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The Yardfarmer Response to Farming for a Small Planet<br>
<br>
The world as a whole absolutely needs to make the shift to an organic, agro=
ecological way of farming, and this transition will indeed address the issu=
es presented in Farming for a Small Planet, including: inadequate nutrition=
, climate change impacts, concentration of social power, profit driven prod=
uction, and the lack of a sustainable, closed loop system in our current mo=
de of industrial agriculture. An important area of the paper that could pot=
entially be expanded upon is the method by which to implement the switch to=
 widespread organic agriculture.<br>
<br>
Industrial agriculture concentrates social power and exacerbates problems o=
f food insecurity and poverty, whereas small-scale organic farming on an in=
dividual or community level can significantly distribute social power acros=
s communities all over the world. An approach like this is one we like to c=
all =E2=80=9Cyardfarming=E2=80=9D (a concept we=E2=80=99ve spent the last y=
ear advocating for through <a href=3D"http://www.Yardfarmers.us" rel=3D"nor=
eferrer" target=3D"_blank">www.Yardfarmers.us</a>).<br>
<br>
Yardfarming is the process of turning unsustainable, resource-intensive law=
ns and otherwise underutilized green spaces into small food production site=
s, or yardfarms. In this regard, individuals would be contributing to their=
 own sustenance with healthy, organic produce. When people grow their own f=
ood, they know exactly what does and does not go into the process. If they =
are educated in organic farming techniques, they will replace a portion of =
their diet with home-grown, sustainable, and healthy food. Yardfarming effe=
ctively changes the profit-driven motivation behind farming to an individua=
l and community level motivation focused on gaining access to nutritious fo=
od. This is especially important in areas where access to fresh produce is =
difficult to come by. This approach to agriculture could combat the existen=
ce of food deserts across the world.<br>
<br>
A yardfarming revolution (<a href=3D"http://yardfarmers.us/why-yardfarm/our=
-vision/" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">yardfarmers.us/why-yardfarm/=
our-vision/</a>) could drastically mitigate the effects of climate change. =
In America alone, there are 40 million acres of turf grass (<a href=3D"http=
://yardfarmers.us/why-yardfarm/" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">yardf=
armers.us/why-yardfarm/</a>) that could be converted into smallholder farms=
. The process of growing food right in one=E2=80=99s backyard removes many =
of the environmentally deleterious processes associated with our current in=
dustrial form of agriculture. Food would no longer have to be shipped thous=
ands of miles but merely dozens of feet. The vast amounts of fossil fuel-in=
tensive fertilizers that large monocropped farms need to function would be =
reduced when the demand for these crops declined as more families grew a po=
rtion of their own produce. The most environmentally degrading aspect of th=
e current system, animal agriculture, could be reduced due to increased con=
sumption of plant foods. With fresh fruits and vegetables readily accessibl=
e on a yardfarm, per capita meat consumption could potentially be<br>
decreased. Yardfarmers could also grow some of their own meat as part of th=
eir sustainable farms, thus reducing demand further.<br>
<br>
In addition to removing harmful effects and processes associated with indus=
trial agriculture, yardfarming would also start to slowly rebuild soils acr=
oss the world. Healthy soils have huge potential for carbon sequestration. =
With small-scale (but widespread) yardfarms practicing organic farming conc=
epts, soils would get healthier and be able to sequester more carbon with e=
ach passing growing season.<br>
<br>
Compost is an essential component of building healthier soils. When people =
have their own yardfarms to tend to, there is greater incentive to start a =
compost bin or even a composting initiative in their community. The excessi=
ve amount of organic material that ends up in landfills, especially in indu=
strial countries, would instead be put back into the earth. This effectivel=
y closes the current linear =E2=80=9Cfarm to table to trash to landfill=E2=
=80=9D path, and instead puts food waste back into the soil to create a hea=
lthier yardfarm for the next season.<br>
<br>
Yardfarming spreads social power and gets individuals involved and invested=
 in their own health and food production. It decreases and in some cases ca=
n reverse environmental degradation (for example not only by displacing ind=
ustrially-produced foods but by redirecting some labor from the consumer ec=
onomy (offering livelihoods in backyards rather than in cubicles).<br>
<br>
Yardfarming creates a healing, closed-loop system between us and the planet=
. It removes the motivation for profit and replaces it with a motivation fo=
r health and nutrition. Yardfarming addresses all of the problems created w=
ith an industrial agriculture system and provides an effective approach to =
organic agriculture, especially in overdeveloped countries like the United =
States. Our unsustainable, suburban sprawling, environmentally degrading wa=
ys could instead be a nourishing landscape of small-scale, organic yardfarm=
s=E2=80=94which in turn can offer local food security and resilience that w=
e=E2=80=99ll certainly need in the warming century ahead.<br>
<br>
Emily Helminen and Erik Assadourian<br>
<br>
(Advocates of yardfarming, particularly through the mobilization of America=
=E2=80=99s underemployed Millennials to move back into their parents=E2=80=
=99 underutilized suburban homes and convert their parents=E2=80=99 and nea=
rby lawns into yardfarms.)<br>
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<br>
February 29, 2016<br>
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