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Canada needs to update its food system to be more resilient in a changing world.
Special to the Financial Post, Evan Fraser.
Join the conversation on Nov 17, 2021.
A flooded cattle farm is located in British Columbia.
The photo was taken by Jesse Winter.
With many lower mainland communities on the verge of being cut off by mudslides and floods, people should be asking "how long could I survive if my neighbourhood, my grocery store, or my city stops receiving its daily food supply from other parts of the world?"
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Most cities have about three days worth of fresh goods, according to many. Fresh fruits and vegetables would run out quickly, as would meats and other animal products.
It would be wise to ask how quickly social order would break down in the face of a major disruption, as it has been said that "civilization is only nine meals from anarchy".
The crisis in southwestern British Columbia is playing out on a global stage. Smooth seamless trade is struggling and less reliable because of a host of factors.
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Let's think about food. Most Canadians depend on the industrial food system to provide cheap nutrition. Between the 1980s and the 2010s, food prices and hunger dropped because of this system of large farms and long-distance trade. This has been good for most people.
Oil and fossil fuels must be cheap, water is plentiful, and the weather is productive for this system to work. Goods and services should be allowed to flow across borders. The industrial food system was successful when these conditions were met.
The world is not like this anymore. Many questioned the benefits of trade after Trump was elected. We now know that the productive years of the 2060s, 2070s and 2050s will not be as good as the 60s, 70s and 80s. We should look at the 1930s when the Dust Bowl and Great Depression hit, if we are looking for a historic analogy. The assumptions on which the industrial food system is based have changed.
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Two ideas to help put Canadians ahead of the game, protect our citizens, and demonstrate we are both climate resilient and a world-leader are here.
A vertical farming facility has a germination room.
Glenn Lowson took this photo for the National Post.
Let's stop imports of fruits and vegetables from places like California. California will not be able to be the world's fruit basket in a generation, and we are pretty certain that it will be unsustainable to rely on daily shipments crossing international borders. The government of Singapore has pledged to be 30 per cent self-sufficient by the year 2030. Canada isn't Singapore and we should continue to export as much food as we can. We need to be more assertive for fruits and vegetables. If Singapore can do it, then surely Canada can. A multi-pronged strategy that includes more of us eating seasonal and investing in food storage and processing facilities is required to achieve this. Building more vertical farms and greenhouses that produce locally and year-round is one of the things that will be done if you are in fruits and vegetables. We can save land, reduce carbon emissions and boost self-sufficiency if we do this.
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The second idea is to turn agriculture into a carbon sink. The agriculture and food systems contribute a third of the greenhouse gas emissions. This is crazy. Plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, and well-managed soils can store carbon dioxide as organic carbon. High organic carbon soils are less vulnerable to floods and can help farmers reduce climate change by building up the soils organic carbon. A multi-pronged strategy is needed to turn agriculture from a source of the climate problem to a key part of the solution. Farmers must embracegenerative agricultural practices such as reducing tillage, planting winter cover crops and using more complex crop rotation as these practices increase the soil's organic matter. Financial incentives need to be provided to help farmers make this shift.
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British Columbia was 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 The systems we rely on for our daily survival were built during a time when the environment and economy were not as bad as they are now. As the world changes, we need to change our food systems. The question is do we have the political will to build systems that fit the challenges of the next generation?
Evan Fraser is the director of the Arrell Food Institute.
