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Two activists in Todmorden, England are working to make their town self-sufficient in ten years. The transformation of their town to a productive green landscape is part of a greater movement toward urban gardening and agriculture that can help create greater food security in cities.
By Matt Ford
To begin with, visitors to Todmorden, Yorkshire, might think it looks like any other small town in northern England.
But look closer and you will notice some unusual features that have placed the town at the forefront of a new food revolution.
In fact, wherever you look food is growing, free for anyone to pick and take home to cook.
The architects of this remarkable landscape are two local women, Pam Wallis and Mary Clear, who are on a mission to make their town self-sufficient within 10 years.
In Todmorden [the urban gardening movement] has its own name -- the 'Incredible Edible' campaign -- and the local authorities are beginning to take notice, giving permission to plant 500 fruit trees around the local sports fields and promising to look for ways to expand the number of allotments available.
The trend seems to be catching on in Government circles as well. In the spring British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We need to make great changes in the way we organize food production in the next few years."
There is already a proposal before the London Mayor that all of the 14 million meals consumed at the 2012 Olympics will be provided from new urban farms on 6,000 acres of land in East London.
The question is, of course, will it work.
For an answer we need to look abroad where urban agriculture is already providing a large contribution to food production.
There are urban farms all over, from Argentina to China, but it is in Cuba where they have transformed the countries food economy.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba was suddenly without its main source of fossil fuels and had to rapidly adapt to a "post oil" world, with more food produced locally and by hand.
There are now over 400 horticultural clubs in Havana alone, with residents claiming community spirit, as well as fresh food, has blossomed in the city's green spaces as the countryside came to town.
If the growing band of green-fingered citizens of Todmorden, London, and many other towns have their way, the urban landscapes of the United Kingdom could soon be equally transformed.
Photo credit: Jon Bennett 
