UAE Local Food Revolution

local food revolution

Hand-in-hand to increase local farming in the UAE

Local Food Helping the local farmers Do you ever think about what ways you can support the local community in the UAE? You may think of supporting local businesses, but have you ever thought of supporting the farmers, as well as environment and health of the UAE at the same time? The good news is, it is completely possible.

There are many ways in which you can support the local community, one good method is supporting and encouraging local farming of food, because local farmers are who you should be paying.

endless benefits non-GMO farming saves the planet Farming can help decrease the percentage of CO2 in the air. Another benefit of local farming is that growing plants can decrease the percentage of CO2 in the air. UAE is one of the top air polluted countries in the world, mostly due to transportation and construction. Oxygen can help decrease the amount of CO2 in the air. It has been scientifically proven that plants produce oxygen which can decrease CO2 in the air and help keep the air clean.

Source: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/

15%

89% 89% is imported

Did you know that the UAE imports 85% of its food, and exports only 15%? One reason is that the climate of the UAE is “not suitable for growing vegetables and fruits�. You may think that growing vegetables and fruits in the climate of the UAE is not possible, but peppers, lettuce, pepper and tomatoes and of course dates and many other vegetables and fruits are some of the grow-able fruits and vegetables in the UAE and yet farming is still considered low in the UAE.

Source: https://gulfnews.com/

grow local Endless benefits

Growing food locally can help fight diseases and grow much healthier and fresher food, as opposed to importing food from other countries which costs more and does not arrive fresh, also, you wouldn’t for sure know what process the food has went through. Secondly, supporting local farmers can create new jobs and help grow the community, and pay the local farmers and help increase the economy as well as the environment of the UAE.

Pay the real farmers Paying farmers can increase the economy of the UAE, make people healthier by consuming non-GMO food created by machines, create new jobs and it is good for the environment.

“The process of growing your own food

can teach you many things, one is to

never waste your food and appreciate it.�

Story of success A local family participates in the change One way you can help make the change in the UAE is by introducing local farming to your family. A local family in the UAE has created a small garden in their house to grow vegetables and fruits, such as peppers lettuce, tomatoes and mushrooms and they have made it into an activity. The family, used to suffer from obesity and the children used to be addicted to smartphones, which will increase their chances of obesity and other diseases later in their life.

“Our life used to be very unhealthy, we constantly wasted the food we bought and we ate unhealthy GMO food. We didn’t really pay attention to what we put in our stomaches.” - the son

FUTURE

FOR A HEALTHIER

GROW healthily

“One day we got very sick and overweight from the lack of healthy food and exercise so our parents decided to make a farm in the house, and we farmed vegetables, fruits as well as eggs.”

“My little sister used to suffer from asthma because of the air pollution, so growing plants in our house has helped clean the air from CO2, imagine if more people grew their food, we would be happier” - the son

The family used to suffer from obesity and the children used to be addicted to smartphones, which was going to increase their chances of obesity and other diseases later in their life, and farming has helped them. The parents thought it was the time to introduce a healthy activity to prevent obesity, that can help them eat better which is farming in their house. Not only has this helped them get physical activity, but it has helped them appreciate the food that they have grown and not waste it The process of growing your own food can teach you many things, one is to never waste your food and appreciate it. Farming is that growing plants can help save the environment, your economy as well as your family.

“The process of growing your own food can teach you many things, one is to never waste your food and appreciate it.�

- the son

Alya Essa Alshamsi CACE Zayed University Prof. Yunsun Chung-shin AGD 351 Fall 2018