When people are ignorant of the means to grow their own food, they will be helpless when tragedy strikes. “A total of 31 percent of all U.S. households…participated in food gardening in 2008” (NGA6). If nuclear fallout or a natural disaster were to occur, it would appear that the remaining 69 percent of households would die of starvation. As society shifts towards fast food consumption and reliance on grocery stores for sustenance; people become unstable, unhealthy and unable to provide for their own families. Since recorded history began, people have dedicated their entire lives to learning about natural resources and how to provide for themselves, hoping that no one else would. While there may be greater concerns about preventing nuclear fallout or another ice age, it is naive to believe that if such an event occurred we could prosper without having any sincere knowledge of self-sufficiency. There are 5 fundamental principles that must be emphasized in schools to avoid this lack of education, and we already have the know-how. People have come a long way in basic agriculture and horticulture since the time of Homer in 1200 BC. As Professor Freeman S. Howlett states in his notes for his Horticulture 805 course: “The medical knowledge apparent in the Iliad and Odyssey involved the use of drugs. Farmers had learned to use manure to increase the fertility of their fields. » (His. And Lit). In 800 BC there was a man called Hesoid who produced one of the very first agricultural almanacs. By providing information to his neglectful brother, this almanac teaches him how to maintain his own standard of living in case Hesoid becomes unable to provide it. Hippocrates who lived from 460 to 375 BC. AD launched the rev...... middle of paper ...... National Gardening Association. The impact of home and community gardening in America. South Burlington: National Gardening Association, Inc. 2009. Web November 11, 2011The National Gardening Association (NGA) research report "The Impact of Home and Community Gardening in America" ​​(2009) indicates that there is a small percentage of involvement in food gardening within the region. households and almost no school gardening programs available for children and young adults. The NGA supports this information with various surveys and interviews with more than 36 million people. The NGA provides this information in order to shed light on the desires of home gardeners and the conflicting realities behind them. Because of the unconvincing facts about home gardens and their percentages nationwide; gardeners, parents and statisticians are the target audience for this report.