(04-09-2023, 03:27 PM)Lilith7 Wrote: One of the problems is that we're still a low wage country, another is that housing now doesn't always allow for a home garden which they really ought to do. That way those who want to & are able, can grow at least some of their own food.
The problem is that so many simply don't. We used to have a vege garden in each of our rentals, but over time have realised that they are very rarely used. Ditto for fruit trees. When we have reason to go to properties, we see feijoas, mandarins, tangelos, etc rotting on the ground. Of course that's a generalisation and some tenants do make use of home-grown food, but they are in the minority. So when a house is between tenants and I have to get in and clear waist high grass and weeds interspersed with rubbish, we put that ground into lawn for the next tenants. (But would also be perfectly happy for any tenants to make a garden anywhere they wish if they keep it reasonably tidy.)
Bruce's programme last night did touch on the conflicting societal needs - he showed that we plant houses on the best arable land, and to avoid that we need high density housing which has no room for vege gardens. So some people do great work with community gardens, but space for those is often short and encroaches on recreational facilities, etc. The cycle goes around. The bottom line is that we simply have too many people trying to live in over-crowded conditions and so many of them have too much access to junk food to be motivated to grow their own.