Edible Estates: from the great lawn to the edible one

I went to the release of the new edition of Edible Estates, great book and amazing lecture exploring the possibilities for publicly growing food in the most unlikely of places - on the streets where we live, in the middle of our cities, and in particular, in New York City. They told us stories of projects, gardens and urban farms that are already in the ground as provocative examples of what New York, and other cities, might look like in the future.

The writer, Fritz Haeg is an artist, designer and initiator of edible estates, demonstrationg how people can publicly grow food where they live with a series of regional prototypes gardens established throughout the country. Since Haeg helped plant the first edible estates homeowner garden in Salina, Kansas, in 2005, a movement has taken off, expending all the way to the White House and Michelle Obama's widely documented Kitchen Garden. Over the past five years, Haeg's gardens have gained worldwide attention, and have been featured everywhere from the Martha Stewart Show to the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Many people credit Haeg with bringing the issue of substainable home gardening to a new generation of foodie and landscape sustainable activists. Haeg and his edible estates project have been nominated for the National Design Museum's 2010 national design award.

The panel included also Annie Novak, founder and director of growing chefs, a field to fork food education program, and farmer and co-founder of the eagle street rooftop farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Will Allen, founder and CEO of Growing Power, is considered the leading authority in the field of urban agriculture.At growing power and in community food projects across the nation and around the worl, Allen promotes thebelief that all people, regardless of their economic circumstances, should have access to fresh, safe, affordable and nutritious foods at all times. Using methods he has developed over a lifetime, Allen trains community members to become community farmers, assuring them a secure source of good food without regard to political or economic forces. He was invited in february 2010 to the White House to join First Lady Michelle Obama in launching "Let's Move!" her signature leadership program to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in America.
Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President, has made the mission of his office to foster a safe, affordable, and sustainable future for Manhattan - preserving a sense of neighborhood for the 1.6 million people who have made their home in this world capital of culture and commerce. In December 2009, he joined the not-for-profit JUST FOOD and New York University to hold a daylong summit attended by 1000 New Yorkers that addressed the impact of food on the health of New York City's people and our environment. They are also involved in the GO GREEN programs (Lower East Side, East Harlem). In February his office released a report entitled "FoodNYC: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System", the most comprehensive effort to date to unify and reform New York City's policies regarding the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of food. More information can be found at http://www.mbpo.org/
The good food revolution has started, with urban agriculture, green roofs on publics school, New York should be out of the food desert. Talk about food in your country and grow your own food!