This has not only led to a rise in the demand for organic food, but has also ushered in an era of urban organic gardening throughout the world. From major developed cities in the United States to developing countries like Vietnam, urban gardens are providing a space for people to grow their own healthy, organic food in a sustainable way for their personal consumption.

What does an urban farm consist of? Simply put, urban farming is growing or producing food in a city or heavily populated town or municipality. It could be anywhere, ranging from a small pot of vegetables to utilising unused office space to grow a variety of produce at work! When growing their produce, gardeners use alternatives to synthetic pesticides, and that is where neem-based natural pesticides and fertilizers come in! These gardeners utilize a more natural, regenerative and sustainable approach leading to increased freshness and quality of food, and to improve the quality of their food supply.

While many urban gardens are small, individual ventures, there are also large-scale urban farms that are tackling the problem of available farmland in urban areas. Instead of using the land, they have used technology to innovate large-scale farming processes and become a viable resource of fresh produce for the surrounding urban area. For example, BrightFarms has utilized a commercial rooftop by building a glass greenhouse covering 15,000 square feet in Brooklyn, New York. They are able to sell over 500 pounds of fresh produce daily and provide their crops to local supermarkets the very day they are picked!

Organizations are working to bring together communities of urban gardeners, such as Urban Organic Gardener, a community dedicated to providing urban gardeners resources and seeds for their gardens. Due to technology’s amazing connecting ability, this movement has become a global community in emphasizing sustainable food production and reducing the environmental footprint of traditional farms.

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In November, the EPA released a report that concluded that, as it is currently used, chlorpyrifos contaminates water and is a dietary risk due to its above normal safety standard residues on food crops. Additionally, the pesticide poses a risk to farm workers that come into direct contact with it every day. However, according to scientists, this synthetic chemical is correlated with lower IQ, attention deficit disorders, and developmental delays, like the loss of working memory, delayed motor development and decreased cognitive functioning. It has even been linked to autism, increasing in risk when mothers are exposed during pregnancy.

How can we avoid this scary chemical that is poisoning our children? Very difficult – it is currently being used on the majority of crops: corn, strawberries wheat, citrus, apples, and many others! Even though the chemical was banned for residential use in 2000, it has continued to prevail as a major insecticide used on golf courses, turf, and in greenhouses.

Since chlorpyrifos was on track to being banned – the EPA reversed the move just before the federal court deadline to make the final decision – the agency cannot revisit the health risks of this health-damaging synthetic chemical until 2022. Dow Chemical has claimed that there is not enough science corroborating the claims made by the EPA, however other scientists have compared chlorpyrifos with the health risks associated with lead.

Instead of continuing to use a proven health-damaging chemical to produce our fruits and vegetables, there are a multitude of other, safer and natural alternatives. One solutions is to use sustainable, neem-based biopesticides and fertilizers. Neem is cost-effective and is non-toxic to pollinators, animals, humans, and the environment, meaning you and your loved ones can stay safe, while enjoying healthy, sustainably produced food! Demand change, demand safety for you, your loved ones, and farmers!

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It means that even though we currently produce enough calories to feed the world, 795 million people live in extreme hunger, while another 1.4 billion suffer the effects of over-consumption. Diets can kill in a variety of different ways.

In the past 35 years, rates of obesity and diet-related diseases have doubled. Diabetes is among the most prevalent diseases in the world, and its incidence has increased by 382% in the United States since 1988. Every single day, more people are affected at both ends of the spectrum – under and over-nourishment. How can we break this cycle and bring balance to our global food security, especially when considering the 10 billion people expected to live on the globe in 2050?

The only true solution is for our food process to become more sustainable. By creating and nurturing a sustainable food system, we produce food that is healthier, more nutritious, and more wholesome. Instead of filling our body with toxins that may perpetuate these diseases that have become so prevalent in recent generations, we nourish our bodies with natural, safe and nutritious foods, like those produced with neem-based pesticides and fertilizers. Neem not only nourishes our bodies, but also benefits the soil, plants, the environment, animals, and our health! While it fixes the production, it also helps solve the problems caused by our current system through its ability to reduce insulin dependence for diabetic patients and detoxify the body of impurities. When mankind lives harmoniously with nature, everyone and everything benefits and stays healthy.

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France has implemented a new law that will require pesticide companies to reduce their production by 20% over the next five years. This has angered some farmers as they are concerned about their options to protect their crops. However, there is no need for them to worry. Despite requiring 2.5x more labor than conventional farming, organic alternatives are environmentally safer, produce crops with higher nutritional value, and yield on average 10x the profit.

A sustainable, productive, and equitable global food system will be achieved through precise application technology as well as biological control. This is where neem fits into the plan! By replacing those harmful, synthetic chemicals with natural alternatives like neem, consumers will see a reduction in the presence of chemicals on their food and farmers will have healthier plants, higher crop yields and greater profits. Not to mention the unparalleled benefits that a shift to organics will have on human health and the environment!

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