[vidarh]

Some places can - if you have huge gardens and areas you're free to make use of. Many can't.

Norwegian farming policy is focused on maintaining near-independence in the food supply because the British embargo during the Napoleonic wars in the early 1800's is still seared in the collective consciousness. E.g. every Norwegian primary school child will go through the very long, very tedious poem "Terje Vigen" about a man who tried to evade the British embargo by taking a small boat to Denmark to get food to feed his starving family.

Starvation happened despite farming most of the available land.

The concern of local food production rose to prominence again during World War II, when German occupation meant strict rationing, which led to "fun" food innovation such as flour substitute made from bark, as growing vegetables etc. in your back garden simply doesn't produce enough for most people to sustain a family.

[kwhitefoot]

That's not the only reason for Norwegian farming policy. Another is to ensure that non-industrial areas and areas where it is simply difficult to live do not become entirely depopulated. I live and work and pay tax in Norway and I am quite happy with the basic principle that the country should produce most of its own food; it helps to reduce the tendency to race to the bottom of the market and, if done well, promotes pride in quality. Of course it is not easy to export the Norwegian experience to a much larger country like the US with a different political system and much higher concentration of ownership of the farms and also difficult to export it to a smaller much more densely populated country like the UK. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be worth trying to learn from it.

Don't mistake me, I'm not claiming that Norwegian farming policy is perfect, merely that it does seem to work at the moment.

[trapperkeeper79]

Terje Vigen is a fascinating tale .. thanks for pointing it out. Does it end in a cliff hanger or does he exact revenge on his captor???

[vidarh]

There's a full English translation here [1] with details on Ibsens likely sources of inspiration, if you want to read it. It feels a lot longer when you're 9-10 years old...

But here's a summary of the end:

He is released from prison at the end of the Napoleonic wars, and comes home to find his wife and child died while he was in prison, and were buried in a paupers grave.

Years later he comes across a ship in distress and it is the captain of the British ship that caught him, with his family. He threatens revenge, but on picking up the child changes his mind and saves all of them.

[1] http://www.oftebro.com/Terje_Vigen_english.pdf