B.C. should grow food, not McMansions, warns celebrity farmer

[Violator]

B.C. should grow food, not McMansions, warns celebrity farmer

Joel Salatin says it will take a food crisis before we realize the need for change

California’s drought might just be the “zombie apocalypse” that gets B.C. thinking seriously about its food security, according to celebrity farmer Joel Salatin.

Salatin — a successful American farmer, former reporter and author of nine books on the food revolution — is able to produce far more food per acre than industrial-scale farms using techniques that make raising beef, chicken, eggs and even pigs palatable to the neighbours.

B.C. communities such as Langley and Surrey could activate thousands of acres of unproductive land in small parcels, he says, but it won’t happen until the fresh food crisis brewing in California really hits us in the pocketbook.

“No civilization on the brink of collapse has ever changed fast enough to avert collapse,” said Salatin.

People don’t make major changes to their lifestyle unless they are forced to, he added.

“They will have to be hit with a 2X4, hit with doubled food prices and the unavailability of food,” he said.

B.C. grows less than half of the food that we consume, relying on imports for most fresh fruits and vegetables, the bulk of which comes from California. That state’s three-year drought has already pushed food prices in B.C. stores higher in the past year, according to a new white paper commissioned by Vancity, released last week.

Putting fallow land around monster homes that are proliferating in the Agricultural Land Reserve back into production will be key to building local food security in B.C.

“We call those McMansions,” he said. “It is a problem because that is agriculturally abandoned land. We can’t begin to feed ourselves with a local-centric system if we lock up land in royal manor models.”

Even urban dwellers need to consider how far their food has to travel and whether it will come at all if there are shortages, he suggested. The integrated approach he takes to food production on the farm can be applied at any scale, Salatin said.

There are a lot of things that people, even in well-established communities, can do themselves to become more food secure, said Salatin, giving examples such as keeping honeybees on rooftops, installing food-producing solariums in our homes, capturing rainwater for food production, container gardening and reclaiming some of the billions of potentially productive acres sequestered under lawns in North America.

“Suddenly our actual domicile, rather than being a net environmental liability, becomes a net environmental asset,” he said.

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/should+grow+food+McMansions+warns+celebrity+farmer/10305568/story.html

Its true we should be growing our own food and not relying on America.Would ensure we get proper nutrients and we can sell to other provinces.

[:D]

"Celebrity Farmer".... I didn't think I would ever see that term.

[avelanch]

i was just about to say the same thing... wtf is a celebrity farmer?

[Ghostsof1915]

I view farming is a strategic importance, similar to energy, and clean water. No food, no water, no power, no country. Maybe instead of being slaves to companies like Monsanto, we should be pushing for organic farming. That way farmers make a good profit margin on the food they grow. The more farms that go organic, the more the costs go down. And hopefully the healthier our food is. There is lots of videos on youtube showing people taking small acreages and making a good living on farms, instead of the industrial approach.

My Grandfather was a farmer in Ontario in the great depression. He never lost his farm. He just changed the types of crops he grew, and diversified by having chickens, eggs, hogs, etc.

[Heretic]

We have 2 gardens on our property, 1 is 30 x 50 feet and the other 16 x 16. Also have Blue berries, Strawberries and Rasberries in their own chunks. Next year we will be planting about a dozen fruit trees. Also have chickens/turkeys/geese/ducks and goats.

I guess I may have to buy a gun if we really do hit a "zombie" food shortage.

[ThaBestPlaceOnEarth]

The farming industry round here has really struggled to compete with California since the NAFTA came in, but the drought down there is changing things, for sure. B.C. farming should see a big bounce the next couple years, it's just basic market dynamics. Everyone sees it at the grocery store, produce from out of California has gone up up up in price, they aren't near so competitive as they were, they can't cut the margins on us like they used to. In the short term it is bad for consumers here, food is more expensive. In the medium term though, it is gonna be good for B.C. farmers, very good, long as the drought drives up California's prices we can be much more competitive than we've been over the past couple decades.

[aGENT]

"Celebrity Farmer".... I didn't think I would ever see that term.

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=sepp%20holzer

[Mr. Ambien]

The farming industry round here has really struggled to compete with California since the NAFTA came in, but the drought down there is changing things, for sure. B.C. farming should see a big bounce the next couple years, it's just basic market dynamics. Everyone sees it at the grocery store, produce from out of California has gone up up up in price, they aren't near so competitive as they were, they can't cut the margins on us like they used to. In the short term it is bad for consumers here, food is more expensive. In the medium term though, it is gonna be good for B.C. farmers, very good, long as the drought drives up California's prices we can be much more competitive than we've been over the past couple decades.

I dunno where you shop, but all the big stores across Canada (such as Walmart, Loblaws, or Empire chains) have cut back on importing produce from California in light of that supply and demand tidbit regarding long term droughts in California -- this has happened for several years now. Stores haven't simply ate the cost and passed it along to the customer, they've instead imported extensively from South America like Californians do. The price hasn't really changed at all in produce over the last 5 years thanks to those logistics unless any store were stupidly stubborn.

i was just about to say the same thing... wtf is a celebrity farmer?

A gimmick, one that clearly doesn't know economics and just makes a bunch of stupid stuff up to appeal to the less intellectual and more idealistic "green" movement.

"Net environmental asset", LOL.

Yeah, if you don't consider the primary reason we don't do that here is not from a lack of commitment to said resources, but because it's significantly cheaper/less time consuming to import it from elsewhere than build solariums and sh**.

[aGENT]

I dunno where you shop, but all the big stores across Canada (such as Walmart, Loblaws, or Empire chains) have cut back on importing produce from California in light of that supply and demand tidbit regarding long term droughts in California -- this has happened for several years now. Stores haven't simply ate the cost and passed it along to the customer, they've instead imported extensively from South America like Californians do. The price hasn't really changed at all in produce over the last 5 years thanks to those logistics unless any store were stupidly stubborn.

A gimmick, one that clearly doesn't know economics and just makes a bunch of stupid stuff up to appeal to the less intellectual and more idealistic "green" movement.

"Net environmental asset", LOL.

Yeah, if you don't consider the primary reason we don't do that here is not from a lack of commitment to said resources, but because it's significantly cheaper/less time consuming to import it from elsewhere than build solariums and sh**.

It's not necessarily cheaper if you don't have a myopic and short term view of things.

Just like industrial, chemically dependent farming is not actually "more efficient" than organic when you look long term at things like soil fertility, productivity and erosion, crop rotation, water requirements, dependence on industrial pest/herbicides/fertilizers/GMOseeds etc, etc.

[Mr. Ambien]

It's not necessarily cheaper if you don't have a myopic and short term view of things.

Just like industrial, chemically dependent farming is not actually "more efficient" than organic when you look long term at things like soil fertility, productivity and erosion, crop rotation, water requirements, dependence on industrial pest/herbicides/fertilizers/GMOseeds etc, etc.

The article in the OP made an economic argument that is a "net environmental asset" and not a "net environmental liability". Of course, he's not factoring tangible economics, such as those with jobs and better things to do find it more worthwhile to buy from the store. Solariums and crap are not free, they cost money, they also require constant labour, that the populace have found economically not worth their time.

[aGENT]

We grow a lot of food in our back yard with some raised garden beds. They require less maintenance than the lawn they replaced and were far from expensive to build.

I don't think the OP is arguing that every house should have a heated green house. Certainly not what I took from it.

[Offensive Threat]

Erosion is big in industrialized farming. In the US 3 tons of topsoil per acre are lost every year even with all of the current efforts in soil retention. You can only keep that up for so long.

Organic is the opposite of the answer. New strains of vegetables are needed. Ones that can grow in tiered or stacked systems more easily. Ones that can grow in wider temperature ranges and survive the winters without having to use excessive amounts of energy heating greenhouses.

Farmers in BC are not going to outlay large amounts of money on infrastructure to grow crops whos price point relies on California staying dry. Thats just a great way to go bankrupt.

[Mr. Ambien]

Well, if that's not enough, JR, here's another economic argument being made:

Even urban dwellers need to consider how far their food has to travel and whether it will come at all if there are shortages, he suggested.

Of course, that's why Canada has moved away from California produce and toward South American produce. Why? Duh! Factoring shortages of supply and the increased cost that would be passed to the consumer. Obviously writer in the OP never had an education in business, or even understands basic logistics.

Then: There are a lot of things that people, even in well-established communities, can do themselves to become more food secure, said Salatin, giving examples such as keeping honeybees on rooftops, installing food-producing solariums in our homes, capturing rainwater for food production, container gardening and reclaiming some of the billions of potentially productive acres sequestered under lawns in North America.

These are not reasonable for the populace. The few people that garden have difficulty even with tiny gardens because they don't have the time/money to build/maintain/upkeep them, unless they are unemployed and live off welfare, are retired, or work part time, and still have the time, funds, and desire for this.

The argument put forth in the OP simply sucks. And no surprise, someone who dabbles in that industry wishes to see it's market expand.

[aGENT]

Well, if that's not enough, JR, here's another economic argument being made:

Even urban dwellers need to consider how far their food has to travel and whether it will come at all if there are shortages, he suggested.

Of course, that's why Canada has moved away from California produce and toward South American produce. Why? Duh! Factoring shortages of supply and the increased cost that would be passed to the consumer. Obviously writer in the OP never had an education in business, or even understands basic logistics.

Then: There are a lot of things that people, even in well-established communities, can do themselves to become more food secure, said Salatin, giving examples such as keeping honeybees on rooftops, installing food-producing solariums in our homes, capturing rainwater for food production, container gardening and reclaiming some of the billions of potentially productive acres sequestered under lawns in North America.

These are not reasonable for the populace. The few people that garden have difficulty even with tiny gardens because they don't have the time/money to build/maintain/upkeep them, unless they are unemployed and live off welfare, are retired, or work part time, and still have the time, funds, and desire for this.

The argument put forth in the OP simply sucks. And no surprise, someone who dabbles in that industry wishes to see it's market expand.

Did you grow that straw yourself?

[Mr. Ambien]

Did you grow that straw yourself?

I'm directly addressing his economic arguments. Explain the straw man.

[aGENT]

I'm directly addressing his economic arguments. Explain the straw man.

Sure , you did

[-DLC-]

Mr. A.

Due to the fact that you're in another Province and don't have a vested interested in this Province, with your opinion likely being swayed by $$ not what is "best" for the people (me) who are here, I'm not going to worry too much about your thoughts on this. However:

Used to be in sales, got promoted to sales manager, now a parts/systems purchasing manager for a prominent oil/gas company. Pays outstanding, and lots of free time to play around on the internet, but I'm greedy and trying to convince (re: change the mind of) a contractor out in Fort Sask to let me to some sands work.

I was born/raised in Richmond and support (and am friends with) one of the strongest advocates for the farmland here...he, himself, is a farmer on a small scale. He is our longest standing councillor here and fighting to preserve some of the best farmland there is - right here in our backyard.

And yes, those McMansions are sprouting up on the farmland...as long as they sell a few pumpkins in the driveway, residents who are buying it use this as nothing more than their own sprawling back yards. But the fight is on and this land should be farmed...it's why there are significant tax breaks issued as part of the deal. To have this land sitting here, with these monstrosities on them, is a total waste.

You do realize that once all the land is gobbled up for development and big industry, we still have to eat, right? Can't eat oil. It's not about people setting up gardens in their backyards, it's about ensuring that the land preserved as part of the ALR is used as such....and not auctioned off to the highest bidder so they can find ways around it. Big Yellow Taxi stuff and once it's gone we won't ever get it back.

The more we revert back to a simpler form of sustenance, the better off we'll all be. We don't need to mass consume products that are the "cheapest"...how about looking beyond that and to the future? Protecting the farmland and making use of it is vitally important. Quality. You won't get better produce than what this province can grow, so why not protect and value it? Oh yeah, because you're a greedy gas and oil guy.

[Mr. Ambien]

Ouch, I just got burned by deb.

[-DLC-]

Well it's a sensitive subject atm.

Still love/hate you.

[CanadianLoonie]

How much of a difference is there in property tax rates between property zoned for agricultural use versus residential?

Perhaps some level(s) of government are motivated to prefer one sort of use over another?