Reconnect With Your Food and Grow Your Own

Growing our own food is something that people have done for hundreds and thousands of years. It hasn't been until the past 100-200 years that we've put that responsibility in the hands of others.

I think this is one of the reasons for the disease and health issues that are currently plaguing our country. We have come to accept processed "foods" and produce are stripped of nutrition and contaminated with chemical sprays.

In the past few years, I've become more conscious and aware as to my food choices and why they matter, not only to my own personal health, but to the health of the environment as well.

We have become disconnected from our food source and pick our food off of store shelves.

This is why I started urban gardening and growing my own food. I wanted to re-establish that connection with my food and you can too.

When I first started in the spring in 2009, I didn't have any experience and was able to grow on the fire escape on the fourth floor of my New York City apartment. I've since moved to Cali where I've started a balcony garden.

In these small spaces, I've been able to supply myself with fresh organically grown produce. Now that I've been growing my own, I feel much more connected to my food since it is the result of my work. Plus it's much fresher as it gets eaten within minutes of being picked.

In growing my own food, I've also gained more of an appreciation for food because growing your own isn't always easy. Luckily we live in times where if we can't grow our own or our crop doesn't survive, we can hit up a supermarket.

I don't think that everyone should go out and start growing all of their own food, but definitely think that growing at least one veggie or herb will start to make a difference in your relationship with food.

What are you going to start growing?

Mike Lieberman prides himself as a living, breathing demonstration of how one can live sustainably, anywhere. On his sites he documents what he is doing through urban gardening, creating raw vegan recipes and demonstrating simple ways to go green. Lieberman thinks that most people believe that living sustainably and making eco-friendly decisions is difficult and cannot be done — that it’s an all-or-nothing-type game. Through his writing, he wants to show you that it’s simple to make these decisions. Some or all of these steps can easily be done in your daily lives without any disruption, and he would like to show you how to do them. Follow him on Twitter @CanarsieBK and check out his online portfolio on CanarsieBK.com.