Growing your own food in your backyard has recently become a popular concept in The United States. Being able to serve yourself food that you personally put in the ground, cared for, and watched grow is very rewarding. There are many benefits to growing your own fruits and vegetables, but there are also some negative aspects. The article, Pros and Cons of Growing Your Own Fruits and Vegetables (http://www.livestrong.com/article/68617-pros-cons-growing-own/) by Juniper Russo highlights these benefits and issues.
One of the benefits of growing a backyard garden is health. We all know that fruits and vegetables are part of a good diet, but produce from your own personal garden would be pesticide free, and very fresh. Gardens provide proper nutrients, as well as some exercise! The act of starting the garden itself requires time in the fresh air, and a little daily workout. Taking time and caring for these produce would be very beneficial for most people. The only down side to this aspect is the small portion of the population who physically cannot start and continuously care for these plants.
Another pro for creating a backyard garden is that they have a positive ecological impact. Growing your own produce saves a significant amount of energy. No packaging or transporting to stores across the country required! Also, most at-home-gardeners use safe gardening materials to grow their fruits and veggies. Big food industries harm the environment big time by growing produce in chemicals and pesticides. They have the potential to cause serious ecological and health hazards.
The financial benefit is most likely the biggest reason as to why people are starting to grow their own produce. At first, it may not seem to be worth the work. Having to buy the supplies, work to build the garden, and keep up with the crops everyday are reasons people are hesitant to have a garden of their own. But in the long run, it is worth the work because the produce is coming from the backyard, and not the store.