Misstropolis

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

You Say Tomato, I Say It Better Be Local

by Robin Hauck

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Last January my mother in law bought a tomato at a grocery store. She set it on the counter and let it be. It was red-ish and firm-ish, almost perfectly oval in shape and alarmingly smooth.

Two weeks later the tomato had not changed at all and long after that, to everyone’s surprise but hers, it was still the same color and firmness. The fact that tomatoes that don’t ripen are sold to innocent salad eaters is disturbing enough, but that they have an industry-recognized name is even worse. The long shelf life tomato, my mother in law’s counter experiment proved, was never going to ripen. It couldn’t afford to - it had to survive the long, hard trip from Mexico to her New England home.

How many “food miles” did that hardy tomato travel? How many gallons of gasoline went into its journey? How much water was polluted by pesticide run-off and chemical waste? These are the questions the scientists behind NY Sunworks and The Science Barge believe must be asked as urban populations swell and countryside areas continue to host almost all commercial farming. They say a high percent of global greenhouse emissions and the bulk of global water pollution stems from agriculture. “Food miles” are measures of the impact transportation and distribution of food has on the environment.

“The Science Barge is a sustainable urban farm powered by solar, wind and biofuels, and irrigated by rainwater and purified riverwater. We grow fresh fruit and vegetables using recirculating hydroponics” reads their website.

Modern agricultural practices are not sustainable over the long term says Program Coordinator Viraj Puri. The Science Barge, now docked on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on the Hudson River, demonstrates the advantages and efficiencies of high tech urban farming. According to the folks at NY Sunworks, this type of efficient, low impact city based farming is the future of agriculture. They can produce the same yield as commercial farming using ten times less land and five times less water, with no pesticides and no pollution. Local and sustainable… for vine ripe rather than long shelf life tomatoes.

The Science Barge is in essence a giant floating classroom, teaching and promoting local urban sustainability. “Greenhouses make excellent learning labs,” Puri says. From May through October the Science Barge offers free courses to school and youth groups. “Over the course of three hours, our student visitors identify the resources needed to grow a plant, learn where those resources (water, sun, and nutrients) come from, and - most critically - learn how to use them efficiently.” Students build miniature sustainable farms and, better yet, get to sample the vegetables grown on the barge. To learn more or to sign your school up for a visit, visit the Education Program page.

New York Sunworks Center for Sustainable Engineering is a non profit environmental organization. They rely on funding from individuals and corporations to continue their work. To learn more about donating, visit the Donate section of their website, or to really appreciate the magnitude of what they are doing, plan a visit. plan a visit. Your travel miles to the barge, unlike food miles, could ultimately make the planet a greener place to live.