Food not lawns is a movement that aims to motivate people around the world to replace their pretty gardens with yummy food. Our gardens are a perfect space to grow our own food in the form of vegetables and fruits that are not only a much more healthier alternative to the ones we get in the market but also a much more cost effective method of sourcing our food.
This movement its a sort of spin off from the original “Food not bombs” initiative where activists plant food on vacant lots and unused terrains they find. The food not lawns movement promotes planting your food in your own garden, shifting the value we put in a front yard or back yard that looks pretty to one that is a source of healthy food. Also one of the benefits of taking up on this initiative is the fact that you are most probably motivating your neighbours to do the same thing, and by this developing a sense of community and promoting peace around you.
When you grow your own vegetables you are also contributing to the environment because food grown by yourself its free from pesticides and other chemicals that are detrimental for the planet and for you. Most of the fruits and vegetables you get from the market come from industrialised growing processes that make a great use of pesticides, also a big percentage of this vegetables are genetically manipulated which means that they had been modified in laboratories with the purpose of achieving bigger sizes and higher productions yields. You may think that this is not a bad thing but it produces fruits and vegetables of much lower quality, once you taste a natural vegetable or fruit grown by yourself you will immediately notice the difference in the taste and texture.
Healthier and tastier fruits and vegetables are just a couple of the benefits of replacing your lawn with food, when you start growing your own vegetables and fruits you also get to pick which of them you want to plant. This gives you the chance to access fruits and vegetables that may not be available at the shop or your local market.
Many people that start growing vegetables in their gardens attract attention from their neighbours, and when they get interested and start doing the same thing you start creating a community around this activity that promotes the interest and involvement of more people. Its very common to see neighbours acting together on this activity and start developing groups around it, where they start to trade vegetables and fruits, and have meetings to share tips, techniques and raise awareness of the benefits that come with this activity.
If you are replacing your garden with fruits and vegetables and none of your neighbours seems interested in it you can go to your local nursery, usually there you will find like minded people that are already doing this or are interested in getting started. It doesn’t matter if your neighbours aren’t interested, you can still start a group or join one thats in your city.
Another benefit of planting your own vegetables and fruits is to get your kids to eat them! if you have kids that are difficult when it comes to their vegetable intake, growing your own vegetables and involving them in the process is a great way to motivate kids to eat them. Many of the growers have experienced this as their kids are involved in the planting and growing process they are very expectant and interested in the outcome and as the harvesting day comes eating the vegetables they helped grow becomes the reward of a fun game.