Urban farming is gaining a lot of momentum around the world; this is a roof-top potato farm in Japan.

Chapter 5 of our book is entitled, The End of Cheap Oil. In a nutshell, the era of cheap oil for the past 100 years has fueled the growth of many incredibly inefficient processes around the world. And most of those processes will not survive for much longer.

Just heard on a video about urban farming that the average food on our plates in the USA travels 1500 miles to get there. The speaker then added that the blueberries on his cereal that morning had traveled over 5,000 miles — from Chile, and leaving a gigantic carbon footprint per calorie in the process.

The impending end of cheap oil within the next twenty years (maybe sooner) will spell the end of that type of extravagance and waste. But, it will also lead to a much healthier environment in the long run. Already the phenomenon of “urban farming” is becoming quite popular. For an introduction, take a look at this two-minute video:

The end of cheap oil will also hasten the demise of the meat, dairy and egg industries. Why is that? It’s because those industries consume between 10 and 20 times more energy  per calorie of food compared to plant-based foods. So when the choice is one burger for $20 or enough plant-based food to feed your entire family for a day; most people will choose the latter. And along with that choice will come much better health for themselves and a much better world.

For the people in Minnesota, indoor urban farming will probably become quite popular in the winter.

People ask where we’re going to get our food when the cost of energy prohibits the long-distance traveling that is now happening. They worry about how one will be able to eat fresh produce in Minnesota or Maine in the winter time.

But when I read about what’s going on in urban farming or vertical farming, I am not worried. Our innate ingenuity as humans and our innovative and resilient free market system will always find a way to meet the demands of the people.

The good news is that we don’t have to wait for the end of cheap oil to enjoy the incredible health benefits of eating a whole foods, plant-based diet. We can do it now. Each of us can save some money in the process, lower our personal water consumption by 90%, reduce our personal carbon footprint by 30%, and free up three acres of land that can be returned to forests and natural habitats for the millions of species comprising the miraculous biodiversity of planet Earth.

Urban farming in your backyard in Florida or California

Want to learn more about urban farming? A Google search yields over 3 million response.

If you like what you see here, you may wish to join our periodic mailing list. Also, for help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4-Leaf page.

And if you like what 4-Leaf eating is doing for you and your family, you might enjoy visiting our new “4-Leaf Gear” store. From the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

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—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

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