Lost Art of Canning

At two county fairs I enjoyed seeing the rows of home-canned goods. What I most enjoyed was the thought of a healthy meal during the winter that includes home-grown and produced vegetables and fruits that have been preserved through canning. My wife just canned up some pickled beets. I feel like opening them now, but will wait until they are most appreciated during the months nothing grows in the garden.

Americans prefer buying their groceries over growing and processing them. I'm concerned that canning is becoming a lost art. The recent economic crisis has sent more people back to the garden for self-sustenance, but for how long?