Food security sounds like a topic for the developing world, but according to panelists at a forum on agriculture last week in Langley, the time has come to take a close look at the issue locally.
With a predicted 1.3 million more people moving to the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley in the next 25 years, the propensity to turn prime agricultural land into residential areas is threatening food security in the region.
The pressure to urbanize, remove land from the Agricultural Land Reserve, build more homes, roads, and services are all squeezing out local farmers, said panelists at the the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) forum. "The region is at a tipping point which will force change for better or for worse," said Herb Barbolet, an associate at SFU's Centre for Sustainable Community Development and co-author of the book Farm Folk/City Folk. Barbolet is concerned that while governments use language which sounds favourable to local food producers, their policies continue to shout the message "get big or get out." However, 98 per cent of B.C. farms continue to be family-oriented. One-third of the region's food is produced in the region although the land area only comprises two per cent of the province of British Columbia. Titled "Agriculture: Growing Pains," the forum allowed local residents and stakeholders, from farmers to consumers, to voice their concerns. Water issues, the Agricultural Land Reserve, food versus fuel, and farm practices were all covered, and speakers spoke out strongly in favour of having good quality, nutritious food for future generations.
Panelist Dick Klein Geltink, chair of the B.C. Agricultural Council, called agriculture in the GVRD "farming in the urban shadow."
The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) was created in the mid 1970s by the provincial government to protect farmland from being overtaken by urban growth. However, the very existence of an "exclusion provision" in the ALR – a mechanism that allows land to be taken out of the land reserve – provoked the ire of many committed to farming in the region.
For every acre of land added to the ALR, 2.8 acres are removed, much of which is prime agricultural land in the Fraser Valley, southern Vancouver Island and the Okanagan.
"It's time to stop the death [of the ALR] by a thousand cuts," said Donna Passmore of the Fraser Valley Conservation Coalition. With so many more mouths to feed in the coming quarter century, Passmore advocates smaller, more compact communities that don't impinge on farmland, citing European towns where residents live in two and three-storey walk-ups looking out onto farmland.
"If we want to survive as a species, we have to make some concessions," she said.
Land speculation continues in areas of the ALR, the expectation being that it will eventually be taken out, which results in driving the land out of farmers' price range. B.C. used to have a program for farmers to lease land in the ALR with an option to buy, something that enticed young people into farming. Today, only eight per cent of farmers are under the age of 35.
Although the forum addressed agricultural issues, the word "healthcare" surprisingly popped up more than once. The idea of holistically linking food supply with health was explored by both the panel and by consumers surprised at finding produce at their local grocery stores imported from China, where environmental practices leave much to be desired.
Barbolet said the demand for local food is expanding but the supply isn't increasing at the same rate, and the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley have the potential to produce exceptional food.
"I've moved away from organic to local because I believe B.C. produces some of the best food in the world." Barbolet said. "Organic is good – we can go beyond organic."
The GVRD region is able to produce food on par with food produced in southern France and northern Italy, and he anticipates the day when such high quality food is available to everyone. Right now, however, retailers would like to respond to the growing demand by consumers for local and organic food, but the food is not always available and more and more ALR land is being lost.
With a third of our food coming from local producers, two-thirds still needs to be brought in, either from elsewhere in Canada, from the U.S. or other parts of the world.
"B.C. is over-dependent on foreign imports," said panelist Dave Sands, an advocate for sustainable agriculture and former regional director with the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.
In Vancouver, a large-scale community garden program is getting underway, but as Barbolet pointed out, community gardens can't supply the massive amount of food needed in the region.
With the cost of oil rising continuously, transportation of food is becoming increasingly expensive. In addition, the U.S. is paving over farmland at breakneck speed and is no longer a reliable supplier of food. California, which used to produce huge quantities of food for export, became a net importer ten years ago.
"We all have to eat to live – we're all stakeholders," said Val Roddick, MLA for Delta South and parliamentary secretary for agricultural planning and a member of the panel.
Roddick said that due to technological advancements, farming has become more profitable in B.C. As a solution to decreasing agricultural land, she suggested adding land onto the area, pointing out that areas like Lulu Island in Richmond are man-made. Education of food production is also key; Roddick said she doesn't think children really know where food comes from.
"Get people reconnected with food," she said.
Feeds