How urban farming may be key to reclaiming our food sovereignty (interview with greg peterson of urban farm u)
Greg Peterson is a green living and sustainability innovator, podcast host of The Urban Farm, and the Creator of the Urban Farm (@theurbanfarm), a real-world environmental showcase home in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona. Open periodically throughout the year to offer classes, lectures and tours, The Urban Farm features an entirely edible landscape and the extensive use of recycled and reclaimed materials.
On this podcast episode, Greg sheds light on how urban farming may be the answer to addressing the affordability and accessibility of healthy grown foods; why we should get inspired to grow some of our own foods, even if we have the convenience of being close to supermarkets; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Greg and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kaméa Chayne.
“The more urban farms that we can get growing food, the more decentralized the food system is and the stronger the food system will be.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological balance, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app to stay informed and updated on our latest episodes.
On the benefits and drawbacks of our centralized food system:
“We live in a culture with a "just-in-time" food system—this is what makes our current food system good and what makes it bad at the same time.
There's a documentary from about ten years ago that shows how [the food system] works.
It's pretty miraculous how efficient [our food system] is. The other side of that coin, though, is that if there's a breakdown in the system—something like a truckers’ strike or a power outage—it can significantly impact our food system."
On how urban farms can address our varied issues around food:
"I believe that urban farming is the solution to our global food problem.
Growing food very close to where we live is imperative—the more urban farms that we can get growing food, the more decentralized the system is, the stronger the system will be."
On the limitations of “sustainable” practices:
“I actually don't like the word ‘sustainable.’
I think it's done its job and we need to move on, because when we look at most sustainability practices that are shared out in the world, they don't solve the problem—they simply sustain the mess we've created a little bit longer.
That's one of the reasons I love permaculture—it looks at regenerative design and considers how we can create regenerative systems that recreate themselves as nature does.”
Final words of wisdom:
"Just do it.
Things happen because somebody says so. The people that I put on my team are people that take on projects and get them done.
The way we change the world and the way we get things done in the world is when someone stands up and says “I'm going to do that.”
So go out and do it—find a project, focus on it, and get it done."
