The rising cost of transportation fuel is adding urgency to the question: Is the ability of the global food system to provide healthy food sustainable?
An answer may lie in Metro Vancouver's regional food system strategy which was adopted by the board in February.
"We are very fortunate in this region to have rich agricultural lands and fresh water that can produce nutritious food and provide food security closer to home," said Harold Steves, who chairs Metro Vancouver's agriculture committee.
"The challenge is to put more local food in our grocery stores and on our plates."
The strategy was developed to increase awareness of how our food is produced, distributed and consumed, as well finding ways to tackle the challenges in the food system, include the volume that is wasted.
The five goals in the strategy are to :
• Increase capacity to produce food close to home;
• improve the financial viability of the food sector;
• encourage people to make healthy and sustainable food choices;
• provide everyone with access to healthy, culturally diverse and affordable food, and
• create a food system that is consistent with ecological health.
One of the key elements of the strategy is to encourage young people to become involved in farm production, said Councillor Charlie Fox, the Township director on the Metro Vancouver board.
"There are few people looking at farming as a career," Fox said in an interview.
Another aspect which is significant, given Langley's vast amount of land within the Agricultural Land Reserve, is how that land is used.
"This focuses on better and more extensive use of land so that available land is put into appropriate food production for the local market," Fox said.
Stemming from this is expanding food production for the local market, not only commercially, but locally.
Noting that the strategy encourages supermarkets to carry locally-produced food, Fox said that there are a growing number of Langley farms advertising that they are suppliers to local supermarkets.
He stressed the importance of buying locally-produced goods when the price of importing them is linked to higher gas and diesel prices.
Fox buys local produce.
"It is fresh, has a better taste, and lasts longer," he said.
The next step in the strategy is for Metro Vancouver to work with partners to identify priorities that will strengthen the local food system through an action plan to be completed in 2011.
Public invited to discuss future of farming
More than half the farms in Metro Vancouver can be found in the Township of Langley, a community traditionally known for its pastoral atmosphere and rural way of life.
But the community is growing and changing, and so too is the farming industry.
So what is the future of farming in the Township of Langley? And how can we better help those who produce our food in these changing times?
Members of the public interested in discussing these topics can attend an open house-style focus group being held on April 14, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The session is for all residents, with a focus on urban residents and non-farmers who live in rural areas, and is part of a series that will also invite farmers and industry representatives to explore issues identified in a new Agricultural Viability Strategy (AVS).
The AVS is being created by the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC), which liaises between the agricultural community and Township of Langley Council regarding rural issues. The strategy is meant to enhance and sustain farming by addressing the potential for food production, competition for agricultural land, diversification, economic challenges, urbanization, and the environment.
“The Township of Langley is unique and a major player in agriculture,” said AAC Chair Ted Bowman. “But in my experience, when we hold events like the Feast of Fields harvest festival, which brings local producers together with consumers, it is a big awakening for people. They suddenly see they are not really connected with the food they are eating. It is something that should be important to all the people who live here: where is this food going to come from if we don’t respect our agricultural land?”
A consultant is helping prepare the Agricultural Viability Strategy, which is being done in three stages. An agricultural profile was completed last year, and a phone survey is being conducted along with the focus group sessions. Issues identified will be compiled and a strategy providing broad policy directions for the future of farming in the Township of Langley will be prepared and presented to Council.
The Township of Langley became the first site of organized farming on the west coast of Canada when the Hudson’s Bay Company established a base in Fort Langley in the 1800s. Since then, massive changes have seen traditional farming give way to new technology and scientifically based growing methods. The Township of Langley has the advantage of being home to the largest Agricultural Land Reserve in Metro Vancouver, and agriculture generates $257 million per year.
The April 14 session is an opportunity for all residents to talk about the long-term viability of the Township’s agri-food industry, gain a better understanding about farming opportunities, constraints, and issues, and discuss better ways to support and encourage farming.
To participate, call the Township’s Community Development Division at 604-533-6154 by April 6.