When people are ignorant of how to grow their own food, they will be helpless when tragedy strikes. “In total, 31 percent of all U.S. households… participated in gardening in 2008.” (NGA6). If nuclear fallout or a natural disaster were to occur, it appears that the remaining 69% of families would starve. As society evolves into consuming fast food and relying on grocery stores to provide sustenance; people become unstable, unhealthy, and unable to provide for their families. Since the beginning of recorded history, people have dedicated their entire lives to learning about natural resources and how to provide for themselves while expecting no one else to. While there may be greater concerns in preventing nuclear fallout or another ice age, it is naive to believe that in the event such an event occurs we could prosper without having any sincere knowledge of self-sustainability. There are 5 fundamental principles that should be emphasized in schools to prevent 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 B.C. As Professor Freeman S. Howlett states in his notes for the Horticulture 805 course: “the medical knowledge evident in the Iliad and 'Odyssey involved the use of drugs. The farmers had learned to use dung 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 peasant almanacs. By providing information to his negligent brother, this almanac teaches how to maintain one's vitality in case Hesoid is unable to provide it. Hippocrates, who lived between 460 and 375 BC, began the Hippocratic Revolution...... middle of document ......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), informs that there is a low percentage of involvement in horticulture within home programs and almost no gardening-related school programs available for children and young adults. The NGA supports this information with various surveys and interviews of over 36 million people. The NGA provides this information to shed light on people's desires for home gardening and the conflicting realities found within them. Due to the unpersuasive facts about food gardens and their percentages nationwide; gardeners, parents and statisticians are the interested public for this report.