With world food prices setting a new record, a Nanaimo food advocate says the need for a major upswing in urban gardening will gain a higher profile.
Dirk Becker, a Lantzville farmer and local food advocate, said the food distribution system will be shaken up over the next 12 months.
Becker said the fact much of the Island’s produce comes from California and other points south of the border means disruptions to the food distribution system are not only possible, but likely.
“Food travels from 1,000 to 3,000 kilometres on average,” he said. “This is going to be a big story because our current economy and overall industrialized society relies on cheap fossil fuel for that transport. All you need is one bombing in Canada and watch how quickly the borders close.”
When that happens and store shelves start to empty – and prices start to spike – residents could find themselves scrambling to get their seeds in the ground.
“On Vancouver Island, 95 per cent of our food is imported, so urban farming is going to be huge,” he said. “The beauty of urban farming is it’s another way to re-localize the economy and reduce the number of miles covered by the potatoes that go onto your plate.”
This trend, he said, is already starting, with canning jar sales spiking in the United States and the sale of vegetable seeds doubling.
“There will be a wave of public demand for local food to purchase – as well as the right to grow it,” he said. “That, immediately, will affect policy on every level.”
The UN just released a report that said food prices surged 11.7 per cent in November, taking them beyond 2008 levels, which sparked rioting in several developing countries.
The spike comes after Russia stopped exporting grain last year because of drought and noted that both flooding and drought in Australia will likely impact that country’s grain crop.