4 ms·
I grew up in suburban America, and live within a major metropolitan area. I have had lawns. Over the years with what I have learned, I came to the conclusion th
by hosh 4y ago
I grew up in suburban America, and live within a major metropolitan area. I have had lawns. Over the years with what I have learned, I came to the conclusion that lawns as they are generally developed are a big waste, and there are better ways to achieve what I can get out of a lawn.
And yes, avacados use up a lot of water, as do nuts. Our food system is built on top of shipping food far away to where it is consumed rather than growing locally. And yes, growing locally means giving up some things, being more attuned to seasonality, and growing and consuming alternate varieties and foods with equivalent nutrition.
It sounds absurd to say, get rid of all the avacados, but to me, it is absurd we are cloning avacados and wrecking a lot of ecologies in order to ship them far away to people. And I like avacados and giving them up has an effect on me.
- Scoundreller 4y agoShipping food from where water is to where it isn't is fine. Dunno why farmers here sell undried, oh sorry, "fresh" corn for a premium when it saves them drying + storage costs.
- hosh 4y agoShipped food are bred for monocropping and transport. Tomatoes in grocery stores, for example, are chosen for its uniform shape and ability to be stored and transported. They are not bread for taste or nutritional value. That is also leaving aside having to depend on the global supply chain and cheap transport for food. Which is more costly and fragile than developing local food sources and food sovereignty.
- Scoundreller 4y agoStill depends on the food. Even local tomatoes and other “fresh” crops will be the same mono-cropping garbage unless you hunt down niche stuff at a farmer’s market (or in my case, grow your own!)
- hosh 4y agoYes, the most local food are the ones that are grown at home. When you add seed-saving, there is an opportunity to breed landraces specific to your environment, taste, and nutritional density. No transport on refrigerated trucks needed. Onsite compost complements the whole setup. Then you add greywater for the perennial food forest.
- feet 4y agoGrowing avocados where your lawn used to be would be a good change. At least you can eat those, it isn't just a decoration
- hosh 4y agoNot necessarily avocados, however, cultivating a perennial food forest in the yard or on municipal land is a thing. Even growing ornamental native grasses or meadows instead of fescue help the native ecology.