review and analysis of of the benefits, purposes and motivations associated with community gardens in the united states

ByEcosystems United

“The varied purposes and benefits of community gardening make it an ideal interventional strategy for community-based practitioners because myriad goals may be addressed through this approach.” Community gardening emerged in the United States in the 1890s as, “a means to address urban congestion caused by immigration, economic instability and environmental degradation”. Immigrants, children and the…

bringing good food to others: investigating the subjects of alternative food practices

ByEcosystems United

“Watsonville is a largely Latino community, where many farm workers live – and several students […] have gone there with the intention of teaching Latino youth how to grow food, apparently with nary a trace of irony shown.” Julie Guthman, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz in the Department of Community…

book review: everything i want to do is illegal by joel salatin

ByEcosystems United

Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal is a satirical, yet very serious first-hand account of how government regulations affect small-scale farmers. The author, Joel Salatin, full-time ecological farmer, part-time public speaker and educational leader, details various encounters he and those like him have had with the food police, politicians, industrial farmers, customers, regulating agencies,…

a history of the development of the food pyramid and dietary guidelines in the United States

ByEcosystems United

Throughout the 20th century, the food mantra of the United States changed from ‘eat more’  to ‘eat less’. The ‘eat more’ mentality (1890s-1960s) was in response to widespread disease caused by nutritional deficiencies and the eat less (1960s- present) is in response to the dramatic increase in chronic disease brought about by unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles….

horticulture

horticulture

ByEcosystems United

WHAT IS HORTICULTURE? Horticulture is a $17 billion [USD] industry that produces more than 2.4 billion tons of goods annually. It provides employment and income [something particularly beneficial to women in developing countries], as well as aesthetic, sociological, and psychological benefits.  Civilization is dependent on the products produced by horticultural endeavors for the food that…