How is it that a magazine “about sustainable city living” is run by an editor who thinks local food security is a back to earth, neo-hippie and anti-globalization movement conspiracy? David Jordan, the magazine editor of Granville, seems to think so. In the latest issue of the magazine, his letter from the editor entitled, “Food security? No thanks“, he goes on a meandering pseudo-argument about how we are not “hunter-gatherers, and there’s no turning back…so we can set out each morning with our club and loincloth. It’s how to live responsibly in today’s urban, cosmopolitan environment.” How provacative!
We are talking agriculture, remember? Sir, I have never been a hunter-gatherer and I don’t know anyone who is, in fact, I don’t know anybody who is capable of surviving a whole week in the bush without their iPhone supplies, except maybe that Survivorman guy, but he cheats a little as he has clothes.
Anyway, last I checked, we live in an agrarian civilization and have so for most of recorded human history. Any silly hippie who would want to return to the hunter-gathering lifestyle is in for a bitch of an awakening. (Quest for Fire anyone?) No hydroponic, no zigzags, no matches, no patchouli oil, maybe a hacky sack if they made it themselves out of cedar twigs and sand, but I imagine the constant hunger and exposure to the elements would keep them too occupied to perfect that 360 reverse jester move. It would only be a couple hours before they would be begging for a ride back to Commercial Drive for four-twenty. So on these facts, perhaps we do have some common ground after all. We certainly can’t turn the clock that far back and neo-hippies in the wilderness is sure folly.
For clarification, the food security movement, which includes pretty much any concerned citizen, a bunch of nerdy scientists, farmers, community groups, responsible developers, politicians from all levels of government, agronomists and such, have absolutely no desire to return to a hunter-gatherer civilization or deprive you of your well-loved “Bordeaux” or “Dijon” mustard. In fact, a hunter-gatherer civilization of 6+ billion humans would be completely unsustainable and totally worthy of your noble and spirited attack.
What the movement is about is making smart local land use decisions that take a long and broad overview of development, a process which does not always favour immediate short-term profit and economic growth, but nonetheless, is crucial to true sustainable growth of our urban centres, while preserving the ability to feed our own growing population. When we add the very relevant and realistic peak-oil and climate change scenarios to the mix is where the security part comes into play pretty hard and fast. As the price of energy continues to rise or possibly skyrocket, the cost of relying more and more heavily on imported foods becomes a less and less sustainable option, further leading us to an inevitable food crisis. A food shortage in Canada is unheard of right now, particularily in BC, the ‘land of milk and honey’, but it is quite possible in the near future, at least for the poor people who would be the first to be priced out of the expensive food market. Only with a long-view perspective and truly sustainable policies being put in place can we wisely navigate through the difficult and complex issues as we try to preserve and enhance the future of the local food supply.
Mr. Jordan, I love my imported coffee, wine, and fancy mustard as much as you do, but if we both wake up one morning and find them unavailable, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to take solace in eating the healthy home grown food still left in our fridges and pantries? ~ PK
Read the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands report on “BC’s Food Self-Reliance“
