Urban Sprawl Is Giving
Us Cancer
With
so many overcrowded cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, there’s a
huge overflow of people into surrounding areas, creating urban sprawl. Forests
have been ripped down and the land has been transformed into suburban
neighborhoods. An astounding relation exists between the lack of connection
with nature and our food sources. This particular occurrence is where high
demand for mass-produced foods originates from, and with it has come troubling
consequences like obesity and cancer from food that contains chemicals.
To
sustain large population pockets, science has devised a way to grow crops and
livestock quicker than ever, feed us all, and have some leftover: frozen foods,
factory farms, and synthetic growth hormones to beef up our livestock. As a
result of these innovations in agriculture, cancer has become more and more
prevalent in the U.S., especially among children.
Artificial
food dye makes your food look cool but inhibits nerve-cell development. Waxy
preservatives such as BHA and BHT are found in most bubble gums but are linked
to cancer and tumors. Arsenic is a chemical injected into poultry to make it
appear pink and fresh, but it is poison and can cause death if ingested in
large amounts.
Scientists are discovering with much alarm that
some very common endocrine disrupting chemicals are found in mass-produced
foods. These chemicals have appalling effects for humans including breast
cancer, infertility for men and women, genital deformities, diabetes, and
obesity.
"Philip Landrigan, a professor of
pediatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, says that a congenital defect
called hypospadias — a misplacement of the urethra — is now twice as common
among newborn boys as it used to be. He suspects endocrine disruptors, so called
because they can wreak havoc with the endocrine system that governs
hormones" (Kristof paragraph 4).
There is also a significant association between
childhood cancer and the consumption of foods exposed to pesticides. Clusters
of acute leukemia are found in agricultural countries that use substantial
amounts of pesticides.
According
to International New York Times
article "Chemicals in Food Raise Children's Cancer Toll”: “As documented
by the Food and Drug Administration, residues of numerous carcinogenic
pesticides are commonly found in most fruits and vegetables. Additionally, milk
and other dairy products are often laden with carcinogenic pesticides and
antibiotics. Factory farm meat, particularly liver, veal, frankfurters and
hamburgers, are also contaminated with carcinogenic pesticides, besides
growth-stimulating sex hormones and other feed additives” (Paragraph 4).
In
order to end this vicious cycle, there needs to be a major countrywide
lifestyle change. The change begins by fixing the root of the problem: city
planning and population disbursement need to be organized differently. The
answer is New Ruralism.
New
Ruralism is a philosophy based on the idea of re-connecting with the land by
encouraging smart growth, walkable neighborhoods (aka less gas consumption),
and conservation of land while averting away from suburban sprawl, loss of
natural habitats, and deserted public areas. New Ruralism depletes the use of
miles of pavement, the time spent driving from place to place, and strengthens
the connectivity lost to sprawl. It’s a preventative measure that protects
rural areas on the urban edge that are at high risk for the intrusion of
suburbanization, environmental deterioration, and industrialization. It’s a
combination of planning cities around compact neighborhoods and growing sustainable
food that promotes environmental health and socio-economic impartiality. New
Ruralism promotes the preservation and enhancement of rural areas that are
invaluable to the economic, environmental, and cultural livelihood of U.S. cities.
Serenbe
is the paradigm of what New Ruralism can be. As described in Emily M. Stratton’s
“New Ruralism”, it’s a 900-acre development in Fulton County, Georgia that
contains three hamlets, or small villages, each with their own town center,
restaurants, and retail shops. The development has its own organic farm,
wastewater treatment plant, and enough paths that walking has become more
efficient for residents than driving. Serenbe also has a vast amount of
preserved land including protected forests, pastures, farmland, and even a
wildflower meadow.
Serenbe
and other New Ruralist communities across the country are dedicated to organic
food products and farmer’s markets because planners and homeowners are aware
that industrialized agriculture caused by urban sprawl is harmful to both nature
and humans.
“There
is a vaccine against sprawl, a way to ward off the encroachment of those who
see the land as an accessory and not a commodity, and it is New Ruralism”
(Stratton 7). But it isn’t just a way to combat the overcrowding of
metropolitan areas, New Ruralism has the power to give our children—and the
world— a healthier tomorrow.
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