Killing animals you've raised—I think a lot of people think they would have trouble with that. How have you found it?
I remember it was getting to be the first Thanksgiving after we got meat birds and I was getting ready to kill the turkey and it was a big deal. It rightly should be a big deal. I remember having dinner parties and feeling like something was missing. I didn't know what, I couldn't put my finger on it. But once we did kill the turkey and had it for Thanksgiving it was an epiphany. Eating meat is a celebratory kind of thing and it should be part of a ceremony.
People think "I know this animal and I don't want it to die" but then they eat unnamed meat and don't feel bad about it. That makes no sense. It's logically flawed. For me there is no conflict at all. There is great love and then you enjoy them all the more because you did know that they had a good life.
We're here next to a huge highway on a dead-end street in the middle of West Oakland. What's makes this a farm and not just a big urban garden?
For me, farming is about feeding yourself and probably some other people. I also think that animals really do make something a farm—there is something about having that relationship between the animals—fertilizing the soil and then eating the vegetables that have grown in the soil and they're part of that cycle of life.Does tending those animals then make you a farmer?
Being a farmer for me is orchestrating the dance between death and life. It's having a really close relationship to your food and doing the work to maintain that. You have to take care of something everyday. For me that keeps me full and going and happy and active and gives meaning to my life. I love feeding people and animals, taking care of things.Who do you feed?
Well, we're in the ghetto, so there are a lot of people who don't have enough to eat, especially good healthy produce or eggs. So we often have visitors to the garden and they know it's an open-door policy and they can take what they need. So we grow a lot of greens because our neighbors really like greens—collards and mustard. I feed at least five families just out of the garden.How much of your own diet comes from GhostTown Farm?
A lot, but I shop at the farmers market. I buy bread. I buy butter—I buy a lot of stuff. For example, this morning I had eggs from the chickens, some bacon I still had from the pigs, and some tortillas I bought.
People can get very moralistic about eating locally, but I'm living my life. Part of the reason I live in a city is because I want to do things like eat Chinese food, which I love. If I didn't want to eat Chinese food I would go live in the country and grow all of my food, but I'm here and I like to support my local restaurants. My boyfriend and I eat out at least twice a week.
What's so cool is that you can choose to eat out of your garden or go out and eat some Vietnamese food. It's the same thing as having a laundry line and a clothes dryer. You can choose on the rainy day to put the clothes in the dryer and what a relief that is.
That's what I love about urban farming, there is a lot of wiggle room. It's about enjoying stuff and you can be easy on yourself. You're not depending on your potato harvest.
Also, you don't get to share as much when you only eat your own food. I feed other people but other people also feed me. It would be a problem when a neighbor harvested the broccoli I was planning on eating that night.
How does that work? How do your neighbors know what's okay to take?
I put up signs sometimes. See this corn here? I'm going to put up a sign saying "Don't Pick This" because I will be totally annoyed if someone picks it. It's blue corn it's not sweet corn. I'm going to make tortillas and stuff and if someone takes it home and boils it it won't be good and that will be a waste.Let's say someone reads this or reads your book, Farm City, and is totally inspired. Do you have any advice for them?
Start small, and in steps. Go slowing. The tendency is to jump in and go crazy. I would suggest trying one animal a season and see if you like it.
Also, really just raise stuff that you like. Don't grow stuff just because a permaculturalist tells you it works in your garden or climate, grow it because you like it.
I would also suggest finding a mentor who has done it. It's helpful for learning but it also builds community. Like for me, a lot of the Vietnamese people in this neighborhood used to be farmers in Vietnam. They know a lot about farming. And our Yemeni storekeeper around the corner, he was a goat farmer for 20 years.
Finally, you want to involve your neighbors, but not too much. My motto is to ask forgiveness not permission.
What about for those people who are totally inspired but aren't quite ready to turn their yard into an urban farm?
There are all kinds of things to do. More and more you're going to see urban farmers selling at farmers markets. Every major city has an urban farm. I just love going to farmers market and supporting farmers of all sorts.
The other thing is compost. If your city composts, participate. Know that your waste is valuable and be sure to put it back in the cycle. Or you can even compost and find an urban farmer who wants your compost.
Donate to urban farms or urban food systems—there are all kinds of places looking for help.
