I guess I should stop here and let you know what food security is. When I think of food security, what comes to mind is that our beautiful island, 50 or 60 years ago, produced ~85% of the food the inhabitants consumed. Today that number is closer to 6%. In the event of a disaster - whether the island was cut off from transportation, or if our major food market in California experiences a natural disaster, for example - our island only has enough food to last 3 days. 3 DAYS. 72 HOURS and every grocery store shelf on the entire island would be bare. So when I talk about food security, what I'm getting at is that as islanders, we need to be a little more concerned with where our food comes from, knowing it comes from safe producers, hopefully more locally, so that we're not using huge amounts of fossil fuels to get it to our plate. Food security means knowing where your food came from, knowing who grew it or raised it, and making intelligent choices in this regard. It's about sustainability. I know we're on a pretty large island; I think smaller islands have a greater awareness of security and people on the mainland generally, imo, have no concept of it. Hard to imagine the whole 'we are one' mentality when there are 7500 kms between you & the other side of your country. But we ARE one. There is only one earth and land is a FINITE resource (another hard concept to grasp for those of us in Canada). Certainly land is one of the issues why food production on the island has decreased - people (especially young people, like those of us under 40) cannot afford land that is ideal for agriculture. Not only land is an issue, but also trying to entice people (again, especially young people) into the farming career is a hard sell. Sure as Michael Ableman said, there's lots of sex going on on farms, but that in itself isn't enough. Money pays the bills, and farming today is not an esteemed career choice. (Unlike in Cuba, where their farmers are respected as the entire society APPRECIATES where their food comes from). So trying to attract people into farming, there's another issue. Then there's the whole issue of no education. I don't know much about farming, about growing my own food, and yet stubbornly, I persist each year. We need to help young people (and I'm talkin' kids here) connect with their food. If they can, at a very early age, learn to appreciate where their food comes from, if they can learn the skills necessary to grow it themselves, if we can show them how much FUN digging around in the dirt can be, how much fun it is to watch the magic of a plant growing and then producing food for us.... this is what it's all about. Change is afoot, and all is not yet lost.
A short movie at the beginning of the evening showcased the Richmond Sharing Farm - started by 6 grandmothers on a small plot, they grew 6 rows of food and donated it all to the food bank. They started with a budget of $621. This year their budget is in excess of $135,000 and they will produce something like 60,000 lbs of food for the local food banks. All from 6 women with a vision. So don't tell me it can't be done. It can. Change is you... and me.
Here's something else to ponder. Why is it that North Americans only spend about 10% of our incomes on food (I think I spend ~25-30%, personally), when there are many other countries in the world that spend much larger percentages of their income on food? The movie illustrates this poignantly when a manager from Thrifty Foods says that years ago (10? more? I can't remember) bananas sold for 59c/lb. And the day (during this past year) when filming took place? Bananas were STILL 59c/lb. STILL. Years later. As a society we've become addicted to cheap food. Doesn't matter if it's good for the environment. It's cheap. And we're all about cheap.
I also watched another movie I got out from the library the other day: The Future of Food. Very good movie. (Not that this is the entire movie by far, but...) There's an interview with the farmer from Saskatchewan and his wife who had been growing canola for years and years and saving their own seed. Then Monsanto comes and tests their fields and next thing you know they're being sued for 'illegally obtaining GM canola seed and planting it." Nothing of the sort. Why is Monsanto going after small farmers like this guy anyways?! In the end, I think it said the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Monsanto's position that because they had patented their GM seed, that it did not matter HOW someone obtained it (in this case the wind had blown the seed onto the farmer's property from passing trucks (with improperly attached tarps) hauling the GM seed after harvest). In this case, the farmer didn't even WANT the GM seed on his property. He certainly didn't want it mixing in with his own seed (which it did) that he'd been saving for years (and which he was forced to destroy - can you imagine how upsetting that must've been to have to destroy years and years worth of work like that). You can imagine how devastating the whole ordeal must've been for this couple. Absolutely ridiculous that patent laws are this powerful. Absolutely ridiculous. And tell me again, WHY are we allowing corporations to patent GM anything?! Seeds are living things. In the past you couldn't get a patent on a living thing like a seed... AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH.....
But do not despair.... because there *IS* hope. There are many people like you and me (and the women from the Richmond Sharing Farm) that CARE about our food and where it comes from... that will stand up for what is RIGHT. (when the hell did patent laws supercede morality?!) So what can you & I do?
- I will continue to increase my support for my local organic farm, participating in their CSA box program.
- I will continue to increase my support of local farmers, shopping at the farmer's markets.
- I will continue to attempt to grow my own food, as feeble as I feel in my attempts.
- I will continue to seek out education on farming and sustainable small-scale agriculture.
- I will continue to save my own seeds, as much as I can.
- I will continue to increase my support for heirloom varieties of all produce.
- I will continue to speak up in support of local, organic food producers, letting store produce managers, for example, know that I support local farmers and would like to see more local produce on the shelves.
- I will continue to educate myself, and others on these issues.
Because it's important, dammit.
CARE ABOUT YOUR FOOD!!!
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