It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a...farm?

For the first time ever in history, there are more people on earth living in urban areas than rural. Translation: we're living (just enough) for the city! But seriously, this means a shift in how our world is working. It's not a recent phenomenon that we no longer live on the land from which we harvest our food, but now, we're not even living on the land at all. We're living in cities, in skyscrapers, buying our produce from a display and never thinking twice about who's growing our grapes or raising our beef.

Now for some number crunching: There are over 300 million people living in the United States, all of which need to eat in order to survive (shocking, I know). Nationwide, there are currently 210,000 full-time farmers. That's 1 farmer for every 1,429 people. And considering the majority of farms fall between 1 and 99 acres, that doesn't leave much room for expansion, especially following the trend of our growth in population that undoubtedly will need to be housed and attended to. The trick, then, must be a restructuring of our conventional idea of a farm, where instead of building out, we build up.
Urban agriculture is a concept only recently invading the headlines and spurring up conversation between economists, engineers, city planners, architects, and farmers alike. And what a conversation has resulted! Suddenly, we have a means of educating the public about where their food comes from, the space to allot community gardens and gathering places, and a system of efficiently and effectively investing our money back into our own local economies. These designs for rooftop and skyscraper farms are far from unsightly, too...check out this design by acclaimed architect Pierre Sartoux:



Think about it. If so many of us desire the glamorous life of the city and the country is in dire need of a refocus on farming, why not combine the two? By supporting urban agriculture initiatives, we are supporting our own self-reliancy by creating jobs, creating informed and knowledgeable citizens, and creating revenue that goes right back into our own soil (pun totally intended)!

In the same way our farmers nourish the seeds they plant, however, we must continue to explore the ideas of "sky squash" and "above-ground gardens." One fabulous way to do so is by buying locally and getting to know the area farmers so as to foster the relationships that will build this idea from the ground up. Only then are we able to see these ideas come to true fruition and only then will we reap those super-delicious-and-nutritious benefits.

And hey, I don't think anyone would mind if one day Jack started climbing a beanstalk that sprouted right out of the Sears Tower. :)

Agvocacy: advocacy in the fields

When the typical suburban/urbanite hears "farm," picturesque visions of tractors and bales of hay under a dandelion sun play across the screen, complete with perfect black and white-patterned cows munching grass, muddy pigs sitting behind white picket fences, and a head farmer in overalls and a straw hat. But Facebook? Not exactly the first though that comes to mind. But believe it or not, farmers are jumping on the latest trend in communication and tweeting about their tractors and YouTube-ing farm tours.

This new form of agriculture advocacy, dubbed "agvocacy" (or "agucation" when it comes to the educational aspect), has sparked more than just a trend in the world of farming and cultivation -- it's sparked the national conversation that the field has been desperately attempting to start for so long! How often do we know the source of our food, let alone the work our area farmers have put into that very food? When have we been able to sneak a peek at the routine of the workers of the land; the four or five am wake-up calls, the prayers to the weather gods, the Sundays and holidays that demand work over play?

By equipping farmers with the skills to use technology most effectively, we're opening doors for ourselves and our communities. When Farmer Bob's corn is at its prime, your Twitter feed will remind you to pick up a few ears. When you're low on ideas for dinner, you can register online for your area CSA and discover a world of produce fresher than you'd ever imagined. Even when you're simply curious about the where your cage-free egg came from, a simple click can transport you to the family farm in the form of a Facebook video. When we are able to make connections between our food and our farmers, we take on more responsibility for our actions and our power as buyers. We begin to trust the people behind the produce, then build a relationship based on that trust and fuel that relationship with our dollars, votes, and voices. This pools money into our local economy, boosting the need for the farms of our community to grow, leading to more jobs, more resources...and more yummy product!

While the average American is two generations removed from the farm, social networking can again reconnect the public with the plow. Who knew that being an agricultural activist would eventually only require a click?

P.S. A prime example of the effect technology is taking on farming, check out Local Harvest, a search database that can help your find the farmers market near you!