The Desert Can Yield a Bounty of Vegetables—Just Ask One of Arizona’s Sustainable Farmers

"There’s this perception of the desert as lacking—dry and dead—but that’s really only since colonization and industrialization," says Alfonso Chavez, an artist, activist, and horticulturist devoted to sustainable farming in the Tucson area. "These lands were once well-nourished and there were abundant water sources." Over time, he says, waterways were drained, the light changed, and invasive plant species and insects were introduced.