Save the Earth with Gardening

Posted by Katie Elzer-Peters
April 17th, 2009
Filed in Fruits, Veggies and Herbs
Tags: fruit, vegetables

Earth day isn’t until next week, but gardeners can still gear up to do their part to save the planet.  I’ll be writing several Earth Day posts between now and then, because, in my mind, Earth Day is still important-regardless of what others might say.  If we celebrate Valentine’s Day, we can certainly celebrate Earth day.

Origins of Earth Day

The original Earth Day celebration on April 22, 1970, was to encourage sustainability, and, more importantly, slowing of population growth.  Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson started the event as an environmental teach-in at colleges and universities.  Something that still resonates about the origins of Earth Day is the population problem-most specifically, pollution caused by overpopulation in industrialized countries and malnutrition caused by overpopulation in areas without good food production or distribution methods.  (And when I say “good” or “effective,” I mean, what works for that particular-not what works for Big Ag.  But, that’s a battle for another day.)

Gardeners can Help

One of the biggest problems with large-scale commercial food production is pollution.  Pollution of the air from the fuel used to transport food thousands of miles from where it is grown to where it is consumed.  Pollution of ground water, rivers, lakes and the ocean from runoff of synthetic fertilizers and de-stabilized soil from continual tilling without addition of organic matter.  If you grow some of your own food in your own yard, you can do a lot to save the planet.  The current food distribution system requires 10 calories of energy to delivery 1 calorie of food energy to the market for public consumption.  It can take up to 900 gallons of petroleum products to produce and ship enough food for a family of four for a year.  If you harvest lettuce, peas, cucumbers and other vegetables from your garden, you can help significantly reduce that figure.

Other Benefits of Growing your own Food

Besides saving the planet, by growing your own food organically, you can also save yourself.

• Approximately 79,000 children in the United States are victims of pesticide poisoning.  Grow your own food without pesticides, and you can ensure that your child is not one of those.
• Food harvested fresh from the garden contains more nutrients that food that has traveled thousands of miles from harvest to table.
• With food prices rising, shortages and a war on organic seeds being waged by Big Ag, growing your own food will help you afford to keep feeding your family nutritious fruits and vegetables.
• Saving your own seeds from open-pollinated varieties will ensure that you can sustain your own garden from year to year.
• Gardening is great exercise!  Everyone could stand to get a bit more exercise.
• By using organic methods, you will build up your soil, rather than deplete it.

So, Earth Day isn’t just for “Bright Green Environmentalists,” it’s for everyone.  Especially gardeners.