Ah...Detroit

In their introductory video, Hantz Farms refers to themselves as “Detroit’s Saving Grace.”

Normally, I would say save the self-titling until after you’ve actually…you know…saved Detroit.  In this case, however, I think that they are the best bet.  Well, second best.  The actual best would be a hostile take over by Omni Consumer Products, which would, of course, result in the complete removal of all crime and corruption.

  

However, since RoboCop is, sadly, a few decades away, tilling under 10% of the city and replacing it with productive and attractive farmland is the next best thing.

Not everyone feels this way, of course.

Earlier, some members of the city council suggested that turning urban residential areas into farmland would send the message to outsiders “that they failed as a city.”

I've decided to write an open letter:

Dear Councilmen,

We already know you failed.

Hugs and Kisses,

The rest of America

Eventually, the sale was approved, but some people still aren't happy.  Councilwoman JoAnn Watson says that the sale is "illegal" and "against state law".  Her complaint stems from a statute that says a developer must pay fair market value.

I've decided to write another open letter:

Dear Councilwoman Watson,

Fair market value is what a normal person would pay for something.  Since no normal people are buying the land, that means the value is...hmm...let me think...right...nothing.  So $520,000 is a pretty good deal.

Hugs and Kisses,

Someone educated somewhere other than your abysmal school system

Now, personally, I would be leery of purchasing produce from Detroit, at least for a few years.  I hope that Hantz and any other companies that are considering an agricultural undertaking do extensive testing for toxins in the produce raised.  Some of the places being bulldozed are meth labs (and crack labs before that), so God alone knows what chemicals have leached into the soil there.

Overall, however, I think this a brilliant way to go.  A quote that surfaced around the American War for Independence goes something like this, "I am a soldier, so my son can be a farmer, so his son can be

a poet."

In this case, it's more like:  "I am a soldier so that my son can be a farmer, so that his sons can be merchants, so that their sons can be manufacturers, so that their sons can be poets, at which point they'll realize that poetry doesn't actually put food on the table, and they'll have to become farmers again."