TRANSCRIPTION: My name is Steven Ritz. I am the author of The Power of the Plant and founder of Green Bronx Machine and we are here in the National Health Wellness and Learning Center celebrating the art of healthy living because I believe the art and science of growing vegetables aligned to content area instruction across all area of school grows healthy students, healthy schools, and healthy community. So food is a non-negotiable, and I believe that education and food education go hand-in-hand because children first and foremost will never be well-read if they’re not well fed. So teaching children that input equals output really dictates how they treat themselves the world and the planet. On a larger level… on a big macro level, think about it. Food is non-negotiable. So without farmers we all be naked and hungry and in a world mitigated by climate change, growing populations, diminishing resources, being able to grow food efficaciously and quickly, safely, reducing transport, and hyper-locally creates opportunities for the next generation. The ability to produce food in cities hyper-local, hyper-fresh, and hyper connected creates opportunities for learning, better health, better wealth, better nutrition and a more robust society. So I am thrilled to see the urban agriculture movement. I am proud to be an urban farmer. I’m proud that my students here in the South Bronx know exactly where their food comes from and they go from tower to table to tummy in 20 feet which is awesome! That’s what it’s all about.
Stephen Ritz talks Green Bronx Machine – Food Future Institute
TRANSCRIPTION: My name is Steven Ritz. I am the author of The Power of the Plant and founder of Green Bronx Machine and we are here in the National Health Wellness and Learning Center celebrating the art of healthy living because I believe the art and science of growing vegetables aligned to content area instruction across all area of school grows healthy students, healthy schools, and healthy community. So food is a non-negotiable, and I believe that education and food education go hand-in-hand because children first and foremost will never be well-read if they’re not well fed. So teaching children that input equals output really dictates how they treat themselves the world and the planet. On a larger level… on a big macro level, think about it. Food is non-negotiable. So without farmers we all be naked and hungry and in a world mitigated by climate change, growing populations, diminishing resources, being able to grow food efficaciously and quickly, safely, reducing transport, and hyper-locally creates opportunities for the next generation. The ability to produce food in cities hyper-local, hyper-fresh, and hyper connected creates opportunities for learning, better health, better wealth, better nutrition and a more robust society. So I am thrilled to see the urban agriculture movement. I am proud to be an urban farmer. I’m proud that my students here in the South Bronx know exactly where their food comes from and they go from tower to table to tummy in 20 feet which is awesome! That’s what it’s all about.