Any environmental issue you can connect to my 16 hours of service at a local food bank.

Introduction

Urban agriculture is important for Seattle as it provides local and affordable food, The increasing population growth of recent years has brought the issue of sustainability to the forefront. Urban agriculture is one way to significantly impact not only people's lives, but also environmental sustainability. Since urban agriculture is most often an informal activity, it faces maintaining production from year-to-year can be challenging. Increasing corporate consolidation of agriculture, the loss of farmland and farm jobs close to cities, and the scarcity and insecurity of existing community gardens are several emerging problems in urban agriculture. For a local food system to work, farmers must be linked to food processing, distribution, and the end of the “food chain”: consumers. Local consumers often struggle to support local farmers because it can be difficult to find local food in grocery stores or restaurants. Similarly, groceries and restaurants sometimes find access to local farmers difficult because of the lack of local storage and distribution sites.

Thesis statement

Most of the food eaten in the United States arrives at the table after crossing state, and sometimes, national boundaries. Though food remains inexpensive, it comes to us with many hidden environmental, social, and human health costs.

Literature Review

As with many urban agriculture programs in North America, the Food Project is an important part of developing sustainable agriculture and sustainable food systems. Urban farms and community gardens both produce benefits for the city and the region. based on recent population trends and our current approach to agriculture, “the food security most of us enjoy is not guaranteed to last far into the next century The typical urban system is an ecological dead end. Instead of a healthy ecosystem, where nutrients are largely recycled, most cities dump, haul, or pipe away tons of organic garbage and sewage. Cities generate organic waste from food preparation, defecation of people and pets, and clearing of leaves or clippings from yards and parks. Urban agriculture can address these issues and many other environmental, economic, and social concerns. Many of the environmental or ecological benefits of urban agriculture are not quantified in the current literature. address costs and benefits of urban agriculture in Seattle, although the monetarily measurable benefits exceed the costs. Exclusion of important factors such as environmental externalities, multiplier effects, social effects, and restriction to Seattle provides only a partial conclusion concerning urban and peri-urban agriculture. The difficulty in measuring benefits is reflected throughout the urban agriculture literature. For the most part, the environmental benefits are listed as given rather than as a theory that requires proof. Oftentimes, consumers are unaware of the differences between commercial and locally-grown produce. Commercial mass production often relies upon pesticides or other farming practices that deplete the natural environment and yields less flavorful food options. In addition, the longer distances for commercial produce from food source to consumption yield environmental costs by reducing energy use. Some “ecological manifestations” of ...