Do we want hunger to exist at all or in more than 2% of the population? The world faces tremendous challenges to feeding a growing, richer world population — particularly, doing so sustainably, without degrading our planet’s resources and the environment. On a national level, Feeding America reports that one in eight people struggle with hunger and need $22B more per year to meet their food needs. These people are seniors, children, minorities, and rural dwellers. According to the Organic Trade Association, $65B is spent on organic produce yearly across the US, yet 74% of customers are concerned about the price of organic produce. These concerns have caused a greater need for locally produced fresh food and purportedly, 40M US households grew something edible at home in 2016 (National Garden Industry Survey). On a local level, one in four botany and horticultural graduates are unemployed while 34% of busy homeowners, need edible gardening help (Garden Research). It is important to note that 125M US households spend $75B on lawn care maintenance.

To address these challenges, we must deliver more food to the world through a balanced mix of growing more food (while reducing the environmental impact of agricultural practices) and using the food we already have more effectively. While individuals and organizations with the skills and motivation to lead systemic change are best prepared for such an increasingly complex and uncertain future, no company can solve it alone. Lisa Drier posits that we need to create networks of organizations to act together to reach common goals. To make any real headway on solving problems of this size, coalitions (online and offline) have to be both big and effective. And motivating dozens or even hundreds of organizations to work together — and making sure their work makes a difference — is extremely difficult when no one is clearly in charge (Drier). Terraformers is a startup that helps people eat more nutritious food at low cost through productive and networked backyard gardening, one community at a time. Perhaps with time and wild success, it may become our intention to take charge.

Only through a balanced approach of supply-side and demand-side solutions can we address this difficult food insecurity challenge. When we reduce food waste, rethink our diets and biofuel choices, help people to shift their diets towards more sustainable directions, and grow more food at the base of the agricultural pyramid with low-tech agronomic innovations, we will have a well-fed human race and a healthier planet. Global environmental scientist Jonathan Foley, rightly states that “an interconnected network of good farms —real farms that provide nutritious food, with social and environmental benefits to their communities” — will feed everyone including the World Food Programme’s estimated 66 million hungry children. Ultimately, a world where no one is hungry and self-sufficiency is reintroduced into communities will move humanity forward and is a future worth creating.