NYTimes: Lazy Locavores

The New York Times has been busy letting its readers know about different angles of the local food movement. For the umpteenth time this season, they are again highlighting what it means to try and eat local in today’s schizophrenic food system. In the most recent article, they are highlighting what the have  termed the ‘lazy locavore’ trend.

Contrasting ‘lazy locavores’ with hardworking gardeners and homesteaders like Barbara Kingsolver, the NYTimes highlights a company in San Francisco that will garden your yard for you, allowing you to enjoy a bountiful backyard garden without putting in all that pesky work to grow it.

Personally, I would not call these people lazy. As someone with the skill to kill any plant I try and grow -  depsite tender love and care! -  its easy for me to recognize this well-needed and creative service. Maybe you don’t have the patience or the ‘green thumb,’ or maybe you’re just too busy, but there are other ways to contribute to a healthy food system than by growing your own food. It’s a beautiful idea but we can’t all be farmers. We have to acknowledge where our food comes from and that a distribution of labor is perfectly healthy. I think paying other people to garden your backyard is a great idea and think the service would do well outside San Francisco as well.

We could definitely use the service in NYC to allow for more actively gardened green roofs in the city.