This American Is Setting The Standards For Sustainable Living

Lindsay Wilson
This American Decided To Grow And Forage All Of His Own Food
© Instagram: @robjgreenfield
This American Decided To Grow And Forage All Of His Own Food
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This man from America decided to eat nothing more than what he grew or foraged for himself, for an entire year.

Over a year ago, Rob Greenfield embarked on quite a big challenge, only eating what he grew in his garden, what he caught when he went fishing, or what he found in the wilderness, for a whole year, as various media sources around the world reported.

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‘For the last year, I have been growing and foraging 100% of my food. That means no grocery stores, no restaurants, not even a drink at a bar. Nature has been my garden, my pantry, and my pharmacy,' he explained on the website he created for his challenge. Instead, he decided to turn the lawns in his neighbourhood into abundant gardens, since he doesn't own any land himself. He then shared what he grew with his neighbours.

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Today is day 357 of growing and foraging 100% of my food and I’ve got a problem! TOO MUCH HONEY! With just barely more than a week left I can say it has been a year of abundance. Not every trip to the woods or the sea yielded what I was looking for. Not everything I tried growing was a success. I had days on the water from dawn until afternoon with barely a bite on my line. I had cucumber worms come in like a plague on my Seminole pumpkins. I made big mistakes, like this summer when my body was questing for quality fat and I let go a 20 pound Lake Trout that would have fattened me up for a few weeks. I burned my food when I was exhausted and famished. I let crops sit for too long and lost them to the elements. Just writing this out I’ve realized I could come up with a list of dozens of blunders I made and failed days. But with all that being the reality, I did have enough. Nature provided. My preparation paid off. My determination and dedication for the bigger picture held through. But most of all, nature provided. And the community of people around me shared their knowledge, their plants, their homes, their time and their love. Oh, but I came on here to write about my honey problem. I opened up one of my colonies today to find the top box FULL off honey. Another 25 pounds possibly! That’s on top of the gallon I still have after giving out many jars to my community from the total of four gallons I’ve harvested during my time here. What will I do with all of this honey? I give thanks to the bees. You gave me a greater purpose. I’ve loved working with you. Thank you for being my candy shop, turning natures nectar into the strength that I often needed to get through the day. Sometimes you stung me in the face, but I certainly don’t blame you for that. I love you bees. And I love all of you! Love for the Earth and every human and creature on it! Love, love, love, Rob PS. The second photo is of my “shoes.” I don’t own any shoes right now but I didn’t want to risk getting stung in the foot. I used a couple reusable bags. They got the job done.

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From the very start, this 33-year-old activist lived in a tiny house that he built himself, with a garden, that he owns in Orlando, Florida, in the United States.

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He documented his experiences on his YouTube channel with one goal in mind: to inspire people to live more simply.

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I’ve arrived home to a jungle of food! After nearly three months without a garden, it is such a blessing to have a bounty of food growing outside my doorstep. I came home to racks of bananas in the sky, piles of sweet potatoes under the ground and herbs and greens at every level in between. I still have not discovered all of the wonderful foods that await in my garden. Nature did the work while I was away. The sun shined. The rain fell from the sky and soaked in to the soil and to the plants. The bees buzzed and pollinated. And of course the interns... they did a fantastic job and ate much of the bounty all summer long. Today is day 329 of growing and foraging 100% of my food. I have just over five weeks left and it’s safe to say I’ll largely be able to coast in with this bounty of food that lies before me. No need to stock up food for the future... No need to stay up until late hours of the night preserving food. I will simply be eating fresh food straight from the garden and from nature’s pantry for the next five weeks to come. Vibrating joy to you all from Florida! Love, Rob

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‘Through this project, I was out to wake people up to the issues with our globalised, industrialised food system and inspire and help them to start growing even just a little bit of their own food. This project wasn't about being self-sufficient. It was about creating a community with food sovereignty,’ he explained.

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I'm excited to share this new podcast on one of my absolute favorite podcasts, @wildideasworthliving presented by @rei! Listen wherever you get your podcasts or link in bio. "This week on the podcast, I spoke with @robjgreenfield, a repeat guest who’s in the middle of a grand experiment. Rob is spending one whole YEAR eating only food he’s grown or foraged himself. Rob is a master at experimenting with ways to lessen our impact on the planet and help each other as a community. Every time we speak, I’m always reminded that what I do every day impacts the planet and that I can individually take action to make a big difference. Rob has great views on minimalism, how we can share things with each other to create less waste, and how to build community. I loved hearing his viewpoints and learning about what he actually is eating during this grand experiment."

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Check out our video above to see more about Rob's inspiring project!

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