Urban Legends: Become an Urban Farmer
I know what you are thinking. A farmer? Is this really a great career move? In a word, yes. I’m not talking about moving to Indiana and driving a tractor for the rest of your life, though. I’m talking about becoming an elite urban farmer, creating a technology and science driven enterprise that uses run-down urban properties and advanced hydroponic systems. Then add a Ph.D. in botany — the scientific study of plants, including their physiology, structure, genetics, ecology, distribution, classification, and economic importance. I’m talking about creating a future-proof career, a sustainable future and a great business.
Urban farming is farming in an urban setting. Why would anyone do such a thing? Simply put, urban farming alleviates many of the problems caused by conventional agriculture. Food produced today is less nutritious, has more chemicals and is genetically altered for shelf life – not taste or nutrition. Would you like some Dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) in your salad? Neither would we. A distinct advantage of urban farms is that they give you control over a city’s food supply. Urban farms have the freedom to grow heirloom varieties that greatly surpass store-bought produce in both taste and nutrition.
The population of the entire Baltimore-Washington Metroplex as of 2007 is 8,241,912. If each person comsumes an average of two lbs of food per day, and no food is produced within the city, then over 16 million pounds of food must be trucked or flown into our region each and every day. The amount of carbon emissions associated with this are staggering. Billions of tons of carbon emissions are emitted during the production and transportation of food. The average vegetable travels 1,434 miles before reaching our plates. With urban farming, food is produced where it will be consumed, greatly reducing the embodied carbon footprint of vegetable produce.