might provide very tasty greens and fresh veggies for a depression racked American family budget! – Not so for the ignoble “McMansions of our foolish age! It is a far cry from cruising to the local super-market and laying out cash for the latest flown in fruits and veggies, and a kick in the pants for most of us, but as the depression tightens its noose around our necks, swallowing pride and planting seeds might provide a way to survive in humble thankfulness to the seeds we plant. I am looking for a GMO’ed worm proof cabbage seed, a GMO’ed potato bug proof potato and a GMO’ed cumber bug proofed cucumber. We already have a worm proof corn and I am thankful for it! Somewhere, between my backyard garden, food drying and canning techniques and my understanding of composting, I have managed to reduce my carbon footprint, and my grocery bill by about 60%. I will continue home brewing and wine making and hope to be able to afford solar cells and LED lighting soon! I hope the internet as my best source of survival information doesn’t dry up during the dark days ahead, we all need it for survival communications! My hope is that we can develop new lifestyles, less dependent and more supportive of our newly forming society, and as a nation move ahead to greater accomplishments than before. Small neighbour hood surpluses can be donated or sold within local communities, skipping the taxman, greedy merchant class and even legal freeloaders. The “barter” is not dead, and small free enterprise will save us from annihilation by greedy corporations, banks and the like! A new strong and stable small enterprise, inter-community barter system such as is found in the hills of Italy is about to save our country. Please help by participating! A return to the land is a return to Pride and Honor for Americans!

By: Uncle B

Uncle B — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:50:00 +0000

By: Tricia

Tricia — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:49:22 +0000

Thanks for making us think. Our culture, needs to be thinking a lot more often about our food production. Land use and the shrinking availability of good farm land could already be playing a big role in America’s food production. It feels like there is some shift of awareness with the recent popularity of local farmer’s markets and the mantra of think globally, act locally. But, in general, most Americans don’t give much thought at all to where or how the food they eat was produced. Do you read the label/sticker to see where your food was produced? Our food and its production should be on everyone’s mind as it is connected to all of our American lives through the economy, our health, national security, land use, etc. We need to be hearing more often from our farmers on these issues and less often from uninformed bureaucrats.

By: Tricia

Tricia — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:49:00 +0000

By: Neil

Neil — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:32:10 +0000

Good article. What is considered prime land? Is food production down and/or is the quality being compromised due to this loss of potential and actual farm land? and is the urban crawl onto farmlands causing contamination? I’d like to learn more if someone out there has an honest answer. I don’t think that land development is a problem yet. . . . but it definitely seems to be looming on the horizon. I do think that we need to proceed cautiously with government regulations on residential/commercial expansion as a solution. At the same time, we can’t turn a blind eye to potential sources of damage to our agriculture. Tough balance. I, personally, would rather see a change in American culture rather than regulation by the government. The former is a lot harder change to make happen. . . don’t have any good ideas off the top of my head.

By: Neil

Neil — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:32:00 +0000