The right to grow your own food.

I was watching a documentary the other night about how the average Roman lived. In one of the segments Terry Jones talks about what an average Roman would eat. It seems that in Rome only the very wealthy would have a place to grow their own food. Towards the end of the Empire only a few people controlled all the land that was used to grow food. The average citizen would have to earn the money to eat or starve.

I am seeing this same trend here in Oklahoma. Where my family is from out in "wheat country", there is a movement to eliminate the family farm and get people off the land. The corporate aggrow business wants vast amounts of land with no houses or barns to get in the way of the automatic harvesters. The plan is to deliver the equipment to the field then use a satellite to steer the tractor or combine across the field to plant or harvest the crops. Since you eliminate the people from the process, the small towns that supported the family farms are vacated too. Terry Jones mentions the same thing happened in the Roman empire. As fewer people gained control of all the land, the farming communities disappeared.

But what about us folks here in the city. Do we have the right to take over vacant land and plant food on it? Or should we demand our government provide a place to grow our food. I have been observing a vacant lot for a few years now. I think I am going to start planting it. The lot has been vacant for over twenty years now and the owner lives in California and doesn't maintain it. I was thinking a few pepper and tomato plants and if they get mowed over than it will be no big deal.

But when you garden on no man's land things can go terribly wrong. One of our local community gardens is under the threat of the bulldozer everyday. The plot I helped secure for the garden is owned by a lady who died ten years ago, and there are numerous parties battling to get title to the land including the gardeners. Even when the city gives you permission to cultivate a garden on unused land things can change over night.

Here is a link to the documentary "The Garden". Part One. and Part Two. You have to click through some ads but the documentary is well worth it. For those of you who have slower Internet connections. Press play then pause the video and it will buffer so you can watch it without interruptions.

Sorry for such a long post. There are a lot of issues when it comes to food security. I personally think The City of Tulsa should provide Allotments to people to grow their own food. But at least we have gotten past the point of the city thinking community gardens are a bad thing.