In Partnership With
What does longevity mean to an urban farmer? It’s the determination to remain healthy, strong, active, and agile, today and for years to come. The road to get there is paved with nutrient-rich, sustainably-grown foods that do no harm to the environment—and a community that supports each other. Because your personal healthspan is absolutely connected to the healthspan of the planet.
The Longevity Project:
meet our movement expert
Yemi Amu
Yemi Amu, founder and director of Oko Urban Farms, started her career as a nutrition and culinary educator and shifted to farming as a way to show her clients where food comes from. “It really shifts your relationship with food when you can experience it from seed to plate,” she says.
Oko Farms is an urban environment in Brooklyn, New York that uses the (lesser-known, but majorly innovative) method of
aquaponics to grow low-impact food. “Aquaponics is farming in water by raising fish and plants together in a symbiotic closed-loop ecosystem, where the fish wastewater provides nutrients for the plants and the plants filter the water for the fish,” Amu says. By using recycled water in the production of both fish and plants, aquaponics requires about 80 percent less water than standard farming techniques—challenging traditional systems and ensuring the journey from seed to plate is seriously sustainable.
Amu’s ideal longevity-boosting meal? “I eat a wide variety of vegetables I grow on the farm, including the ones that I grew up eating in Nigeria, such as okra, jute leaves, bitter leaf, and amaranth greens.” And she’s onto something—studies show that five daily servings of colorful fruits and vegetables is the optimal number for supporting a longer, healthier lifespan.
Alongside a fortifying diet, Amu bikes to and from the farm each day and spends as much time as she can outdoors,
which she believes is key to her longevity. And along the way, she relies on her community for shared experiences and emotional connection—which is critical to her mission at Oko Farms, but also to her own wellness.
“Community is essential to our health and longevity as individuals because it promotes our mental health and well-being,” Amu says.
“It facilitates laughter, sharing moments of joy, grief, and other aspects of our humanity.” It was community that allowed her to found the farm in the first place, and community that’s helped her maintain her edge (professionally and personally, by supporting her well-being) as it’s grown and flourished.
Longevity means remaining healthy and strong into old age. It means being able to engage in all the physical activities I enjoy, like dancing and biking, well into my old age.
I wanted my clients to have easy access to healthy fresh food options and to develop a positive relationship with food that existed outside of diet culture. It was that desire that led me to farming.
Want to reduce your carbon footprint beyond the dinner table? Lexus has spent decades refining the electric technology and the experience you’ll get in the new RX Hybrid. So you can support the longevity of the planet at mealtimes—and on all the journeys you take in between.
explore now
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This Is the Minimum Amount
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Can Boost Your Longevity, According to a Registered Dietitian
explore now
Want to reduce your carbon footprint beyond the dinner table? Lexus has spent decades refining the electric technology and the experience you’ll get in the new RX Hybrid. So you can support the longevity of the planet at mealtimes—and on all the journeys you take in between.
Why Sourdough Bread
Can Boost Your Longevity, According to a Registered Dietitian
This Is the Minimum Amount
of Tea Research Shows You Should Drink Daily To Reap the Most Heart Healthy, Longevity-Boosting Benefits
These Foods Pack Both Soluble and Insoluble Fiber—Eat Up for *All* the Digestive and Longevity-Boosting Benefits
The 6 Golden Rules of Eating for Longevity, According to the Longest-Living People on Earth
More on Longevity
I wanted my clients to have easy access to healthy fresh food options and to develop a positive relationship with food that existed outside of diet culture. It was that desire that led me to farming.
Oko Farms is an urban environment in Brooklyn, New York that uses the (lesser-known, but majorly innovative) method of aquaponics to grow low-impact food. “Aquaponics is farming in water by raising fish and plants together in a symbiotic closed-loop ecosystem, where the fish wastewater provides nutrients for the plants and the plants filter the water for the fish,” Amu says. By using recycled water in the production of both fish and plants, aquaponics requires about 80 percent less water than standard farming techniques—challenging traditional systems and ensuring the journey from seed to
plate is seriously sustainable.
Amu’s ideal longevity-boosting meal? “I eat a wide variety of vegetables I grow on the farm, including the ones that I grew up eating in Nigeria, such as okra, jute leaves, bitter leaf, and amaranth greens.” And she’s onto something—studies show that five daily servings of colorful fruits and vegetables is the optimal number for supporting a longer, healthier lifespan.
Alongside a fortifying diet, Amu bikes to and from the farm each day and spends as much time as she can outdoors,
which she believes is key to her longevity. And along the way, she relies on her community for shared experiences and emotional connection—which is critical to her mission at
Oko Farms, but also to her own wellness.
“Community is essential to our health and longevity as individuals because it promotes our mental health and well-being,” Amu says. “It facilitates laughter, sharing moments of joy, grief, and other aspects of our humanity.” It was community that allowed her to found the farm in the first place, and community that’s helped her maintain her edge (professionally and personally, by supporting her well-being) as it’s grown and flourished.
Longevity means remaining healthy and strong into old age. It means being able to engage in all the physical activities I enjoy, like dancing and biking, well into my old age.
Yemi Amu, founder and director of Oko Urban Farms, started her career as a nutrition and culinary educator and shifted to farming as a way to show her clients where food comes from. “It really shifts your relationship with food when you can experience it from seed to plate,” she says.
Yemi Amu
meet our food expert
What does longevity mean to an urban farmer?
It’s the determination to remain healthy, strong, active, and agile, today and for years to come. The road to get there is paved with nutrient-rich, sustainably-grown foods that do no harm to the environment—and a community that supports each other. Because your personal healthspan is absolutely connected to the healthspan of the planet.
The Longevity Project:
In Partnership With
Photos by Valery Rizzo