This article was previously published on July 6, 2019 and has been updated with new information.
Ever wanted to grow your own food but didn’t know where to start? Access to fresh, healthy food is a human right, and one of the best ways to exercise that right is to grow your own food. You don’t have to be a farmer or have a background in agriculture. You don’t even have to own your own land.
The industrialization of our chemically dependent food system has caused problems that are almost insurmountable, including soil degradation, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, deterioration in health. community and climate change. But food production doesn’t have to be globalized, industrialized, or even monetized.
That’s the message that environmentalist and humanitarian Rob Greenfield wants to convey in a new project in which he aims to grow and earn 100% of his own food in a year. This challenge is featured in the two-part film produced by Peter Kanaris of GreenDreamsFL titled “Growing and Earning 100% of My Food WITHOUT MY LAND: A 1-Year Challenge with Rob Greenfield.”
The film, set in Orlando, Florida, shows Greenfield 138 days into his yearlong project of farming and getting all his own food, and some of his own medicine, too. . The best part? Greenfield does not own any land. He’s growing food in six privately owned lots and several other spots that total less than 4,000 square feet.
Greenfield also did not go to school for horticulture. And, he doesn’t have any experience in the field of agriculture. He has a certificate in aquaculture, but says it never taught him how to actually grow anything. For example, he has to figure out how much sun it takes to grow carrots, how much water does kale need, and what time of year is best to grow certain crops.
Grow and earn 100% of your own food
Despite his inexperience, he has learned to successfully grow a variety of foods and herbs including green onions, carrots, beets, celery, spinach, kale, cabbage, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro and dill. Notably, in less than a year (about 10 months), Greenfield was able to grow 100% of its own food.
But it gets better. He’s growing so much food that his project is like a community garden where locals can sample fresh, locally grown produce and get inspired to try growing it. some kind of their own.
“At least that’s my hope,” Greenfield said in the film. “I took on the challenge not only to feed myself, but to inspire others to try and do the same. That means growing your first tomato plant, starting a new one. herb garden on your apartment balcony or turn your front yard or backyard into a… in the garden. Growing our own food is something we can all do.”
In an effort to save water, Greenfield uses a drip irrigation system that delivers water directly to plant roots. The drip irrigation system is one of the most efficient watering systems, as it can reduce water use by 30% to 70%. Greenfield says he can grow food without a drip irrigation system, but with all the different gardens he’s growing, that adds up to 10 hours of labor per week out of the 40 to 60 hours he spends. He spent taking care of his garden.
In addition to its gardens, Greenfield has also helped plant more than 200 community fruit trees in Orlando, including cherry, peach, mulberry, avocado, and loquat trees. The trees are marked with a sign that reads: “I am a community fruit tree. Please enjoy my fruit”. Community trees act as a reminder that food may be available outside of the grocery store.
‘Food is a portal to make people rethink things’
The film shows Greenfield munching on fresh mulberries from one of the community fruit trees he helped grow. “Food is a gateway to helping people rethink things,” says Greenfield.
“The idea is to try and get the food that is grown freely all around us. A lot of people when they see free-grown food, for the first time, are nutritious and delicious, and they realize that it’s not necessarily the best. must come from the grocery store, it could be a revolutionary moment.
I am extremely passionate about growing food. But the same passion inspires people not only to grow their own food, but to see the world in a different way, to begin to see the world as something to work with, instead of against. , in every aspect of life. : our food, our water, our energy, our waste and our transportation.
Just every way we deal with the Earth. I think food is one of the most important portals because we eat food three times a day, and some of us, more like 10 times a day. It’s our connection to our community. That is our pleasure. That is our social life. For so many of us, we eat to live and we live to eat. So if you can get people to really think about their food, I think you can get people to think about their whole lives. ”
There is no doubt that Greenfield is an inspiration to all of us. He is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to raising awareness of some of the most pressing social and environmental issues of our time, including food waste, plastic pollution, climate change, familism and homelessness, just to name a few.first
‘Live simply and you will live freely’
With over half a million “likes” on Facebook and close to 100,000 YouTube subscribers (some of his videos have millions of views), Greenfield has captured the attention of audiences around the world.
The motto “Simply live and you will live freely” summarizes his belief that happiness does not come from money and possessions, but from the meaningful relationships we make with others. others, while appreciating and respecting the planet’s natural resources and the life that exists within it.
Greenfield isn’t just passionate about growing her own food and showing others they can too. He also works to create awareness about food waste and food insecurity.
Americans discard an estimated 34 million tons of food each year — that’s like throwing a quarter of your groceries in the trash. The problem of food waste is not limited to American home kitchens but also occurs in restaurants, grocery stores, and on farms.
Through his campaign “The Food Waste Fiasco,”2 Greenfield created awareness about food waste by diving into thousands of trash cans to show how nearly half of all food in the US is wasted.3
In one of his videos, “Dumpster Diving for Food with Rob Greenfield,” he showed how he can fill an empty pantry and fridge with over $1,000 of absolutely delicious food. after only 5 hours of diving.4 “That’s $200 an hour in food,” he said.
Greenfield is also a big proponent of showing that people are good. In an attempt to illustrate this, he bravely traveled to Rio, Brazil, with money that did not bear his name. He was able to travel 7,000 miles to Panama, relying on nothing but the kindness of others, who kindly provided him with food, shelter, and transportation.
He even used other people’s cell phones to record footage, some of which were used in a six-episode series called “Free Ride” that aired on the Discovery Channel. To learn more about Greenfield and his adventures, check out his website, RobGreenfield.TV.5
