1. A NEW ERA FOR FOOD
Planting Food ForestsGrowing Cooperation
Food forests mimic nature
by placing multiple species plants in mutu-
ally supportive relationships. This creates
a diverse ecosystem that provides diverse
products for humans and enhances the local
ecology. Food forests are primarily com-
prised of perennial crops which require less
energy to grow and do not require distrubing
the soil each year as annual crops do.
Each plant in a food forest provides
multiple functions to the system. Some
plants fix nitrogen supplying free fertilizer
to other plants, some plants drop their leaves
supplying free mulch which builds the soil
and conserves water, some plants support
pollinators, some plants produce food and
medicine, some plants provide share, some
plants send their roots far down into the
Earth to bring up water and nutrients that
other plants can use.
2. Economically Viable
Polyculture (multiple crop) food
production is an economically via-
ble system with greater productivity
that typical monoculture farming. In
addition, food forests rely on peren-
nial crops that can be propagated for
free from cuttings or saving seed. The
potential for sharing plant stock and
other resources through grassroots
community networks will amplify the
economic viability of food forests.
“On approximately two acres— half of which
was on a terraced 35 degree slope—I produced
enough food to feed more than 300 people, 49
weeks a ¬¬¬year in my fully organic CSA on the
edge of Silicon Valley. I did this for almost nine
years until I lost the lease to my rented land. My
yields were often 8 times what the USDA claims
are possible per square foot. My soil fertility in-
creased dramatically each year… I built my soil
from cement-hard adobe clay to its impressive
state from scratch.” (Blume)
A Holistically Integrated Solution: 3. Environmentally Sound
Food forests present a sustainable
alternative to modern food production
practices. The food forest model:
• Promotes bio-diversity by planting multiple
crop species together;
• Eliminates need for chemical pesticides, herbi-
cides, and fertilizers;
• Increases soil fertility over time through use of
specific plant species that:
o fix nitrogen (providing a natural living plant
fertilizer),
o provide mulch (through dropping of leaves),
and
o cycle nutrients through the system (i.e. deep
root species),
• Supports pollinators,
• Regulates pests and disease naturally,
• Requires no tilling after the initial planting,
thus conserving soil fertility and protecting soil
physiochemical and biological processes, and
• Eventually eliminates fossil fuel consumption in
food production. After the initial 10 years food
forests require minimal human labor and after
20 years are self-functioning forest ecosystems
that continue to provide food and other useful
crops and resources.
1. Socially Responsible
The potential for a worldwide food crisis
because of dependence on large-scale
corporate agriculture is now widely
acknowledged. Facing current trends
including extreme weather, rising food
prices, rising demand, and speculation,
planting food forests to supply food to
local communities is perhaps the most
socially responsible action we can take.
Small scale community food forests
have the potential to bring communities
together and increase access to food and
resilience in uncertain times. Already
public food forests and fruit tree plant-
ing projects are sprouting worldaround.
A single apple tree costing $10 if cared
for will grow to yield 48,000 apples. At
$0.50/lb. this is $24,000 worth of healthy
food. What social investment promises
such a return on investment?