can organic kitchen gardening avert an urban food tragedy?
Post on 21-Apr-2017
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Can Kitchen Gardening
help avert an Urban Food Tragedy?
Presented by Karan Manral and Yogita Mehra
Every story has a beginning.
This one began when we stopped believing
the urban myth of “good food”
Any Evidence?• Just ask grandma…she’s always complaining about
the ingredients.• Why do mangoes and other
fruits nowadays seem so tasteless?
• What’s all this about the about pesticides inside our
food.• Why despite our increasing
education about nutrition, are we seeing more food
related diseases?
All good research should begin with asking the right
question.• Why does food quality
suck?• Does food quality really
suck?• Does food quality suck
everywhere?• What is food quality?
The urban consumer?• By and large, in urban situations (in
our generation), no one really seems to know.
• Less and less people cook themselves, and most are eating
out, or using food “products”
• As more people buy in “supermarkets” instead of
“markets”, there seem to be less opportunities for comparison
BUT,Food is now our
blind spot
URBAN QUALITY?
ALL URBAN FOLKS WANT
TO KNOW ABOUT FOOD
TRUTH IS…WE ARE LARGELY
IGNORANT OR UNCONCERNED ABOUT FOOD QUALITY, AND
AREN’T DEMANDING IT
FROM PROVIDERS.
We don’t have a clue about natural ingredients and almost no one can even understand the artificial ones…
What quality of food is currently
available to us??
NO ADULTERATION:
C-GREAT FLAVOUR:
CGREAT FRESHNESS:
D
Great VARIETY:
B
Great AMBIENCE:
A+ Great HEALTH:
C
Great CONVENIENCE:
A
The Consensus:There isn’t much that we can do
about it. The problem is
universal…
MYTH NO 1.The Food Quality Problem is
UniversalNOPE, ITS LARGELY AN URBAN PROBLEM. FOLKS
IN VILLAGES GET MUCH BETTER QUALITY.
MYTH NO 2.The Problem is the market
UMMM…THE MARKET USUALLY PROVIDES WHAT WE ASK FOR, UNLESS WE LET IT DECIDE FOR US.
MYTH NO 2.We can’t do anything about
it…WRONG AGAIN. SOME IDEAS FOLLOW…
The Farmers
The Traders
US
The Retailers
The Supermarkets
Restaurants
The Status Quo: What’s happening now?
Waste?
Freshness lost?
More costs?
Quantityabove quality?
Freshness?
Greater convenien
ce
Varieties with great taste?
Lower prices?
Making things
available out of season
Health?
RE-THINK:
WHAT DO WE WANT FROM OUR FOOD?
ISN’T THIS A
FUNDAMENTAL
CONFLICT WITH THE
EXISTING MARKETS?
MAYBEFOOD
QUALITY IS…
LOCAL(Fresh)
ORGANIC
(Health)
MUCH MORE
VARIETIES(Stimulati
ng)
REAL/SLOW FOOD
(Retain nutrition) NATURALL
Y RIPENEDTaste and health)
How can we change the
quality of our food? Can we?
NO ADULTERATION: Buy from a trusted source – who could
this be?
GREAT FLAVOUR: Buy from a discerning grower, where can we
find them?
GREAT FRESHNESS: Buy from a source
close by so freshness is a given.
Great VARIETY: Demand quality from your food
vendor so he goes out to seek it
Great AMBIENCE: This is possibly the easiest to achieve, in urban settings
Great HEALTH: Stick to seasonal,
organic food producers so pesticides are
eliminated
Organic City farms in Cuba
Farmers Markets in France and US?
NYC Rooftop farms
© Brooklyn-Grange
MOST COMMON QUESTIONWhy is organic food so EXPENSIVE?
Needs a separate supply chain
Certification is Expensive
Its Supply vs Demand
FACT:Its NOT more expensive to grow organic (except at industrial scale)
FRESH AND NON PERISHABLE
Photos by American photojournalist Peter Menzel
OPTION NO 1: Scour the MarketDevelop a relationship with “your vendor”
US Farmers who are
producing what we
want
Quality sensitive veggie
vendor at the
“markets”
The Traders or Wholesalers
DEAD ENDNot geared for freshness and organic – it’s a market of scale primarily
OPTION NO 2: Buy from the organic storeLook to organic specialists for a solution
USOrganic farmers
who produce what we
want
Organic Store that retails only
organic produce
FACT:Certified organic produce is expensive, mostly non-perishable and can we trust it?
OPTION NO 3: Befriend the Farmers GroupConvince farmers to provide you with produce
US Farmers who are
producing what we
want
Farmers groups or
NGO’s who link many farmers
FACT:There is unfamiliarity and communication of needs is complicated
Small “farmers”
within 100 km
US
OPTION NO 4: The Food TriangleConnect with Small Growers you Trust
Small urban in-city farms
and gardensQuality over
Quantity
Outsourcing your food needs
How about growing your own food?
Possible?(Yes, if you look at it as a
fundamental and necessary skill)
Organic Kitchen Gardens
© The Hindu
Cabbage
Brinjal
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Chinese Cabbage
Red Radish
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Spring Onions
Zucchini
But what can YOU do to fix it for yourself..?
(collaborate – if we lead the market will
follow)
The Farmers
The TradersUS
The Retailers
The Supermarkets
Restaurants
Join hands with
Kitchen Gardener
s
CHANGING THE MODEL: Creating an Alternative Food Network (AFN)
Form Organic
Consumer Groups
Better Taste!
Better Health!
It’s already happening in
India (and in your countries)
…NOW
© Uma Hoysala
© Uma Hoysala
© Abdul Nassar
© Windowfarms TM
Perhaps you can play a role too…?
bon appétit(enjoy your food)
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