YOUR LIFE Fresh Eggs People who raise their own chickens enjoy fresh eggs and the company of their birds Chickens are relatively inexpensive and easy to care for They need food water a clean chicken coop a small amount of outdoor space and protection from predators Do you think you’d like to take on the challenge of caring for chickens Before you start make sure to check your city’s regulations 6 located in the countryside It is in the middle of a bustling city She is an urban farmer What Is Urban Farming Urban farming is the practice of raising food inside a city’s limits It is not a new idea Urban farming has been around for thousands of years Archaeologists discovered evidence that ancient Maya people practiced urban farming more than 2,000 years ago They farmed crops inside their cities Ancient Romans who had small herb gardens in their villas were urban farmers too In the past few decades however urban farming has become increasingly
popular Many people see it as a way to grow fresh healthy food Urban farms can range in size from very small to quite large Some provide only enough food to supplement a family’s groceries A family might keep a container garden on their apartment balcony This is a very small-scale type of urban farming Other urban farms are so big they produce enough food to be sold at local markets Food Deserts In some urban areas it is difficult to buy fresh produce There may be only a few grocery stores or the stores that exist may sell only very small amounts of fruits and vegetables These urban areas are called food deserts Cities such as New Orleans Louisiana and Chicago Illinois have some of the worst food deserts in the United States People who live in food deserts often suffer health problems such as obesity or diabetes Some cities are tackling the problem of food deserts with urban farms Schools churches and 7
15 85 Urban areas Rural areas Where Is Food Raised around the World This pie chart shows where most of the world’s food is raised Some countries grow nearly all of their food in cities Other countries such as the United States grow most of their food in rural areas Ask an adult to help you research online some of the urban farming techniques used in places such as Singapore London and Paris volunteer organizations work together to grow fresh food in urban environments They sell the fruits and vegetables locally Nearby residents can purchase and eat these fresh healthy food choices While most farms are found in rural areas urban farming is becoming more popular each year Urban farmers can enjoy the process of growing their own food and the good health that comes from eating it 8
STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE In war-torn Syria urban farms are helping residents feed one another In this excerpt from an article in Al-Monitor a young man named Suleiman talks about how he turned to urban farming to provide food for his hometown if it was ever attacked My friend and I were wondering what we could possibly do if Aleppo was besieged We got the idea of building large farms that cater to the people’s animal-product needs But nobody adopted the project so we reduced its scale and I found that my deserted house would be the perfect place for it I plant vegetables so that we can have food to face hunger My family is poor and my father is crippled as he was wounded in the shelling This garden will get us through the tough times but I do not know if it will be enough in case we find ourselves under siege Source Mohammed Al-Khatieb Besieged Aleppo Residents Turn to Farming Al-Monitor Al-Monitor December 11 2014 Web Accessed February 4 2015 Point of View After reading this excerpt consider how Suleiman’s point of view is different from that of this book’s author How does Suleiman describe the purpose of his urban farm Is it different or similar to the way the author describes urban farms in Chapter One How does Suleiman’s perspective change the way you think about urban farms 9
