Why I Became a Part-Time Urban Farmer
“You know, if you hang around this earth long enough you really see how things come full circle.” - Patti Davis
If you study Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the very bottom of his pyramid – the base - is Physiological needs. One does not need a degree in engineering or empirical sciences to understand that if the base of the pyramid is weak, it will collapse.
Physiological needs are the physical requirements for human survival. If these requirements are not met, the human body cannot function properly and will ultimately fail. Physiological needs are thought to be the most important; they should be met first. Air, water, and food are metabolic requirements for survival in all animals, including humans.
Early humans were hunter-gatherers. Their lifestyle was feast or famine. If unsuccessful, they starved; if they killed a giant saber-toothed tiger, they partied like it was 1999. They were self-sufficient.
As tools were developed and invented, they slowly transitioned into the Agricultural Age. Humans are omnivores. They still hunted. But even if the elusive wild game outran the hunters, it was no big deal. They went out to the garden and made themselves fresh Caesar salad. They also began to domesticate animals.
Fast forward to the 1900s. Industrial Revolution. The use of workflow and automation began. Henry Ford started to pimp his ride. Many people began to work in factories. But some people remained in the Agricultural Age as farmers.
Then fast forward again to my teens, when hairs were big and everybody was doing MC Hammer’s Running Man.
We were told: Go to school, get good grades, get a good job, work for a good company for 30 years, retire.
The people who shared these words of wisdom cared for our well-being. They obviously loved us. But sometimes, as humans, we simply don’t know what we don’t know.
Some of the bits of advice we were given were based on the 1900 Industrial Age. Very few expected the coming…
Information Age.
We literally have information at our finger tips. If there’s something we need to know, Boom! Smart Phones and Google to the rescue. Parallel to the development of Information Age is robotics, full-automation, and nano-technologies.
When we sit back and truly ponder upon human's many, many great achievements - from the caveman's first wheel to the latest gadget at Best Buy on Black Friday after stampeding the crowd - Maslow's pyramid remained the same.
Whether we like it or not, the trend will continue. By 2020, millions of jobs typically held by humans will be replaced by fully-automated robots.
We in the workforce have two options:
a) Continue to learn new skills to maintain our competitive edge. Look at trends and anticipate future needs of the workforce.
Or,
b) Become self-sufficient, much like our ancestors, should we voluntarily or involuntarily remove ourselves from the corporate world