When it comes to land use, especially in Delta, complications and paradoxes abound. We often read about concerns for loss of farmland, for protection of the Pacific Flyway and for creating a more extensive industrial land base, including infrastructure build-out.
Last Saturday I attended an excellent presentation by Doug Mills from the Port of Vancouver at its outreach office. About 25 invitees were shown some fascinating statistics on commodity food exports out of Canada and specifically from our local facilities.
Additionally, this past Wednesday, I was invited to attend a bus tour of Delta farmlands by the Delta Farmers' Institute. The tour was designed to highlight "two significant emerging factors" that are affecting farming here in our backyard.
The first is the conversion of farmland for non-agricultural uses, and the second was the increasing damage caused by waterfowl (ducks, geese and swans) on the productivity of farmland. Waterfowl are chowing down on forage crops needed to feed dairy cows and this is becoming a very serious problem. Constantly over-seeding and reseeding is a cost born by farmers that is becoming increasingly difficult to bear. The complexities are immense and too difficult to describe in 500 words.
In the port presentation, sever-al slides were dedicated to showcasing how the port has needed to improve its infrastructure and logistics network to ensure the billions of dollars of food coming from Canada's breadbasket is moved quickly from farm to silo, from train to port terminals, and eventually to freighters for export markets.
Canada's largest and most diversified port moves $185 billion in goods annually, which translates to $500 million in cargo each day, accounting for 20 per cent of Canada's goods traded by value.
The field crop key commodities, mostly grown in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, include wheat, coarse grains, oilseeds and pulses. Together they account for an impressive contribution to the world's food supply.
I thought "pulses" were something that your doctor checked with you every once in a while, but in food terms they are dry peas, lentils, chickpeas and dry beans.
One impressive slide noted that a half cup of cooked lentils has the same amount of protein as a serving of red meat. In terms of sustainability, the lentil needs about 43 gallons of water per pound while a cow requires 1,857 gallons.
Canada is the largest producer of pulses in the world and as such, is an important player in global food security.
Delta is equally important in our domestic market. For more than a century, Delta has provided a large range of products for the Lower Mainland. Local farming generates about $300 million in annual farm gate receipts and supports the equivalent of 1,500 person years of employment. We grow nine out of 10 tomatoes in B.C. on just 200 acres and account for 11 per cent of B.C.'s total agriculture production.
In pre-tour literature, the DFI wonders if it is possible to "strike a balance between economic growth and sustainability of the unique agricultural and wildlife resources in Delta" and hopes that all levels of government can collaborate more effectively to meet common goals.
These incredibly complex land use issues, both local and within the context of national interest, will require deft political will from government to negotiate and ultimately achieve collective benefit.
Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food. He is a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution ambassador.
