In response to the March 19 story “Can county cultivate farming?,” I am disheartened at the amount of farmland being carved up for more subdivisions and strip malls. Do we need another grocery store, another mini-mart, another bank, another sub shop? Do we need more housing with postage-stamp lots and CC&Rs that prohibit clotheslines or growing food?
What’s going to happen when some calamity, whether it’s from natural forces like “the big one” or from other causes, cuts off shipping from other regions? We must have food, or we perish.
Once farmland is paved over, it’s gone forever. County policy should not put development at a higher priority than food security. I propose that new developments be required to set aside a certain amount of open area for community gardens and provide access to a certain size plot to any homeowner in the community who wants to grow veggies, berries, or raise a hive of honeybees or even perhaps a few chickens. I propose that new developments allow growing of food crops in residents’ yards, back or front.
We should look closely at our development goals and put priority back on preserving our agricultural base. Food security needs to be an individual right and a high community priority.
