Food and Sustainable Prosperity

by Brenna Spurgeon

Brian Steele credits the tractor as being an invention that “brought the greatest change to the American urban landscape.” With the industrialization of agriculture, modern society could flourish in cities nearly completely removed from area farms.

In Steele’s article, “Beyond the Backyard Garden: Urban Agriculture in Milwaukee”, he talks about the movement to bring farming back to an urban setting by setting up a myriad of small producers throughout the city.

Currently, there are two farm endeavors within the city of Milwaukee: Growing Power and Walnut Way Conservation Corp. The 10-acre Growing Power is “the only farm in the city of Milwaukee that is zoned for agricultural use.” Nearly 400 baskets of produce grown at the “Community Food Center” are distributed at low cost to low income citizens of the city, and the Center provides workshops to teach people how to grow their own.

The other urban growing center, Walnut Way Conservation Corp, operates on a much smaller scale, along the lines of multiple producers throughout the community. Vacant property has been leased from the city and transformed into gardens, while local youths are being taught how to prepare the fresh produce.

Both organizations have sustainability of the city in mind, but pose the greater question of whether “we will be willing to sacrifice the ease of the supermarket for healthier food grown inexpensively in our backyards.”