Those who are able to afford the “pack up and go” attitude are indeed lucky. Unfortunately, not all city dwellers are lucky enough to have this kind of opportunity. Some need to be in the city because their jobs require them to be while others are not yet ready for the kind of life that awaits them in farms and rural areas. Let’s face it, not all humans are created to easily adjust to the demands of time, whether they like it or not. The good news is, your home need not be situated in far, far away land nor be as big as your whole street. You can live the kind of life they lead in farms right in the heart of the city, this is called urban homesteading.

Urban homesteading can be considered as your first step to the sustainable life you have always dreamed of and it doesn’t have to be so drastic, especially if you cannot afford it. Those who successfully made it swear that urban homesteading requires a lot from a person but at the end of the day, one will soon realize that it’s all worth it. Taking precious baby steps toward your goal will help you a lot.

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Bee farms are cheap and easy. In fact, they are most recommended for small scale farmers with no resources to start their own businesses with. Many organizations are working on introducing this kind of activity for developing countries like Africa and Asia. So far, may farmers have responded and bee farms are faring well.

There’s no better time to start your own bee farm than today since the demand is very high and the supply is somewhat lacking. It opens a door for poor farmers to somehow generate enough income to support his or her family. It can even be a family business since beekeeping can be done by everyone in the family including kids. Best of all, it can blend perfectly with your crops, assuming you’re also growing them. As we all know, bees pollinate, making your crops all the more healthy therefore increasing their productivity level.

Bees produce honey while honey has high value when sold. They are very easy to harvest and won’t require any additional technology to do so. All it takes is a simple know-how which most free seminars will teach you. Furthermore, its byproduct is well sought-after by manufacturing companies and even health conscious individuals so there’s no need to fret where to sell your goods after each harvest.

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Forest farming involves trimming down, albeit cautiously, some certain genus to reestablish balance and equilibrium of a particular forest. Forest farming is encouraged in areas wherein there is an existing issue of overabundance of certain species which restrict growth of other living organisms essential in the biological cycle. Some of the most popular harvests are exotic mushrooms such as Shiitake and other medicinal, edible fungi. This method of farming is not only about harvesting but also it involves planning and cultivating to ensure that the biocycle is not destroyed in any way. Forest farming proves to be a fun and profitable venture that anyone could explore.

Several government funded seminars are conducted to teach locals residing near forest areas about forest farming methods and techniques, as well as the kinds of mushrooms that could be grown in the area. These seminars go as far as how and where to sell your produce after harvests. Aside from mushrooms, there are other crops you can find, grow and harvest in forests since they have rich and very fertile soil that could grow practically anything you can think of. These crops include, but not limited to:  ginseng and ferns which are used for medicinal and ornamental purposes.

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Given these bountiful rewards, who could turn away from this very lucrative business? If the only thing that hinders you from acquiring your own income generating farm is land, think again; there are microfarms operated right in the heart of the city and its neighboring suburbs–one might even be near your place.

Actually, all you need is a piece of land. Determine how much space you can set aside for your own garden and consult an expert on what crops could be grown based on the condition of soil within your space. Usually, you can grow small crops like tomatoes, peppers and radishes. In microfarming, variety is important. However, if you plan to make this as an income generating one, stick to crops that are popular so you could sell them once they are ready and stay away from the ones that will take up too much space such as corn and potatoes. Start with a little garden first then if everything goes right in place, you can add a greenhouse later.

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A macrobiotic diet is different from a vegan diet. A vegan diet is exclusively greens while a macrobiotic diet includes some foods from animal sources, although in limited amounts only. In some ways, a vegan diet shares common food staples with macrobiotic diet such as brown rice and beans but their principles are different. Generally, macrobiotics is based on healthy eating practices that were applied before, when artificial and chemical compositions in food are unheard of.

Macrobiotic dieters state that macrobiotic is a way of life and not a diet which focuses on nutritional value of the food they eat. They believe that in order for the body to achieve maximum health levels, everything inside it should be in perfect balance. This means that a dieter should not deprive the body of nourishment but not overeat. Macrobiotics also has set of rules for cooking and what to eat on certain seasons such as spring, summer, fall and winter. You will also have to learn how to do a macrobiotic diet properly, if you are planning to engage with one.

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Choosing an organic lifestyle is not really that difficult.  The concern over the destruction of our planet have made people like you and me to rise up and take on the challenge to look for more environment friendly of manufacturing goods and services we enjoy everyday.

The easiest way of knowing for sure that an item is organic or environment friendly- from the manufacturing process until such time it reaches the store- is to check out the website of the company that manufactures the item.  Most companies are obliged by federal law to put the ingredients and components used to make certain products on their labels.  While it might say “natural” or “organic or “biodegradable” on the label, make sure to read the fine print and avoid products that are made with pesticides, toxic gases, heavy metals and volatile chemicals.

If the website is unavailable then look for certified seals or eco-labels that have been awarded by an independent, third party organization which has tested and vouched for the product.  Labels from TransFair (Fair Trade Certified),  GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), Demeter, SKAL, KRAV, Oeko-Tex and ECOCERT are some of the labels which you should look out for.  Certification from any of these organizations means that the product has been manufactured following environment safe procedures and practices.

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A glance at the past 40 years of oil input in American agriculture reveals that labor use on farms has not risen, in general, despite the persistent increase in oil prices over the past several decades. While this may sound rather surprising, more than one reason account for this observation.

One important reason that allows continual increase in the use of oil, despite the rise in its price, is that oil still remains a comparatively small expenditure in farming. Land rent, fertilizers, and labor exceed the cost of production on most farms. That is why a rise in oil prices has not influenced the agricultural sector into using more labor or getting more land under menial cultivation.

The exhaustive utilization (or what may be termed ‘overuse’) of fuel-driven farming equipment is another factor that inhibits the practice of employing more personnel and reducing the share of farm fuel as input energy. Such thorough use of machinery also prevents the employment of technical workforce that is often required for running new equipment.

Then there is this psychological barrier of perceiving the use of new/alternative energy inputs as risky business. Oil as farm fuel has won its place as the stuff that works and hence a reliable means of energy for production. In an important sense, farming is now oil-dependent.

Nevertheless, modern agriculture is in need of a greater share of alternative energy sources, including manpower, solar energy, wind energy, and other natural energy sources that are more eco-friendly and less ‘addictive’ than oil. This becomes especially important when viewed in the context of global wars for oil possession. A decrease in dependence of the agricultural sector on oil, therefore, is the next issue to consider.

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The main reason for losing track of those tried, safer, and eco-friendly methods of farming is a disproportionate dependence on readymade products – pesticides, fertilizers, mixtures etc – that allow you to be through with the labor in less time and saving the pains of toil, which have been the lot of traditional agriculture. The price to pay for this dolce vita style of farming is in the form of health risks and loss of our environmental shelter. But that is not all; we also lose the wealth of learning opportunities that abound in practicing organic farming. It is indeed losing a lot!

Let us take the case of organic farming communities where farmers have to go through tough menial labor, acquaintance with the right balance between beneficial and destructive organisms, non-toxic methods of crop protection and increasing yield, and natural enhancement of soil fertility and disease resistance. This kind of close interaction with the biotic and abiotic (mostly natural) components of agriculture nourishes practical knowledge of better productivity. Above all, the farmer learns to be solution-oriented by specifically approaching a problem as against synthetic, inorganic farming which tends to generalize a product’s efficacy over many crops and types of pests. The organic farmer has all the good chance to add to his trove of practical knowledge while those who rely solely (or dominantly) on industrial means of farming are obliged to passively follow whatever the manufacturer dictates.

Our consciousness of ecological and environmental issues, at this stage of our existence on earth, demands keen interest in, and attention to, problem-specific strategies for better results in production and environmental conservation. Variables like soil type, general climate, seasonal variations, and ecological relationship among different species etc, all need to be considered prior to formulating the right plan for farming on a piece of land. Organic farming communities aim at getting there – growing in wisdom for a healthy future.

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Sustainable agriculture is a broad term that covers a number of related concepts, all centered on the fundamental principle of practicing farming for the greatest possible good. Thus, we can trace the ramifications of agricultural sustainability into four main spheres of life (and education):

•    Health
•    Environment
•    Economy
•    Society.

Each of these aspects of agricultural sustainability reciprocates the rest, forming an agricultural sustainability cycle. Health, for example, generally refers to human health (disease-free living) but the recent advance in environmental research reveals an intimate connection between health and the environment. Hence, our modern concept of health includes an environmental-friendly lifestyle that does not adversely affect the life of existing and/or coming generation. Economy and society stand in a similar relation relative to each other. Economic stability, in general, means prosperity and better living conditions for the members of a society. However, the social structure (social classes, division of labor, and proportion of benefits) is a main determinant of shaping the economy of a society and the actual benefits that people get from the economic state of affairs. Health, environment, economy, and society may be thought of as the four sides of a square whose symmetry creates sustainability.

In the 21st century, agricultural sustainability refers to looking at the current and future needs for healthy living in terms of environmental, economic, and social stability. This calls for well-informed and skilled utilization of both natural and human resources in farming on all scales. Living by agriculture today translates into ‘Live Green, Live Forever!’

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With the advent of synthetic fertilizers and scientific techniques for genetically modifying food, food safety became a greater focus of attention among health-conscious people. At the same time, the concept of ‘genetic pollution’ came under debate – the adverse effects of modifying food species through genetic engineering on biodiversity of an ecological community. The practice, of course, is a main concern for people who know that eliminating/limiting the growth of certain natural plant species also affects animal species and causes ecological imbalance at large. Thus, where in developing countries most of the people are concerned with growing more food, in urban western societies, people have been thinking of growing healthy food by healthy, environment-friendly means. Even making clean water available for drinking has become an issue of import for a considerable part of population, especially in less developed countries.

The statistics of food-borne illnesses do not anywhere fall short of alarming levels. Each year, about 76 million people in the United States alone become ill due to some kind of food-borne disease. Among these, over 300, 000 get hospitalized and about 5000 people don’t make it. In global context, food safety is the leading public health issue. As synthetic foods and chemicals for growing/handling food become more abundant in number and use throughout the world, food safety, environmental pollution, and public health are ascending up in the list of priorities for health-conscious and environmental friendly communities. Government organizations like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other non-profit public interest organizations like the Center for Food Safety (CFS) are actively involved in efforts to prevent health risks from unhealthy food by working through multiple strategies, ranging from pubic awareness campaigns to legal efforts for sustainable farming. Food safety is a growing issue in the sphere of environmental amelioration.

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