The United States grew fewer fresh vegetables last year than the previous one. This, even as concepts like organics, whole foods, and the overall food supply chain grabbed the public’s attention. This is kinda interesting, isn’t it? We’re growing less, and we’re also planting less land for veggies. And here’s the kicker: the value of the veggies we did grow actually increased. All of this is according to the USDA’s Vegetables 2008 Summary (an 87-page document).
So, commercially-grown veggies are getting scarcer (to a small degree) and simultaneously, they’re getting more expensive. Go figure. I’d be interested to see what the statistics are for the production of home-grown vegetables. Are urban farms, backyard gardens, etc. making any real difference? These numbers are impossible to track of course.
