Your Stories: Chefbotanist

It has been a really enjoyable experience seeing people add listings to our community and share their stories! One of the best parts of connecting people together is getting to hear their stories, motivations, and philosophies. With that in mind, I wanted to share this “about me” write-up by Blake (chefbotanist) that just blew me away when I read it! I want to thank them for writing one with so much detail and passion, and hopefully it encourages new users to tell us more about themselves. 

“I am a born Vermonter living in Los Angeles to change America’s broken food systems. I originally moved here to pursue a “green light” media career. By green light I mean media that works to make the world a better place. This contrasts Hollywood and commercial media that only exists for entertainment and/or profit. Regardless, I’ve been working at a Mediterranean grill since I graduated in late 2017. I have worked in kitchens for 10 years compared with one total year of professional media work. I was initially tasked with producing training videos for the restaurant, but unfortunately it never became a top priority for the company. I was furloughed from March-June and decided to start some herbs and veggies from seed. Since I’ve gone back to work at the restaurant I have not started any other seeds. I want to change this! Let’s trade spider plants for seeds or whatever else you may have!

I am SO happy to have stumbled upon this platform! For years I have dreamed of city streets being lined with produce and fruit trees for everyone to harvest. Atlanta, Georgia has begun a food forest in which this dream is reality. Los Angeles NEEDS multiple food forests paired with educational components that will provide communities with the space and knowledge to grow their own nutrient dense food.

Homelessness, poverty, food insecurity, climate change can be resolved through strengthening communities with access to nutrient dense food. The abundance of plants will help sequester our excess carbon we have polluted into the atmosphere. This excess carbon we have pumped into the atmosphere must go back into the ground and feed the microbes in our remaining fertile soils. Across America, corn and soy monocropping has been stripping the soil of nutrients, and increasing reliance on fertilizers and wasteful cover cropping to “rejuvenate” the soil. The UN estimates there will be only 60-70 years of farmable soil with our modern agriculture.

There is more to this. The bottom line is most of the complex issues facing our society and societies around the globe can be fixed with the simple solution of growing more plants and changing the culture of agriculture.”

I share his same dream of seeing more food forests in cities around the country, and around the world! Remember to send him a message if you’re interested in spider plants, I would love to see him get more seeds, and thanks again to Blake for sharing this about himself. When building a community it’s so important that we get to know each other because it will bring us closer together, encouraging trust and neighborliness.

My Galorian name is Ahitchens, send me a message!