Obama is America’s First Metropolitan President

Photo image by Seetwist. See larger image here.

This is the time for the Secretary of Agriculture to represent the majority of America’s farmers: [family, small and middle farms].

By Jac Smit, Prez TUAN
Phone: 301 565 3131
4701 Conn. Av. NW
W-DC 20008-5617

The vast majority, over three-quarters, of American farmers produce our food in metropolitan and metropolitan adjacent counties, defined as Urban Agriculture, Metropolitan Farming and Metropolitan Agriculture. Three quarters of our Representatives on Capitol Hill are elected by the residents of the same urban counties. The farm and farm jobs data is at USDA and at County data [see NACO, national assoc. of counties].

On the East Coast in 2002 there were only four rural counties between Portland Maine and Miami Florida. Similar mega-urban geographic patterns exist in other parts of the country.

We are facing a nexus of; a) food price and quality, b) energy price and security, c) climate change and environment deterioration. Each of these three related crises is being ameliorated by urban agriculture. And it can be accelerated by support from the White House and Capitol Hill. This election presents an exceptional opportunity for action.

Urban Agriculture, worldwide and in America, is already;
a) Improving food quality and security,
b) Generating ‘Main Street’ jobs;
 c) Reducing the energy consumed for food production, shipping and storage; and
d) Creating a greener and healthier ‘Landscape for Living’.

Obama’s hometown, Chicago, has a vibrant, expanding MetroAg industry from the green roof of City Hall to the urban-rural edge in four states; Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan; [US Census data].

Many government and non-government organizations already support MetroAg [Google has four million entries at Urban Agriculture] and provide a potential support alliance for the new secretary of agriculture. The range of private organizations stretch from; environment, to nutrition, health, poultry, livestock, forestry, landscape, city planning, food security, and community development. Universities, from Cornell to Berkeley, include it in their curriculum

The new metropolitan-oriented Secretary will also have support from other government departments including; Housing and Urban Development [healthy communities]; Commerce, [Main Street business]; Environmental Protection Agency, [reducing negative climate change impact]; Interior Department, [conserving our natural resources].

The time has come for the urban agriculture advocates to be heard at high levels of government. We have a strong and growing constituency. Our prime target may be Secretary of Agriculture. We can also advocate for deputy secretaries in each of the previously mentioned departments.

It is also the right time to remind our Representatives and Senators of where the farms are and farmers vote, in the 21st century: e.g. metropolitan and metropolitan adjacent counties nationwide.

More of Jac Smit’s thoughts on ‘From the Desk of Jac Smit’ here.