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1917 Cartoon - We've seen this kind of economy before
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by mtippett | November 17, 2008 at 10:54 am
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This cartoon from 1917 depicts the changing lifestyle of people who used to spend their weekends golfing who are now growing their own food. Will we see history repeat itself with peace time Victory Gardens due to the economic downturn?
1917 Cartoon - A change of implements due to war.
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at 15:43 on November 17th, 2008
Sounds great! Now do you know of a plot of affordable land in the City of Vancouver that is economical to use for agriculture? My lot in East Van is assessed at $150/square foot for the bare land. Who is going to plow their houses under to plant food at those prices?
at 12:07 on November 18th, 2008
I can't imagine land prices in Vancouver are any higher than they were in London during the war.
at 12:54 on November 18th, 2008
I know nothing about the real estate market of London of that era. I am looking for someone to give me the rational business case for farming on $150/sf land because I cannot honestly think of one. A gravel parking lot would earn better economic returns than farming (unless they farmed pot).
at 13:10 on November 18th, 2008
That assumes that the price of food stays cheap and the demand for parking continues to stay high. The reason the Victory Gardens started in the UK was because of rationing and food shortages.
at 13:28 on November 18th, 2008
Yes. Rationing interferes with natural market mechanisms and drives prices higher so I guess at some point there would be a case. I think, however, that mass starvation by those who could not afford to pay such high prices would come much sooner.
at 15:27 on November 18th, 2008
The cause for food shortages was the war and not some kind of regulation (rationing and otherwise). When only a small portion of the population can afford food it is not bad social policy to preserve a share of the food supply for people unable to afford it. Otherwise there would no doubt be widespread rioting and looting.
History aside, my point is that in an environment where food is scarce you may find yourself growing food. Nothing could be closer to the free market than that.
at 18:06 on November 18th, 2008
I am not against the idea but it seems to me that farming in non-rural settings is only something that the wealthy could afford to do as it would be a luxury. First you have to have land. That means you either rent or own the land. Either way using it to farm would be a choice only someone who already has enough land on which to live could do. Otherwise they would only be able to afford enough land for their housing needs. Keep in mind I am assuming ann urban setting like Vancouver where there is no real "surplus" land.
Using my house as an example anyone who has a spare $600,000.00 laying around or the credit to borrow that sum would simply be better off using the land for a higher use and taking the proceeds (rent) and simply buying food produced on more suiitable, less valuable land. It is a situation of comparative advantage.
at 12:32 on November 19th, 2008
This logic makes sense in a textbook but realistically people aren't going to rent out their backyard. The reality is that this isn't a futuristic scenario. In fact the cool kids in Brooklyn are already doing it.
at 12:33 on November 19th, 2008
And then there is this house in California.
at 13:32 on November 19th, 2008
I reviewed your examples and they reinforce my point. These people do not suffer from food insecurity due to economic conditions. They are making lifestyle choices not economic ones. You original point was that economics could force people to do this and again I maintain that will never happpen as the underlying economics do not make any sense. As a lifestyle choice I agree that some people make choices that are not strictly "profit maximizing" but when one takes the concept of "utility" into account many wrong economic choices make more sense. We all do this but the motive for it is not an economic one as you suggested originally. Hell I grow some of my own food and it would be much cheaper for me to buy what I grow from Safeway when you take all costs into account but I derrive utility from the process.
at 17:21 on November 19th, 2008
I see your point Ray but I don't think the motivations are mutually exclusive. I think people are growing their own food for both reasons. This will not be a revolutionary change but an incremental one.