We’ve recently taken a 3rd harvest from our garden on the Grand Parade, amounting to nine bins of fresh produce for those in need of it most – those being served by the good folks at the Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank. I know that having the garden next to City Hall has been one of the most rewarding small projects I’ve taken on in awhile, and it certainly reminds me of one’s appreciation for the care and reward involved in cultivating fresh, local food. As we all know, it always tastes better when you’ve watched it grow yourself.
Yet, our garden is a very small part of a very big picture.
The Ecology Action Centre’s recent local food report shows us that the majority of the money we spend on food (approximately 87%, according to their metric) does not go back to Nova Scotia farmers. Our food travels immense distances from field to fork (on average 8240km, according to the EAC), adding unwanted environmental and transportation costs to our food choices. Plus, it means we’re dependant on global markets to ensure our food supply.
Throughout the modern world, food-related health concerns are rampant – though ironically, some countries are starving, while some others (such as our own) are literally eating themselves sick (could it be all those additives and preservatives?). We are growing up without a meaningful connection to the food we eat, and I believe it needs to be re-established.
Thankfully, there is renewed energy in Halifax concerning local food issues, and it is building. Our new Farmers’ Market is swinging into action, Campus Action on Food recently launched their ‘Edible Campus’ project at Dalhousie University, and a young lady by the name of Emily Van Halem has chosen to spend a good chunk of her ‘Feel Good Food Tour’ in Nova Scotia while she searches for locally-grown inspiration. The July issue of Municipal World magazine even tackled food issues head on, to the point that editor Susan Gardner devoted the ‘editor’s corner’ introduction almost solely to an issue we have grown familiar with in the HRM.
You betcha! It was:
Urban Chickens.
A number of major Canadian cities (Vancouver, Saskatoon, Victoria) have already legalized urban chickens, and others (Ottawa, Calgary, London, Kingston, Toronto) are in discussions on the issue. This issue appears to be growing, not diminishing…
And that’s a blog chat for sometime in the future.
