Hello Urban Intellectuals. I have missed you… Have you missed me? Anyways, I have another thought provoking blog for your digestion… Literally. In the past few months I have heard a lot about this whole “Urban Gardening” thing. It is a simple enough idea. “Grow your own food, and be healthier.” Is what they say. This sounds like a simple enough theory. However I don’t think that it is. I know I will get many doubters and haters for the next few comments you are about to read, but I do NOT feel that Urban Gardening is as safe and effective as environmentalists make it out to be.

In a way it is also a condescending view that many whites have and other members of the upper crust of society have on the plight of the less fortunate urban dweller.

Before you gather the lynch mob, and sharpen you pitchforks, hear me out. There are several factors that we need to explore. We need to consider, what food can be grown, safety of the food grown, cost effectiveness of gardening, what percentage of the urban diet is made of fruits and vegetables, and if the time and effort is worth the yield.

First let’s examine what can be grown in an urban garden. Unless you have access to a massive space, you will not be able to grow many fruits and veggies. The amounts of food that are consumed by the average human is equal to 4 times more than what the average Urban Garden can yield. Most urban gardens are the size of a small 3 by 3 foot porch. There are bigger ones in existence, however this is the norm. You can only plant certain things, and only so many of them for seed need room to grow their roots. Also many fruit and nut trees that are essential for daily health are far too large for these small spaces. There is a “dwarf” classification for these plants and the yields match the description. There is a reason that apple trees and peach trees, grape vines and cherry trees, grow in large farmland areas. That reason is the yield from the fruit that can be grown in small space is small so they need more space to grow more fruit. The same goes for the larger trees.

There is simply not enough urban area to grow enough of whatever is being grown to feed a family or multiple families. It gives a small reprieve from going to the produce store, but only a small one. The next thing that must be considered is the time and effort it takes to garden.

Most people who live in urban areas (especially the poorer ones) have citizens who work. Not only do they work, but they work many hours to afford bills, and other expenses such as children and the others that may depend on them for shelter and care. You cannot “grow” clothing, and even if you took the time to actually do so with growing cotton and using raw materials to make clothes, it would take away from other important tasks to where it would become a burden. Now that we have discussed how ridiculously time consuming as well as limited supply of food yield, ask yourself if it is worth it?

So maybe you are thinking “Well even a small portion of urban gardened food is better than the gmo pesticide riddled food farmers produce.” That again is honestly another misconception. Read this quote from www.epa.gov (this organization studies, regulates, and researches air pollutants in the air or the EPA) “Toxic air pollutants, also known as hazardous air pollutants, are those pollutants that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, or adverse environmental effects. EPA is working with state, local, and tribal governments to reduce air toxics releases of 187 pollutants to the environment. Examples of toxic air pollutants include benzene, which is found in gasoline; perchloroethylene, which is emitted from some dry cleaning facilities; and methylene chloride, which is used as a solvent and paint stripper by a number of industries. Examples of other listed air toxics include dioxin, asbestos, toluene, and metals such as cadmium, mercury, chromium, and lead compounds.”

These are common things found in the cities and urban areas where these gardens grow. It is a much different thing to simply wash off a pesticide that has been designed to only kill small bugs and keep away small animals from tampering with food than to purge these micro particle pollutants from the air and food they contaminate. At least in the country the existence of these chemicals is thousands of times lesser than in the city.

The EPA goes on to say “People exposed to toxic air pollutants at sufficient concentrations and durations may have an increased chance of getting cancer or experiencing other serious health effects. These health effects can include damage to the immune system, as well as neurological, reproductive (e.g., reduced fertility), developmental, respiratory and other health problems. In addition to exposure from breathing air toxics, some toxic air pollutants such as mercury can deposit onto soils or surface waters, where they are taken up by plants and ingested by animals and are eventually magnified up through the food chain. Like humans, animals may experience health problems if exposed to sufficient quantities of air toxics over time.”

Now, knowing that the plants that you grow and fruit that you harvest in these urban gardens contains all these things, even more so than its country counterparts, is it really safer? I would say no given the facts. Finally I would like to address the other problem with this culture.

For a long time whites and the upper crust of society have long time blamed blacks and other urban dwellers for the plights of their community, completely negating the fact that public education has been piss poor to be blunt, as well as a limited number of jobs for those in our communities. All of this contributes to the problem. If we simply had more access to money and a better education about the food we eat we would eat better, and lead healthier lives. The issue then becomes a matter of pointing the finger at us saying now that we are to blame for not eating well and that our poor eating habits and ways of life are to blame for disease, poverty, and sickness within our community. So… We are just going to forget the entire BS about college educations not being available to the disenfranchised, and we should simply let go the years of eating the diseased pork and rancid fruits and vegetables, and countless government plots to destroy us on a genetic level? Oh and that whole thing about street violence and shaming our cultures as a whole… Forget about it right?

Of course I’m being sarcastic, but you get the point. It honestly seems as if it is another way for those people to place the blame on us for not being proactive, instead of acknowledging the wrongs that still occur, and fixing the real problems. Do you see then “Urban Gardening”? No. You see them being able to afford better, safer food, and so should we be able to do the same. I am not even going to talk about the heightened scare of small predators coming for what you’ve grown such as rats, squirrels, roaches, ect… You would say that these creatures exist in the country as well and can be just as harmful… Not so. Yes they are there, but there are not so many in such a focused area. That particular fauna is not only trying to find food but are climbing over each other to get it, so they are slightly more aggressive about survival. The point of all this is that yes Urban Gardening sounds great. It seems like a fun activity… But is it safer than what is in the grocery store. Also is it cheaper considering the time and effort sacrifices? And are we playing into the hands of those who would place all blame for our society’s ills? Personally I think we could stand to eat better… But I also believe we have the right to have that better way of life without working like the slaves we once were. Okay UI what say you? Do your worst intellectuals, but as always comment intelligently… Go.