By: Avery Wu
Post #2
June 22nd, 2022
Podcast: Talk Policy To Me - Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley
What is Urban Agriculture?
Urban agriculture is the cultivation, processing, and distribution of food in urban and suburban areas. It plays an important role in growing fresh, organic, and healthy food for families in need. Urban agriculture includes backyard and rooftop gardening, and vertical farming to name a few.
Why is it so important today?
Urban agriculture is emerging to be one of the most popular ways of farming in today's world. It is currently being practiced by over 800 million people worldwide. Farming has traditionally been associated with rural areas with acres of land. However, there has been a strong demand for more environmentally friendly and sustainable farming methods. With the help of technology, we have been able to successfully adapt to new farming techniques and methods that are better for the environment. Thus, urban agriculture emerged.
Fresh and healthy food can be grown in small to medium-sized plots of land in cities and neighborhoods without the use of expensive and heavy machinery. This creates jobs and helps eliminate food insecurity for the surrounding communities. Restaurants, food banks, and markets are able to buy cheaper and fresher produce rather than from big commercial companies. If run properly, these farms can provide the necessary food to communities while also looking out for our environment.
How does public policy play a role?
Food banks have seen a significant increase in demand for their services over the last two years. Sujatha Venkatraman an Associate Director of West Valley Community Services, a San Jose food bank, observed that "people are still coming to us for food. These were people who had jobs, who did not need our services in the past because their income was enough." Because of the increase in demand for food, food banks have struggled to provide enough healthy food.
According to Journalist Cameron Nielsen, "because of state and federal regulations, the food banks can't work directly with [commercial] farms because of food health and safety protocols." He hopes that in the future, local urban farms are able to work closely with food banks. I believe that changing food and health policies would be the first step in providing food for people who need it the most.
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