A paradigm shift from large corporate farming to small-scale regional farming may be the surest way to keep the planet from crashing on all of us. Growing food provides exercise and reduces one’s carbon footprint. Baby boomers recognize this and are buying an increasing volume of organic produce, according to retail sales data.
“It has become common knowledge that large-scale agriculture is toxic to our bodies, our soil, and our climate. Unprecedented amounts of fossil fuel are added into today’s food chain due to the way modern farms plant, treat, rotate, harvest, and distribute crops,” explains Canadian Dan Gallagher, who is working on a retirement farm concept in Baja California Sur, where he also operates the produce company Mangazo. Because more Americans eat than farm, farms have become large-scale corporations with profit as their primary focus.
What is the solution? According to Mr. Gallagher, "Society is beginning to look back to its sustainable roots. Not long ago, many of us produced natural crops and most of us had better diets. We need tens of millions more farmers on the continent , just to regain the quality of produce we had 100 years ago." For an excellent discussion of the benefits of locally grown fresh food, read Farms Cropping Up to Meet Local Food Needs.
Retirement Farms - A New Concept in Mexico
Seniors are interested in farming in retirement, according to retirement farm developer Dan Gallagher. If retirees of the future will be active retirees, and if growers of the future will tend small regional farms, might retirement farms become prevalent? The synergistic possibilities of such an evolution are easy to recognize. Many baby boomers don’t have the word “retirement” in their vocabularies. For these active children of the '60s revolution, a more agrarian lifestyle is easy to contemplate.
One interesting new concept is for small community farms to replace lawns and golf courses in retirement developments. Instead of mowing the lawn and then golfing, imagine tending (part-time) a community farm that feeds your family and friends, and the neighbors that shop at your own community’s farmers market? Which is more sustainable? The therapeutic value of gardening is well documented. "Locavores" are growing in numbers as rapidly as community-supported agriculture (CSA) is expanding.
Mr. Gallagher is planning two retirement farms surrounded by commercial fruit orchards, providing retirees with an ideal living environment away from traffic and noisy streets. “You are essentially living in a pastoral paradise near the ocean,” explains Mr. Gallagher. The photo above is the view from his window in the artist’s colony of Todos Santos.
Farmer's Markets at the Heart of a Community
In addition to being surrounded by orchards, Mr. Gallagher’s developments have at their center a cooperative farm run by residents of the community. This provides many different types of fruit and vegetables for residents' tables. Overflow is sold at a Farmer’s Market located at the entrance to the community. Community participation in the on-site Farmer's Market provides for social networking, a sense of community, and a sense of purpose for the community. Between the commercial and community orchards, retirees are free to build custom homes on their own individual farms.
In Mexico, low-cost labor is available to help seniors tend their farms and homes as they age, and this provides jobs for locals. “In agricultural areas such as Baja Sur’s Todos Santos and Valle de Planes, the agricultural infrastructure is excellent,” explains Mr. Gallagher, “and water from Mexico’s largest biosphere reserve is plentiful.” Both of these locations are near popular retirement centers such as Los Cabos and La Paz, providing additional outlets for retiree's produce as well as recreational opportunities.
To learn more about CSA in your neighborhood, and the the future of food, visit the Rodale Institute's New Farm locator.
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