Can we live off of our Backyard Gardens?

Sustainable farming is our only future.

It’s no secret that farm land is dwindling down due to urban sprawl, solar and wind energy, as well as other mining projects. Arable farm land is decreasing by 2,000 acres a day according to American Farmland Trust. Hence, the many comments from people on social media suggesting backyard gardens to keep up with their own food supply because of the land shrinkage and other government conspiracies.

While growing backyard gardens for your own food supply is a wonderful idea, it will not supply what you need for the rest of your lives, or even weeks.

When most people think of a “farmer” they think of them growing vegetables that we see in the grocery stores. The truth is, most all of the farmers in my area and probably yours, grow more than that. Yes they grow all that corn you see for miles, the wheat you see waving in the wind, the beautiful cotton you want to take family photos in, but those commodities are so much more than a corn cob on your dinner plate or a loaf of bread.

The many uses of Corn.

Corn is such a diverse byproduct of so many items we use every day. Most everyone knows that corn is used in fuel, but did you also know that corn is used for your spark plugs, tires, and batteries? We (most) all drive a vehicle everyday, what if we didn’t have corn to help produce those products?!

What about when we get ready for the day? Corn is used in toothpaste, cosmetics, shampoo, and our hand-soap to name a few. For breakfast we have the common cereals, but there is also yogurt, baby food, fruit drinks and so much more!

Where would we be without the paper products, the medicine and antibiotics we need, or the insulation in our homes and businesses, the tile for our ceilings, and the paint we choose for our home?

YES, all these things are made with corn! and this!

Wheat is high in vitamins and minerals.

Wheat is probably not something you would grow in your backyard garden, but it plays a large role in our everyday diets, for most.

Without wheat in your self sufficient backyard garden, you’ll live without bread, pasta, flour, beer, cereals, soup, sauces, pancakes, pizza dough, and all of those other delicious foods we love and can grab at the click of a button now.

Besides culinary uses, wheat starch is also used in paper, the gluten is used in pharmaceuticals to make the capsules, and the adhesives on your band-aids is created from wheat starch! Since wheat is high in vitamins, it’s also commonly used in soaps and creams.

Cotton is probably another plant you won’t have growing in that suburb garden. Most people don’t have a way to gin their own cotton in their backyard to make sheets, blankets, clothes, towels and even cash money!

We need land and cotton to make money, literally!

Cotton, like all the other commodities are used in so many everyday items. It’s also used in paper, cooking oil, animal feed, coffee filters, rubbers and plastics.

Cotton really is “the fabric of our lives”.

NO FARMS NO FOOD

I could really go on and on about all the uses of our American farm land, but I think you may get the point by now. We need our farmers, and we need our land. The only way to save the farms is to quit letting greed and selfishness take over.

Yes I am fully aware that people can do what they want with their land, and some of the companies are offering life changing contracts, but think about the future. What is it going to look like in your area when it’s solid buildings, concrete, and 10 acre ranchettes that used to be 100’s of acres of arable land? What will our children have to endure because “we” decided to sell our land for a temporary gain?

Will the United States be hungry and have to survive by only imported goods?

Who knows what our future holds, but it’s a worry I have for my family and future generations.