Everybody knows that food is produced on farms and while driving through the countryside everybody has seen the vegetables on the land, but have you ever imagined that those are usually not the products you buy in the supermarket. That the products you buy often are imported from the other side of the world?
The products that you see above: Milk, sugar, asparagus, cucumber, apple and pepper have travelled for about 35.000km to end up in your shopping cart.
One reason for this is that the products from Peru, Argentina or other countries are simply cheaper than the ones produced in the Netherlands or Europe. But that is not the only reason. The Netherlands is a crowded country and simply is not big enough to produce food for the entire population. Therefore people are becoming quite inventive.
Vertical gardens, roof gardens, community farming? Have you heard about these terms before? These are all new ways of farming and using spaces such as the roofs and sides of a building. You can even start farming on your own balcony.
Next to that instead of a playground in the neighborhood, you see more and more community gardens where the neighborhood grows its own vegetables.
All of this is becoming more of a trend. People are more aware of biological food, the impact it has on the environment to import these products.
So just a tip! Grow some tomatoes on your balcony and contribute to the scarcity of food! Not convinced yet? It will also save you money!