Globalization Disaster

I attended the Globalization even at Carlow University for a talk about The Garden in South Central Los Angeles. The Garden was going through hard times because the owner Ralph Hororwitz wanted to sell it and evict the farmers with no warning.


The Garden grows anything from Papayas, Bananas, and Cilantro. They use the land to grow food for themselves and their 372 farmers/families. They grow food on thirteen acres. The Garden is known by the community as the Urban Garden, it’s the largest community garden in the state. One day they got a note on their gate saying that their garden will close on February 2006 – with no reason at all. They have decided to go to court to fight to save their jobs and the love for their garden. Ralph Hororwitz paid 5 million dollars for the land to be sold. When he sold it, the new owner decided that they wanted to make the land into a soccer field, the farmers were angry because they said that there are already 4 soccer fields in the area; so why do they want the land? Is fresh food not important? They believe that the people who want them out hate who they are and what they represent. They had never given them a reason as to why they wanted them out. Ralph told them that they need to raise 16.3 million dollars in 5 weeks in order to save their jobs and the land. They got donations from all over, from celebrities such as Danny Glover. They raised the money in 6 days, they contacted Ralph, and he acted like that agreement never existed, like they never existed to him. The courts also acted like they never went to fight. The day of their eviction, (June 13th 2006) there were cops, chaos and riots. Even though they raised the money in time, it didn’t matter, Ralph didn’t like the cause, he pretended not to know them. Luckily they bought new land, in South Central LA under power lines. They now bring their food to local food markets. They believe that without their land, they are nothing.

In 2008, 2 years after their eviction, Ralph built nothing on the site. In 2010, the land is still dirt; they were trying to put in a ware house for the clothing company, Forever 21. They tried to do it without an environmental report, they gave up. Still to this day the land remains empty, and what for? Because a couple of people didn’t like the fact that there were others out there who grow healthy and organic food, and they love to farm and garden. It really opens your eyes to show you that people are selfish and greedy; that when they don’t like something or someone, they will do everything in their power to get rid of them, even when they don’t do anything personally to them.