Why you should grow your own food

Why you should grow your own food.

One of the reasons for growing vegetables and/or is that food prices are rising dramatically; in fact in 2010 we have already seen some significant price rises and food shortages. Here in S.E.Queensland I have seen the price of onions rise from $20 per 20 kilogram bag to $80. Partly this is the result of a very wet season, which can be explained by climate change extremes which aren’t going to settle down any time soon. Organically grown carrots were unobtainable in this region for nearly six months. We are now being paid wholesale prices of $9 per kilogram for organically grown beans. Last year we received just $5. This is an 80% increase in just 12 months. What other investments have risen that fast?
The world population is already 6.5 billion and is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050. There is a finite amount of land and water and already many people are dying of starvation and more have little water; the situation can only get worse.
All agriculture depends on oil but conventional agriculture depends to a massive extent on huge quantities of oil and gas for transport, harvesting, cultivation, fertilizers and herbicides and pesticides. As oil reserves decline, prices of oil will rise further and faster. If you need to be persuaded that Peak Oil is a reality, there is one set of statistics that is totally convincing. In the 1960’s the world consumed 4 billion barrels of oil per year and the average rate of discovery annually, was around 30 billion barrels. Now, we consume 30 billion barrels of oil per year and the discovery rate is approaching 4 billion barrels of crude per year. Oil reserves are diminishing but developing countries like China & India are using more and more oil and gas and most westernized countries are still addicted to oil. This guarantees that the oil price will rise and that there will soon be shortages of oil & gas. Food prices will rise even more steeply than they have already as this happens. As oil prices rise farmers have no choice but to start switching to organic farming methods that use less oil. Many do not know how to do this and the degradation of soil that has occurred with chemical farming practices will make it impossible to do within a short time frame.

I believe everyone should grow some of their own food: because
*this activity connects you to nature
*makes you healthier through working outdoors with fresh air, sunshine & exercise
*contributes greatly to making a life worth living
* you can make a living growing in a small space
For more information go to http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/ .