 Austin company GoFarm! offers the know-how for homeowners to grow healthy, delicious produce in their own yard.
A frantic pace is the defining factor in many people’s lives in the city, and because of this, it can be difficult for health-conscious individuals to always make safe and healthy nutrition choices. Few people have time to scan the labels of every food product they use to ensure that the ingredients are natural, and with Monsanto terminator seeds being marketed to farmers around the world, untested genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) entering the food supply on a regular basis, and in light of publicized food contamination scares in the last years, it is now clear that the safety of our food is in question.
A compromised (and essentially vestigial) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) remains officially in charge to keep watch over corporate-run agribusinesses’ potentially dangerous GMO innovations that can threaten the American consumers’ health. But in light of the agency’s many pro-agribusiness decisions over the years, for some observers, the FDA now seems more like a rubber stamp for these corporate interests, than any kind of real watchdog for Americans.
What to do in times like these? Learning how to grow your own food is one change that would help to alleviate these concerns, as it puts the control of food production into your hands.
Although some may assume that the prospect of growing your own food is unrealistic, or too daunting for the average person “on-the-go,” with the services of the Austin company GoFarm!, this doesn’t have to be the case.
What exactly is GoFarm!? It’s a partnership between Natalie Yoder and Jessica Ellison, two entrepreneurs who hope to foster a culture willing (and able) to embrace the practice of decentralized urban farming, where individuals in a community (not some faceless agribusiness) are in control of their own food.
Jessica explains that, “In the last 50 years we’ve completely disconnected ourselves from our food source -- we let the food lobbyists tell us we could live better through chemistry.” An ultimate ambition of GoFarm! is to rebuild a community centered around sustainable farming. Jessica summed it up, saying, “We really believe in feeding people and building a community.”
GoFarm! can install a “personalized” vegetable garden in your backyard, taking into account the size of your family, which vegetables you prefer, and the condition of your property. Before a single seed is planted, your soil is tested to ensure that toxins and heavy metals aren't present, as they could contaminate your produce. Then your garden is designed applying permaculture techniques, organic growing practices, and an irrigation system using automatic timers.
Once your garden is in place, depending on the services you require, GoFarm! can perform weekly maintenance, which includes organic fertilizing, composting, weeding, and harvesting vegetables you have chosen. GoFarm!’s founders also see their services as an avenue for education as well, spreading their knowledge to those who want to learn how to properly nurture and maintain their own garden. According to Natalie, having the opportunity to immerse yourself in the art of gardening at your own pace, “could encourage people to start growing their own food and to make that same connection … their children could be raised with gardens in their back yard … it's so exciting and so motivating for us.”
GoFarm! makes it possible for a busy urbanite to have food grown in their own backyard. This move is not only practical, but it eliminates consumers’ loss of control over what they eat, a situation inherent with centralized farming.
Find out more about urban gardening services offered by GoFarm! @
www.go-farm.com
Carlisle Rice is a citizen journalist based in Austin, Texas.
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