by Mike Lieberman of urbanorganicgardener.com

If you step back and think about it, the main reason that you should grow your own food is simple. It’s because we are humans. Growing food is what we do (and have done for thousands of years) and essential to our existence.

Food is community
As a society, we have completely lost our connection with our food. Civilizations were built upon being able to grow food and the community that went into it from planting, taking care of to harvesting, preparing and sharing it.

We’re so far removed from everything related to our food that we have skipped right to the eating part. Food goes far beyond sitting down at a table eating the meal. Nearly all of the responsibilities pertaining to getting the food on our tables lie with people we don’t even know.

Who is responsible for our food?
We are in the dark as to where our food comes from and how it made its way to our plates. I wonder who are these people responsible for my food and do they have my best interest in mind? This is why I have started to grow my own food.

We are fortunate to live in a time where we don’t have to solely rely on growing our own, so if a plant gets infested with insects or dies, we can just go to the store. In growing my own, I now understand what it takes to grow food and appreciate it much more.

This is reason enough for me as to why we should grow our own food. It’s why I started my fire escape garden in NYC and now have my balcony garden in LA.

Grow one herb or vegetable
You don’t have to have a huge garden with tons of plants. Grow just one herb or vegetable and it will make a difference.

It will help the planet by reducing your carbon footprint because on average food travels 1500 miles from farm to plate.

Growing your own will also open your eyes to what it takes to take care of, cultivate and grow food. That will bring you closer to it and allow you to appreciate it even more when you finally get to eat it.

These are all reasons why I started to grow my own food and why I believe that you should as well.

Now start growing your own food. What are you waiting for?

Mike Lieberman started urban gardening and growing some of his own food in May 2009 on his fire escape in NYC. He inspires others to start growing their own food on his blog Urban Organic Gardener. Lieberman believes that growing just one herb or vegetable will make a difference. It will help to cut back the intensive resources that go into the production and transport of food to our plates. It will also help us to re-establish our connection with food that we’ve lost over the past few years. We are humans. We grow food. For more information on Lieberman, please visit CanarsieBK.com.