It is there. Right there.
December 5, 2009 by chomo5 | Edit
The UBC Farm is a twenty-four hectare student directed and developed farm, located in the heart of the University of British Columbia endowment lands, in Vancouver, Canada. The farm is fully operated by university students and community volunteers. Due to the enviable farm’s location, the farm’s purpose is to preserve nature within the city, and to allow the community to have access to locally grown and fresh food. However, not everyone sees the farm as an environmental wonder, but rather as a big wasted area needed to be populated with large-scale high-income housing. The very same reason that permits the farm to allow the community to buy local foods, which is its proximity to the city, is the same reason why many construction developers want to destroy the farm and make way to large profit homes. It is our time now to stand up against big corporations and show them that we are not here to let the Farm go to waste. The Farm is ours, hence we should protect it. We are fortunate enough to have a farm in such proximity, that we cannot let ignorant developers destroy it. The Farm is there, and right there is where it belongs.
The farm was first started in the mid-seventies for agricultural development1, and by the nineties it transformed to what it is nowadays, a source of organic food, employment, and a recreational area for students and the community. For several years now, the farm has been used by almost every faculty for research purposes or for recreational activities. In 2008 alone, as stated on the UBC Farm official website, “eight of UBC’s eleven faculties, four of UBC’s eleven schools, and both of UBC’s colleges participated in active academic projects at the UBC farm.” This means that the farm is not only there to produce organic foods, but also to allow students and faculty staff to develop and exercise agricultural research.
Besides the benefits outlined above, one must ask itself how many cities have the privilege to feature a farm within their city’s core? Some cities, like New York, Toronto and even Vancouver, can claim they have large extensions of city parks throughout their cities. However, one can be sure that New York and Toronto’s metropolis do not come anywhere close to having a farm within their urban areas. Vancouver is very fortunate to have a farm that acts like a “natural aid” to the city’s polluting infrastructure.
After arguing that the farm is definitely a “natural wonder” for the community, it is necessary to mention how the farm is a better option when it comes to purchasing organic produce, compared to produce that are imported from somewhere abroad. One environmental activist previously described the concept of organics as follows: “The ideal situation would be to grow locally produced crops without chemicals, and pesticides, to encourage more vitamins and nutrition in our food, and help protect the natural environment. This was the original concept of farming and only changed with the introduction of chemicals. The industrial era produced a thirst for capitalism, and as a result a poorer diet.”2
Although this is quite a well thought definition, it is pertinent to add that importing produce also negatively affects the employment of locals and what is even more, the carbon foot print, referred as “food miles” in the organic world, is greatly increased. When local farmers face foreign competition, they usually take the worst of it because they cannot simply battle the large scale production of corporations. The reason large corporations are able to produce such large quantities, is because they can treat their produce and make them last longer without expiring. Also, they can produce bulk quantities, leading them to use labour more efficiently.
If one was to compare the carbon foot print of any produce imported to UBC with one produced in the farm, the results would be quite overwhelming. For example, one can choose carrots produced at UBC Farm and carrots massively produced in California. Producing a carrot usually takes four months from the moment is seeded to when it is picked out of the ground. They need a rather colder climate in order to properly flower and consequently grow out of the ground. In the northern hemisphere, outdoor carrots are normally seeded in February and harvested in late May or early June. UBC farm is not an exception, and the carrots produced there are sold during the farmer’s markets and the remaining carrots are sent to Sprouts, which is the local produce store, located in the basement of the Student Union Building at UBC.
On one hand the carrots produced at UBC Farm are completely fresh. They are taken out of the ground, washed and ready to be sold. The miles traveled by this carrots is relatively insignificant. The carbon foot-print is not there. On the other hand, the carrots produced in California are not as “fresh” as the production companies claim them to be. In order to keep produce “fresh,” or at least in an eatable condition, there are several preservatives and pesticides needed in the harvesting processing. This is one of the main reason why eating locally is more healthy.
Moreover, after the carrots have been produced, they still need to travel large distances. On the case of the carrots from the farm, the distance travelled by the produce is about 2,700 metres, which represents a very small carbon footprint. On the other case, the carrots from California need to travel about 2,000 kilometres. This is over seven hundred times the distance travelled by a carrot from UBC Farm. The carbon footprint caused by a carrot sitting on a truck for more that three days, cannot be compared to a carrot that is either immediately sold after is taken out of the ground, or a carrot that is transported, in rather a small car, no more than 3 kilometres.
After clearly depicting the benefits of growing food locally, it is obvious that the best option for our community and our own bodies is to avoid “fresh” food that comes from places that are quite distanced from where we live. Although some times it is needed to purchase produce that simply does not grow in our communities, due to climate conditions, it is imminent that for our own good we eat locally grown foods. This is the only way to support local communities and to avoid pesticides and preservatives. Our bodies demand that we eat healthy, our values demand the right to protect the farm and keep it working for the sake of our community. With this paper I intend to make every reader aware of the negative effects of not consuming organics, and the great loss it would be to see the UBC Farm turn into a big housing complex. The farm is a gift given to us that needs to be preserved. The farm is there, right there for us to make the best use of it.
It is there. Right there.
December 21, 2009 by chomo5
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