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Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by ceejayoz on Thursday May 19, 2022 @03:40PM (#31439154)
It also takes well over an acre to support a single person, and that's if you know what you're doing and have the time to manage a garden of that size.
Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by thangalin on Thursday May 19, 2022 @04:00PM (#31439413)
> well over an acre to support a single person

Source?

https://www.thespruce.com/how-many-vegetables-per-person-in-...

> To grow all the food for one person's needs for the whole year requires, for most people, at least 4,000 square feet—though some diet designs are possible that can use a smaller area.

https://permaculturism.com/how-much-land-does-it-take-to-fee...

> A 0.44 acre of land can produce enough vegetables and fruits to meet up with the daily calories needed for one person to feed for a year.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1993:

> It is realistic to suppose that the absolute minimum of arable land to support one person is a mere 0.07 of a hectare–and this assumes a largely vegetarian diet, no land degradation or water shortages, virtually no post-harvest waste, and farmers who know precisely when and how to plant, fertilize, irrigate, etc.

Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by ceejayoz on Thursday May 19, 2022 @04:03PM (#31439460)
https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/local-farming-hurt...

> The minimum amount of agricultural land necessary for sustainable food security, with a diversified diet similar to those of North America and Western Europe (hence including meat), is 0.5 of a hectare per person. This does not allow for any land degradation such as soil erosion, and it assumes adequate water supplies.

Cut out meat and it gets better, but not that much better.

Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by jaegerpicker on Thursday May 19, 2022 @05:34PM (#31440475)
Only if you use traditional farming. Hydroponics, Aeroponics, and Aquaponics use far less resources (more startup capital but far less inputs), can grow year round (assuming indoor grows), and has 5-10x the yield per sq ft.
Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by Johnny555 on Thursday May 19, 2022 @03:43PM (#31439186)
You don't have to grow 100% of your food to benefit from a home garden.
Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by ceejayoz on Thursday May 19, 2022 @04:01PM (#31439424)
Sure, but "the coming food catastrophe" implies something more than "I grow some tomatoes in a corner of my yard" as a necessary response.

A garden is great, but it's not gonna solve a global food crisis.

Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by Johnny555 on Thursday May 19, 2022 @04:06PM (#31439496)
The post you're replying to suggests a Victory Garden. While a personal victory garden may not have a big effect on global food supplies, it can absolutely help supplement food for households that are squeezed by higher food prices (which is another side effect of global food shortages).

Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany during World War I and World War II. In wartime, governments encouraged people to plant victory gardens not only to supplement their rations but also to boost morale. They were used along with rationing stamps and cards to reduce pressure on the public food supply.

Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by EddieDante on Thursday May 19, 2022 @03:46PM (#31439227)
I just wanted to look out my window and see something more useful than grass, OK? If I got to enjoy a couple meals out of what I grew, so much the better.
Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by ceejayoz on Thursday May 19, 2022 @04:09PM (#31439538)
I've zero objection to "I like gardening" and "I love a home-grown tomato" as reasons to have a garden. I simply don't think it's a meaningful part of a fix to a collapse of the supply chain.
Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by adolph on Thursday May 19, 2022 @04:50PM (#31439980)
An acre seems excessive. An acre is 43,560 square feet.

"One 4 × 4 Square Foot Garden box (16 square feet) will supply enough produce to make a salad for one adult every day of the growing season." [0]

0. Bartholomew, Mel. All New Square Foot Gardening, 3rd Edition, Fully Updated: MORE Projects NEW Solutions GROW Vegetables Anywhere (p. 61). Cool Springs Press. Kindle Edition.

https://squarefootgardening.org/

Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by Scoundreller on Thursday May 19, 2022 @03:44PM (#31439205)
That’s why I grow for value and flavour. Base calories are cheap, making them taste good (in a healthy way) costs a lot more.