Creating a sustainable urban agriculture revolution

Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation

Volumn 25, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 203-247

  Peters, Kathryn A ^a  

^a University of Oregon School of Law   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AGROINDUSTRY; ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE; COMPENSATION SYSTEM; FINANCIAL CRISIS; FOOD PRODUCTION; FOOD SUPPLY; GREEN REVOLUTION; INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE; METROPOLITAN AREA; POPULATION DENSITY; UNEMPLOYMENT;

UNITED STATES;

EID: 77955891590     PISSN: 10490280     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (255)

1. MICHAEL POLLAN, THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA 11 (2006).
2. Industrial biofuels (fuels made from plants) are a false solution to the energy crisis. Biofuel production consumes land and results in food-producing land being converted into fuel-producing land. See VANDANA SHIVA, SOIL NOT OIL: ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN AN AGE OF CLIMATE CRISIS 5 (2008) ("Increasing biofuel production worsens the food crisis by taking land and food from the people in order to produce 'feedstock' for the insatiable appetite of the fossil fuel infrastructure and the limitless consumption it requires.").
3. E.g., Eat Local Challenge, http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/2009/03/ index.html (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) (highlighting the benefits of eating food that is grown and produced locally); 100-Mile Diet, http://100milediet.org/ (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) (promoting eating sustainably grown local food); Sustainable Table, http://www.sustainabletable.org/ home.php (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) (educating consumers about food-related issues).
4. Marian Burros, Obama to Eat Local Produce (Really Local), N.Y. TIMES, Mar. 20, 2009, at Al. In the spring of 2009, Michelle Obama planted the first garden "at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden in World War II." Id. The garden is more than a food source for the White House, as Michelle Obama intends for the garden to be used to educate children on the importance of eating healthy, fresh produce. Id. Additionally, the garden is a political and environmental symbol of the importance of eating local, organic food as a means to "reduce reliance on huge industrial farms that use more oil for transportation and chemicals for fertilizer." Id.
5. See A. Bryan Endres & Jody M. Endres, Homeland Security Planning: What Victory Gardens and Fidel Castro Can Teach Us in Preparing for Food Crises in the United States, 64 FOOD & DRUG L.J. 405, 408-09 (2009) ("During World War II, American home gardeners, through the federal government's Victory Garden program, supplied 40 percent of the nation's fresh produce....").
6. In 2000, twenty-one states had seventy-five percent of their populations residing in metropolitan areas. FRANK HOBBS & NICOLE STOOPS, U.S. DEP'T OF COMMERCE, ECON. & STATISTICS ADMIN., U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS IN THE 20TH CENTURY 41-42 (2002), available at http://www.census.gov/prod/ 2002pubs/censr-4.pdf.
7. See Jodi Soyars Windham, Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: Perverse Food Subsidies, Social Responsibility & America's 2007 Farm Bill, 31 ENVIRONS ENVTL. L. & POL'Y J. 1, 4 (2007) (describing America's food production system as heavily reliant on the use of chemicals).
8. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average unemployment rate for 2009 was 9.3%, the highest rate of unemployment in over twenty-five years. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dep't of Labor, Statistical Tables, 57 EMPLOYMENT & EARNTNGS 1, 5 (2010), http://www.bls.gov/opub/ee/empearn201001 .pdf.
9. The number of persons receiving supplemental nutrition assistance increased from approximately 26.5 million in 2007 to 33.75 million in 2009, and the cost of assistance increased from $30 billion in 2007 to $50 billion in 2009. U.S. DEP'T OF AGRIC, SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AND COSTS 1 (2010), http://www.ms.usda.gov/pd/SNAPsummary.htm.
10. See Neil D. Hamilton, Agriculture Without Farmers? Is Industrialization Restructuring American Food Production and Threatening the Future of Sustainable Agriculture?, 14 N. ILL. U. L. REV. 613, 613-15 (1994) (discussing the industrialization of American agriculture);
11. see also William S. Eubanks II, A Rotten System: Subsidizing Environmental Degradation and Poor Public Health With Our Nation's Tax Dollars, 28 STAN. ENVTL. L. J. 213, 228-31 (2009) (discussing changes in ownership of farms and production of commodity crops over the past fifty years).
12. Windham, supra note 7, at 4.
13. See generally Erin Morrow, Agri-Environmentalism: A Farm Bill for 2007, 38 TEX. TECH L. REV. 345 (2006) (presenting a thorough discussion of U.S. farm policy and farm subsidies).
14. See id. at 369-71; see also Thomas Richard Poole, Note, Silly Rabbit, Farm Subsidies Don't Help America, 31 WM. & MARY ENVTL. L. & POL'Y REV. 183, 195 (2006) (describing how industrial farms dominate U.S. food production as well as receive the majority of government subsidies).
15. See Windham, supra note 7, at 17-18.
16. Eubanks, supra note 10, at 237 ("[T]he heavy over-emphasis on planting corn and other subsidized commodity crops in the United States requires our nation's large population to seek fruits and vegetables from other nations, which typically results in those nations cultivating their best lands for exports to the United States or the European Union.").
17. See Windham, supra note 7, at 7.
18. ANDREW PEARSE, SEEDS OF PLENTY, SEEDS OF WANT: SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION 1 (1980).
19. Keith Aoki, Malthus, Mendel, and Monsanto: Intellectual Property and the Law and Politics of Global Food Supply: An Introduction, 19 J. ENVTL. L. & LITIG. 397, 401-02 (2004).
20. Mona L. Hymel, The Population Crisis: The Stork, the Plow, and the IRS, 77 N.C. L. REV. 13, 80-82 (1998).
21. See Eubanks, supra note 10, at 228-29.
22. See SHIVA, supra note 2, at 2.
23. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, Remarks at the High-Level Conference on World Food Security (June 3, 2008), http://www.un.org/News/Press/ docs/2008/sgsml 1612.doc.htm.
24. SHIVA, supra note 2, at 99 ("Today, the Green Revolution has failed in Punjab. Yields are declining. The soil is depleted of nutrients. The water is polluted with nitrates and pesticides."); see also id. at 102 ("The failure came from micronutrient deficiencies caused by the rapid and continuous removal of micronutrients by 'high-yielding varieties.'").
25. See discussion infra Part II.
26. Gordon Conway & Gary Toenniessen, Feeding the World in the Twenty-first Century, 402 NATURE C55, C55 (Supp. 1999).
27. Peak Oil refers to the point in time when oil production reaches its peak. See Jacqueline Lang Weaver, The Traditional Petroleum-Based Economy: An "Eventful" Future, 36 CUMB. L. REV. 505, 508-09 (2006) (describing the "Peak Oil debate involv[ing] the application of [Dr. M. King Hubbert's] curve to global oil production" that suggests that the world has already consumed half of the planet's oil supply and we are now "on an irreversible decline curve").
28. Windham, supra note 7, at 8.
29. SHIVA, supra note 2, at 96 (discussing industrialized, globalized agriculture's dependence upon oil).
30. Windham, supra note 7, at 19. Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency "has found seventy-four different pesticides in the groundwater of thirty-eight states," including the highly toxic pesticide Aldicarb, which was found in sixteen states. Jennifer Hoffpauir, The Environmental Impact of Commodity Subsidies: NEPA and the Farm Bill, 20 FORDHAM ENVTL. L. REV. 233, 250 (2009)
31. (citing James Stephen Carpenter, Note, Farm Chemicals, Soil Erosion, and Sustainable Agriculture, 13 STAN. ENVTL. L. J. 190, 199-200 (1994)).
32. Windham, supra note 7, at 19; see also Hoffpauir, supra note 29, at 251 (discussing the effects of increased algal production creating "a hypoxic (or low-oxygen environment) that is inhospitable habitat for fish, shellfish, and most forms of marine life").
33. Windham, supra note 7, at 19.
34. Id. at 19-20..
35. Id. at 20.
36. Id.
37. For example, in Egypt, the spraying of insecticides has led to the death of beneficial insects. Michael J. Donovan, Genetically Modified Insects: Why Do We Need Them and How Will They be Regulated?, 17 MO. ENVTL. L. & POL'Y REV. 62, 71 (2009).
38. Windham, supra note 7, at 20.
39. See id.
40. See generally Agroecology in Action, Modern Agriculture: Ecological Impacts and the Possibilities for Truly Sustainable Farming, http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/~agroeco3/ modern-agriculture.html (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) (Miguel A. Altieri, Division of Insect Biology, University of California, Berkeley, discussing the harms of monoculture).
41. Id.
42. Id.
43. Cf. SHIVA, supra note 2, 9-13 (describing the cause and effects of climate change and its horrific impact on India's Bundelkhand region where drought has left many people starving).
44. Id. at 10; Gerald C. Nelson, Agriculture and Climate Change: An Agenda for Negotiation in Copenhagen, FOCUS 16 (Int'l Food Policy Research Inst., Wash. D.C.), May 2009, at 1, available at http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/ publications/ focusl6.pdf.
45. See Nelson, supra note 42, at 1.
46. Agroecology in Action, supra note 38.
47. Cf. U.S. EPA, Agriculture and Food Supply, http://www.epa.gov/ climatechange/ effects/agriculture.html (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) ("[T]he enduring changes in climate, water supply and soil moisture could make it less feasible to continue crop production in certain regions.").
48. Cf. SHIVA, supra note 2, at 15-16; Hymel, supra note 19, at 86 (setting forth scientists' projections regarding significant climate zone shifts that would cause "[u]nprecedented disruption to food production").
49. Robert W. Burchell, Economic and Fiscal Costs (and Benefits) of Sprawl, 29 URB. LAW. 159, 162 (1997).
50. Chad D. Emerson, All Sprawled Out: How the Federal Regulatory System Has Driven Unsustainable Growth, 75 TENN. L. REV. 411, 414-15 (2008).
51. See Douglas R. Porter, Reinventing Growth Management for the 21st Century, 23 WM. & MARY ENVTL. L. & POL'Y REV. 705, 708 (1999) (presenting statistics on population growth and corresponding but disproportionate increases in urbanized land areas in and around U.S. cities).
52. See id. at 707-08 (describing how the U.S. trend of single-family home ownership on larger lots has resulted in rapid consumption of undeveloped land).
53. See Burchell, supra note 47, at 162.
54. Id. at 159. Additionally, the cost of maintaining the old infrastructure in declining areas increases taxes and developmental costs throughout the metropolitan area. Id. at 162.
55. William W. Buzbee, Sprawl's Political-Economy and the Case for a Metropolitan Green Space Initiative, 32 URB. LAW. 367, 372 (2000).
56. Id.
57. Id.
58. Burchell, supra note 47, at 168.
59. Id. at 168-69.
60. Buzbee, supra note 53, at 372.
61. Hymel, supra note 19, at 79.
62. Burchell, supra note 47, at 162.
63. See Tamara Mullen, Note, The McMansion: Architecture's Role in Facilitating Urban Sprawl and Farmland Loss, 12 DRAKE J. AGRIC. L. 255, 258 (2007).
64. See Jane E. Schukoske, Community Development Through Gardening: State and Local Policies Transforming Urban Open Space, 3 N.Y.U. J. LEGIS. & PUB. POL'Y 351, 351-54 (2000). A 1998 study found that nearly one-quarter of land in American cities is classified as vacant, which includes '"publicly-owned and privately-owned unused or abandoned land or land that once had structures on it, but also land that supports structures that have been abandoned, derelict, boarded up, partially destroyed or razed.'"
65. Id. at 351 n.2 (quoting ANN O'M. BOWMAN & MICHAEL A. PAGANO, LINCOLN INST. OF LAND POL'Y, URBAN VACANT LAND IN THE UNITED STATES 18-19 (1998)).
66. Id. at 353.
67. Id. at 351. 65 Id. at 353 n. 11.
68. See Porter, supra note 49, at 711 ("Development in greenfield areas also requires costly extensions of basic community infrastructure systems such as roads and schools, while existing systems in urbanized areas go begging for maintenance and reinvestment.").
69. Burchell, supra note 47, at 162.
70. See generally KATHERINE H. BROWN & ANNE CARTER, N. AM. URBAN AGRIC. COMM., URBAN AGRICULTURE AND COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY IN THE UNITED STATES: FARMING FROM THE CITY CENTER TO THE URBAN FRINGE (2003), available at http://www.foodsecurity.org/PrimerCFSCUAC.pdf (providing a thorough discussion of urban agriculture's benefits).
71. JAC SMIT ET AL., U.N. DEV. PROGRAMME, URBAN AGRICULTURE: FOOD, JOBS AND SUSTAINABLE CITIES 4 (1996).
72. See, e.g., Schukoske, supra note 62, at 355.
73. Id.
74. Id.
75. Id. at 351.
76. See BROWN & CARTER, supra note 68, at 8 ("Rooftops typically comprise at least 30 percent of a city's total land area, thus creating a large area of production."). An increase in the number of rooftop gardens would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, food transportation costs, and environmental harms. Id.
77. See Ken Belson, The Rooftop Garden Climbs Down a Wall, N.Y. TIMES, Nov. 19, 2009, at F4. "Edible walls" are the newest innovation in urban gardening. Id. Edible walls consist of "metal panels filled with soil and seeds" that are hung vertically to produce food, herbs, and flowers. Id. Like rooftop gardens, edible walls reduce greenhouse gas emissions and require little space to provide food for urban residents. Id. In addition to providing food and reducing emissions, edible walls provide additional insulation to buildings, thus reducing heating and cooling costs (and further reducing emissions). Id.
78. In Cuba, in the face of catastrophic food shortages, urban residents grew food not only in yards and vacant lots but also in alleys, patios, balconies, rooftops, and windowsills. See discussion infra Part V.
79. Schukoske, supra note 62, at 352.
80. Dorothy A. Borrelli, Note, Filling the Void: Applying a Place-Based Ethic to Community Gardens, 9 VT. J. ENVTL. L. 271, 276-77 (2008).
81. Id. at 279.
82. See, e.g., LocalHarvest, Community Supported Agriculture, http://www.local harvest.org/csa/ (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) (allowing farmers to sell their seasonal produce directly to consumers on a subscription basis).
83. BROWN & CARTER, supra note 68, at 9. 82 Id. at 5.
84. See Sheila R. Foster, From Harlem to Havana: Sustainable Urban Development, 16 TUL. ENVTL. L.J. 783, 790 (2003) (citing to U.N. Conference on the Environment and Development, Agenda 21, ¶ 8.4, U.N. DOC. A/CONF.151.26 (June 3-14, 1992)).
85. SUSTAINABLE AMERICA: AMERICA'S ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN THE 21ST CENTURY 4-5 (Daniel Sitarz ed., 1998).
86. For example, Clorox launched its Green Works line of natural green cleaning products. See Colin Dunn, Introducing Clorox's Green Works Cleaners, TREEHUGGER, Jan. 18, 2008, http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01/clorox-green- works.php.
87. E.g., AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (Paramount Classics 2006); THE 11TH HOUR (Warner Independent Pictures 2007); FUEL (Greenlight Theatrical 2008); FOOD, INC. (Magnolia Pictures 2009).
88. World Comm'n on Env't & Dev., Our Common Future: From One Earth to One World, ¶ 1, U.N. Doc. A/42/427 (Mar. 20, 1987), available at http://www.un-documents .net/ocf-02.htm#I.
89. OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY 1444 (Rev. 10th ed. 2002).
90. Id.
91. Development of clean alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, and wave energy, green construction, and energy efficient vehicles, has dominated the discussion regarding the impending energy crisis. E.g., John M. Broder, Gore Calls for Energy Shift to Avoid a Global Crisis, N.Y. TIMES, Jul. 18, 2008, at A17; see also SHIVA, supra note 2, at 4 ("Most of the discussions and negotiations on climate .change have been restricted to the commercial, consumption-oriented energy paradigm rooted in a reductive, mechanistic worldview and consumerist culture.").
92. SUSTAINABLE AMERICA, supra note 84, at 14.
93. Foster, supra note 83, at 790.
94. See, e.g., Association of Bay Area Governments, Smart Growth Strategy / Regional Livability Footprint Project, http://www.abag.ca.gov/planning/ smartgrowth/3Esof sustainability.html (last visited Apr. 17, 2010).
95. Windham, supra note 7, at 4.
96. Id.
97. See supra notes 28, 38 and accompanying text.
98. Carrying capacity refers to '"the maximum population size of any organism that an area can support, without reducing its ability to support the same species in the future."' See Hymel, supra note 19, at 19 (emphasis omitted) (quoting PAUL R. EHRLICH ET AL., THE STORK AND THE PLOW 4 (1995)). Carrying capacity is a function of population, consumption patterns of the planet's resources, and the amount of resources available. Id. at 19-20. The ability of future generations to sustain themselves is threatened when industrial farms contaminate the air, water, and earth and overconsume undeveloped land.
99. Externalities are costs imposed on society that are not paid for by the producer and are not justified by the benefits to the consumer. See Richard D. Gary & Michael L. Teague, The Inclusion of Externalities in Electric Generation Resource Planning: Coal in the Crossfire, 95 W. VA. L. REV. 839, 844 (1993). Treating environmental degradation and consumption of natural resources as externalities creates artificially cheap food prices and removes incentives for industrial farms to reduce the harms to society. See id.
100. Windham, supra note 7, at 19 (citing JENNIFER KENT & NORMAN MYERS, PERVERSE SUBSIDIES: How TAX DOLLARS CAN UNDERCUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 53 (2001)).
101. See Burchell, supra note 47, at 168-69; see also Buzbee, supra note 53, at 372.
102. See Burchell, supra note 47, at 162.
103. See id.
104. Cf. Buzbee, supra note 53, at 372; Adrienne Lyles-Chockley, Building Livable Places: The Importance of Landscape in Urban Land Use, Planning, and Development, 16 BUFF. ENVTL. L.J. 95, 114 (2008-2009) ("Rooftops typically comprise at least 30% of a city's total land area and offer prime space for food production with the added benefits of reduced energy consumption and decreased greenhouse gas emissions.").
105. See Rahul Saksena, Feature, Economic Growth and the Environment: India Confronts the Link Between Automobiles and Climate Change, 7 SUSTAINABLE DEV. L. & POL'Y 59, 59 (Winter 2007).
106. See Buzbee, supra note 53, at 372.
107. Eileen D. Millett, NPDES Issues in Urban Environments, Presentation at American Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Course on Clean Water Act: Law and Regulation (October 27-29, 2004), in SK037 ALI-ABA 67, 73 (2004).
108. See id.
109. Cf. Colin Crawford, Necessity Makes the Frog Jump: Land-Use Planning and Urban Agriculture in Cuba, 16 TUL. ENVTL. L.J. 733, 746 (2003).
110. Urban commercial gardens using intensive production methods can yield thirteen times more per acre than rural farms. BROWN & CARTER, supra note 68, at 9; see also Windham, supra note 7, at 16 ("While it is true that farmers converting from industrial production to organic production often experience lower yields in the first few years as the soil and surrounding biodiversity recover from the use of chemicals and farmers learn how to grow organic, recent studies show that over time organic farms produce almost equal if not greater yields than industrial farms.").
111. See Carmen G. Gonzalez, Seasons of Resistance: Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in Cuba, 16 TUL. ENVTL. L.J. 685, 724 (2003) (describing benefits of transitioning to sustainable agriculture in Cuba).
112. See U.S. EPA, Pesticides and Food: What "Organically Grown" Means, http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/organics.htm (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) ('"Organically grown' food is food grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.").
113. BROWN & CARTER, supra note 68, at 8.
114. See id.
115. Transportation of food consumes significant amounts of fuel as "[i]t is estimated that the average American meal travels about 1500 miles to get from farm to plate." Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture, Issues in a Nutshell: How Far Does Your Food Travel to Get to Your Plate?, http://www.cuesa.org/sustainable-ag/ issues/foodtravel.php (last visited Apr. 17, 2010).
116. Cf . Nature Conservancy, Climate Change: What You Can Do, Climate-Saving Tips from a Nature Conservancy Scientist, http://www.nature.org/initiatives/ climatechange/ activities/art 19630.html (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) ("In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions.").
117. Schukoske, supra note 62, at 352.
118. Cf. Lyles-Chockley, supra note 103, at 111-13.
119. Id. at 115-16, 126; see also U.S. EPA, Urban Heat Island Mitigation, http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/mitigation (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) (describing heat island effects and the benefits of trees and vegetation in urban areas).
120. Cf. Victoria Jenkins, Review, Communication from the Commission: A Sustainable Europe for a Better World: A European Union Strategy for 'Sustainable Development,' 14 J. ENVTL. L. 261, 262-63 (2002) (discussing the European Union's strategy for implementation of the United Nation's plan of action for sustainable development that includes "[i]ntegrating environmental protection and economic development").
121. Cf. id. at 263.
122. See supra note 97 and accompanying text.
123. See supra note 98 and accompanying text.
124. See Richard B. Stewart, A New Generation of Environmental Regulation?, 29 CAP. U. L. REV. 21, 29 (2001) (tracing the U.S. history of environmental regulations and controls).
125. All but the largest of farms are implicitly or explicitly exempt from U.S. environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. See Eubanks, supra note 10, at 249-51 (presenting examples of implicit and explicit exemption from environmental laws).
126. Morrow, supra note 12, at 362; see also supra note 98 and accompanying text
127. See Edward T. Canuel, Supporting Smart Growth Legislation and Audits: An Analysis of U.S. and Canadian Land Planning Theories and Tools, 13 MICH. ST. J. INT'L-L. 309, 312 (2005); Burchell, supra note 47, at 168-69; Buzbee, supra note 53, at 372.
128. Crawford, supra note 108, at 747.
129. BROWN & CARTER, supra note 68, at 12.
130. See Crawford, supra note 108, at 747 ("[I]n Cuba and elsewhere, urban agriculture can supplement cash incomes.").
131. Lyles-Chockley, supra note 103, at 112 ("Urban farms educate a person to control their own food and resources, which in turn manages their health and makes available the healthiest foods to the neediest individuals....Neighborhood revitalization happens when residents take pride in a community garden. Economic development is achieved when residents gain the ability to grow and market their own food .... Community empowerment is developed when residents have access to, and greater control over, their own food system.").
132. See id. at 116-18 (describing the struggles faced by cities concerning maintenance of vacant lots and open space).
133. Id. at 115 ("[N]eighborhood greenspaces typically increase the value of properties located nearby.").
134. Foster, supra note 83, at 790.
135. Id.
136. Water shortages, food shortages, and migration crises caused by global warming (resulting from over consumption of resources and resultant pollution) could lead to resource wars for basic necessities. Michael Shellenberger et al., Fast, Clean, & Cheap: Cutting Global Warming's Gordian Knot, 2 HARV. L. & POL'Y REV. 93, 94-95 (2008).
137. Windham, supra note 7, at 20.
138. Id. at 20-21.
139. See Eubanks, supra note 10, at 227-29 (discussing farm subsidy recipients and Farm Bill policies favoring agribusiness).
140. See Burchell, supra note 47, at 168-69; Schukoske, supra note 62, at 352-54.
141. Burchell, supra note 47, at 162, 168.
142. Buzbee, supra note 53, at 372. 142 Borrelli, supra note 78, at 276-77.
143. Crawford, supra note 108, at 738.
144. BROWN & CARTER, supra note 68, at 4.
145. Id. ("Food products typically travel between 1500 and 2500 miles from farm to plate ... [and] can spend as many as seven to fourteen days in transit....").
146. Id.
147. See Lyles-Chockley, supra note 103, at 112.
148. Smart Communities Network, Success Stories: The Power of Hope Garden, http://www.smartcommunities.ncat.org/success/power-of-hope.shtml (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) (describing how gardening raises "more than vegetables" because it raises "people's self-esteem").
149. BROWN & CARTER, supra note 68, at 7.
150. Id. at 4.
151. Id. at 5 (discussing urban residents and the lack of adequate quantities of quality food in urban areas).
152. Endres & Endres, supra note 5, at 405-06 (discussing risks and threats to food security inherent in a consolidated and centralized production, distribution, and processing food system).
153. As a result of a consolidated and concentrated food production system, food in the United States "travels long distances, requiring large amounts of energy to reach the majority of consumers." Id. at 406; see also id. at 410 ("Exclusive reliance on the ability of the complicated national-level agricultural and food processing system neglects the potential of local food networks to respond to chronic food shortages caused by shocks to other aspects of the system.").
154. Id. at 408 ( "Over the long-term, a diverse, more localized agricultural sector may be more resilient and better able to combat the more chronic threats to national security such as energy shortages and/or price escalation....").
155. See supra note 14 and accompanying text.
156. BROWN & CARTER, supra note 68, at 9.
157. A. Bryan Endres & Donald L. Uchtmann, Survey of Illinois Law: Conservation, Energy and Food Developments in Agricultural Law, 32 S. ILL. U. L.J. 793, 809 (2008) ("[T]he threat of bioterrorism has further elevated the importance of local food chains.");
158. see also Michael T. Roberts, Role of Regulation in Minimizing Terrorist Threats Against the Food Supply: Information. Incentives, and Penalties, 8 MINN. J.L. SCI. & TECH. 199 (2006) (presenting a thorough discussion of the threat of bioterrorism on U.S. food security).
159. For example, resource wars prompted by drought conditions have already occurred in Ethiopia. Ernest Waititu, Drought Spurs Resource Wars, INDYPENDENT (N.Y.), Apr. 25, 2008, at 10.
160. Endres & Endres, supra note 5, at 406-07 ("The typical mono-cropping, coupled with reliance on fossil fuels and long range transportation networks, create a complicated and inflexible system that lacks resiliency. ... A complex system, on the other hand, consisting of multiple local/regional food systems is more resilient....").
161. See generally Gonzalez, supra note 110, at 692-95 (presenting an extensive overview of Cuba's pre-and post-revolution agricultural systems, the subsequent food crisis following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Cuba's development of a sustainable agricultural system as a response to food shortages and environmental degradation).
162. See id. at 689-92 (discussing Cuba's sugar monoculture).
163. Endres & Endres, supra note 5, at 421.
164. See supra Part II.
165. Gonzalez, supra note 110, at 691; see also id. at 692-93, 706 (detailing Cuba's reliance on imports prior to the Special Period).
166. RAQUEL PINDERHUGHES ET AL., URBAN AGRICULTURE IN HAVANA, CUBA (2000), http://bss.sfsu.edu/raquelrp/pub/2000-aug-pub.html.
167. See Gonzalez, supra note 110, at 712.
168. PINDERHUGHES ET AL., supra note 165.
169. Mavis Alvarez et al., Surviving Crisis in Cuba: The Second Agrarian Reform and Sustainable Agriculture, LAND RESEARCH ACTION NETWORK, Sept. 20, 2009, http://www.landaction.org/display .php?article=337.
170. Sergio Diaz-Briquets & Jorge F. Pérez-López, The Special Period and the Environment, 5 CUBA IN TRANSITION 281, 281 (1995), available at http://lanic.utexas.edu/ la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba5/FILE23.PDF.
171. Eliza Barclay, Cuba's Organic Food Revolution Flourishing, ENVT'L NEWS NETWORK, Sept. 12, 2003, http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/cuba-organic -food.cfm.
172. PINDERHUGHES ET AL., supra note 165.
173. Id.
174. Id.
175. In addition to urban agriculture within cities, the Cuban government converted state farms, previously used to produce sugar cane, into sustainable, organic cooperatives producing food for domestic consumption. See Gonzalez, supra note 110, at 712-16.
176. PINDERHUGHES ET AL., supra note 165.
177. Id.
178. Id.
179. Id.
180. Id.
181. Barclay, supra note 170.
182. Gonzalez, supra note 110, at 718.
183. PINDERHUGHES ET AL., supra note 165.
184. Id.
185. Id.
186. See Gonzalez, supra note 110, at 723.
187. PINDERHUGHES ET AL., supra note 165.
188. See Barclay, supra note 170.
189. Id.
190. Gonzalez, supra note 110, at 722 ("When the collapse of the socialist bloc produced a shortage of agricultural inputs, private farmers were quick to adapt because they had not become dependent on imported petroleum, animal feed, pesticides, or fertilizers. . . . The accumulated knowledge of the Cuban farmer played a critical role in helping Cuba recover from the food crisis precipitated by the 1990 collapse of the socialist trading bloc").
191. Max Ajl, Eat Local: Cuba's Urban Gardens Raise Food on Zero Emissions, SOLVE CLIMATE, Jan. 27, 2009, http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090127/eat-local- cubas-urban -gardens-raise-food-zero-emissions (describing how Cuba's urban gardens meet food needs of residents and consequently "cut back on emissions").
192. Id.
193. See id.; see also PINDERHUGHES ET AL., supra note 165.
194. Alvarez et al., supra note 168.
195. Barclay, supra note 170.
196. Ajl, supra note 190.
197. See Lyles-Chockley, supra note 103, at 114 (discussing vegetative cooling to combat heat island effects).
198. See Ajl, supra note 190.
199. Barclay, supra note 170.
200. Crawford, supra note 108, at 735.
201. See supra notes 166-169 and accompanying text.
202. See, e.g., College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Baltimore City Community Gardens, http://www.growit.umd.edu/Community%20Gardensl/ Baltimore%20City %20Community%20Gardens.cfin (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) (describing a program where individual plots in Baltimore City Park are leased by that city for twenty dollars per season).
203. City of Portland Parks & Recreation, Community Gardens, http://www.portland online.com/parks/index.cfin?c=39846 (last visited Apr. 17, 2010).
204. PORTLAND, OR., PLANNING AND ZONING CODE tit. 33, § 33.920.460 (2009).
205. Friends of Portland Community Gardens, About Us, http:// friendspdxgardens.org/ facts.htm (last visited Apr. 17, 2010).
206. City of Portland Parks & Recreation, Brochure on Community Gardens, http://www.portlandonline.conVparks/mdex.cfr?c=39846&a=200912 (last visited Apr. 17, 2010).
207. Id.
208. Id.
209. City of Portland Parks & Recreation, supra note 205 (describing the Children's Gardening Program).
210. Baltimore Urban Agriculture, City Farms Information, http://www.baltimore urbanag.org/content/ciry-farms-information (last visited Apr. 17, 2010).
211. Id.
212. Id.
213. Parks & People Foundation, Community Greening Resource Network, http://www.parksandpeople.org/greening/resource-network (last visited Apr. 17, 2010).
214. Id.
215. Smart Communities Network, supra note, 148.
216. Id.
217. Id.
218. Id.
219. Id.
220. MATTHEW B. MIKOLAJEWSKI, MILWAUKEE COMMUNITY GARDENS: CURRENT TRENDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1 (2002), available at http://www.uwm.edu/SARUP/gallery/ planning/planstudentpdfmilwaukeecommunitygardens.pdf.
221. Id. at 3-4.
222. Id. at 11.
223. Id. at 9.
224. Id.
225. Id. at 11.
226. Growing Power, Inc., Our History, http://www.growingpower.org/our- history.htm (last visited Apr. 17, 2010).
227. Id.
228. Id.
229. Id.
230. The success of an urban agricultural system is dependent upon permanence of urban gardens. Borrelli, supra note 78, at 280. The benefits of urban gardens will not be fully realized in a few growing seasons as time is required to nurture and cultivate the soil as well as for urban farmers to develop the skills required to maximize production. See id.
231. Even in cities that have created urban gardens, such gardens are at risk of being sold for development purposes. For example, in 1998, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani attempted to auction off 1100 city garden lots to housing developers. See Schukoske, supra note 62, at 386-87. The urban gardens were saved when Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project and the Trust for Public Land bought the lots to convey them to community gardeners. See id.; N.Y. Envtl. Justice Alliance v. Guiliani, 50 F. Supp. 2d 250, 251 n.l (S.D.N.Y. 1999). Also, in 2006, a Los Angeles court upheld the sale of a fourteen-acre urban garden back to its original developer-owner, Ralph Horowitz. Associated Press, Judge Upholds Sale of Urban Garden, N.Y. TIMES, July 27, 2006, at A23. The city originally acquired the property by exercising its power of eminent domain and
232. See generally Schukoske, supra note 62, at 368-92 (discussing state and local land use laws relating to urban gardening).
233. See U.S. DOJ, Environmental & Natural Resources Division, History of the Federal Use of Eminent Domain, http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Anniversary/1767. htm (last visited Apr. 17, 2010) (discussing condemnation of property for "establishing parks and setting "aside open space for future generations, preserving places of historic interest and remarkable natural beauty, and protecting environmentally sensitive areas").
234. See, e.g., Milwaukee Urban Gardens, What We Do!, http://www.milwaukee urbangardens.org/Programs.html (last visited May 17, 2010) ("A nonprofit land trust dedicated to acquiring and preserving land and partnering with neighborhood residents to develop and maintain community gardens to enhance the quality of life.").
235. The Cuban Department of Agriculture provides an exemplary model of such an infrastructure. See supra notes 181-185 and accompanying text.
236. Cf. Endres & Endres, supra note 5, at 428 ("Hit hard by recession, many communities, particularly urban ones, would benefit greatly by individual food production, but lack the necessary gardening skills.").
237. Schukoske, supra note 62, at 367.
238. In response to food shortages during World War II, the federal government established the Victory Garden program, which provided similar resources to U.S. residents to encourage local food production and distribution. See Endres & Endres, supra note 5, 416-21 (describing the development of the Victory Garden program).
239. I.R.C. § 170 (West 2009).
240. Id. § 170(h)(1).
241. Id. § 170(h)(2).
242. Id. § 170(f)(3).
243. See id. §§47-48.
244. See Katherine M. McFarland, Note, Privacy and Property: Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Mandate for Stricter Scrutiny for Government Uses of Eminent Domain, 14 B.U. PUB. INT. L.J. 142, 144-46 (2004) (discussing the history of eminent domain).
245. Id.
246. Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26, 33 (1954).
247. See I.R.C. § 25(f)(2) (defining "eligible educational institution" as an institution eligible to participate in the U.S. Department of Education student aid program);, see also Higher Education Act of 1965 § 481, 20 U.S.C. § 1088(b) (2006).
248. I.R.C. § 25A(f)(2).
249. Id. § 170(c)(1).
250. Charitable deductions may be deductible for income tax purposes if, among other things, the contribution is: made for exclusively public purposes; to a qualifying nonprofit entity; "organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes...." Id. § 170.
251. See Rev. Rul 70-585, 1970-2 C.B. 115 (discussing purposes and activities aimed at combating community deterioration as charitable within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3)).
252. I.R.C. § 170(c).
253. Rev. Rul. 76-204, 1976-1 C.B. 152.
254. quot;Above the line" deductions are more beneficial to taxpayers as they reduce adjusted gross income and are deductible regardless of whether the taxpayer itemizes deductions or claims the standard deduction. See Tara Siegel Bernard, Income Taxes: What You Need to Know, N.Y. TIMES, Jan. 21, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/your-money/taxes/primertax.html;
255. see also Michelle P. Ryan, Comment, Paved With Good Intentions: The Legal Consequences of the Charitable Choice Provision, 102 DICK. L. REV. 383, 404-05 (1998) (discussing revision of the I.R.C. to permit above the line deductions for charitable contributions to encourage charitable giving).