Can Kitchen Gardening

help avert an Urban Food Tragedy?

Presented by Karan Manral and Yogita Mehra

Every story has a beginning.

This one began when we stopped believing

the urban myth of “good food”

Any Evidence?• Just ask grandma…she’s always complaining about

the ingredients.• Why do mangoes and other

fruits nowadays seem so tasteless?

• What’s all this about the about pesticides inside our

food.• Why despite our increasing

education about nutrition, are we seeing more food

related diseases?

All good research should begin with asking the right

question.• Why does food quality

suck?• Does food quality really

suck?• Does food quality suck

everywhere?• What is food quality?

The urban consumer?• By and large, in urban situations (in

our generation), no one really seems to know.

• Less and less people cook themselves, and most are eating

out, or using food “products”

• As more people buy in “supermarkets” instead of

“markets”, there seem to be less opportunities for comparison

BUT,Food is now our

blind spot

URBAN QUALITY?

ALL URBAN FOLKS WANT

TO KNOW ABOUT FOOD

TRUTH IS…

WE ARE LARGELY IGNORANT OR UNCONCERNED ABOUT FOOD QUALITY, AND

AREN’T DEMANDING IT

FROM PROVIDERS.

We don’t have a clue about natural ingredients and almost no one can even understand the artificial ones…

What quality of food is currently

available to us??

NO ADULTERATION:

C-

GREAT FLAVOUR:

C

GREAT FRESHNESS:

D

Great VARIETY:

B

Great AMBIENCE:

A+ Great HEALTH:

C

Great CONVENIENCE:

A

The Consensus:There isn’t much that we can do

about it. The problem is

universal…

MYTH NO 1.The Food Quality Problem is

UniversalNOPE, ITS LARGELY AN URBAN PROBLEM. FOLKS

IN VILLAGES GET MUCH BETTER QUALITY.

MYTH NO 2.The Problem is the market

UMMM…THE MARKET USUALLY PROVIDES WHAT WE ASK FOR, UNLESS WE LET IT DECIDE FOR US.

MYTH NO 2.We can’t do anything about

it…WRONG AGAIN. SOME IDEAS FOLLOW…

The Farmers

The Traders

US

The Retailers

The Supermarkets

Restaurants

The Status Quo: What’s happening now?

Waste?

Freshness lost?

More costs?

Quantityabove quality?

Freshness?

Greater convenien

ce

Varieties with great taste?

Lower prices?

Making things

available out of season

Health?

RE-THINK:

WHAT DO WE WANT FROM OUR FOOD?

ISN’T THIS A

FUNDAMENTAL

CONFLICT WITH THE

EXISTING MARKETS?

MAYBEFOOD

QUALITY IS…

LOCAL(Fresh)

ORGANIC

(Health)

MUCH MORE

VARIETIES(Stimulati

ng)

REAL/SLOW FOOD

(Retain nutrition) NATURALL

Y RIPENEDTaste and health)

How can we change the

quality of our food? Can we?

NO ADULTERATION: Buy from a trusted source – who could

this be?

GREAT FLAVOUR: Buy from a discerning grower, where can we

find them?

GREAT FRESHNESS: Buy from a source

close by so freshness is a given.

Great VARIETY: Demand quality from your food

vendor so he goes out to seek it

Great AMBIENCE: This is possibly the easiest to achieve, in urban settings

Great HEALTH: Stick to seasonal,

organic food producers so pesticides are

eliminated

Organic City farms in Cuba

Farmers Markets in France and US?

NYC Rooftop farms

© Brooklyn-Grange

MOST COMMON QUESTION

Why is organic food so EXPENSIVE?

Needs a separate supply chain

Certification is Expensive

Its Supply vs Demand

FACT:Its NOT more expensive to grow organic (except at industrial scale)

FRESH AND NON PERISHABLE

Photos by American photojournalist Peter Menzel

OPTION NO 1: Scour the MarketDevelop a relationship with “your vendor”

USFarmers who are

producing what we

want

Quality sensitive veggie

vendor at the

“markets”

The Traders or Wholesalers

DEAD ENDNot geared for freshness and organic – it’s a market of scale primarily

OPTION NO 2: Buy from the organic storeLook to organic specialists for a solution

USOrganic farmers

who produce what we

want

Organic Store that retails only

organic produce

FACT:Certified organic produce is expensive, mostly non-perishable and can we trust it?

OPTION NO 3: Befriend the Farmers GroupConvince farmers to provide you with produce

USFarmers who are

producing what we

want

Farmers groups or

NGO’s who link many farmers

FACT:There is unfamiliarity and communication of needs is complicated

Small “farmers”

within 100 km

US

OPTION NO 4: The Food TriangleConnect with Small Growers you Trust

Small urban in-city farms

and gardensQuality over

Quantity

Outsourcing your food needs

How about growing your own food?

Possible?(Yes, if you look at it as a

fundamental and necessary skill)

Organic Kitchen Gardens

© The Hindu

Cabbage

Brinjal

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Chinese Cabbage

Red Radish

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Zucchini

Spring Onions

Zucchini

But what can YOU do to fix it for yourself..?

(collaborate – if we lead the market will

follow)

The Farmers

The TradersUS

The Retailers

The Supermarkets

Restaurants

Join hands with

Kitchen Gardener

s

CHANGING THE MODEL: Creating an Alternative Food Network (AFN)

Form Organic

Consumer Groups

Better Taste!

Better Health!

It’s already happening in

India (and in your countries)

…NOW

© Uma Hoysala

© Uma Hoysala

© Abdul Nassar

© Windowfarms TM

Perhaps you can play a role too…?

bon appétit(enjoy your food)