Sunday’s Toronto Star featured a story by Margaret Webb, author of
Apples to Oysters: A Food Lover’s Tour of Canadian Farms. Webb’s piece, linked here, shows the connection between food grown as inputs for low-cost, low-nutrition fare and unsustainable agriculture practices.
“…the demand for cheap food also puts pressure on farmers “to work every corner, every square inch” – eliminating woodlots, wetlands and buffer strips near vulnerable waterways. He knows that current farming techniques – growing too few crops in limited rotation, with chemical fertilizer, and returning too little organic matter to the soil – is mining his land of fertility, and that the current methods will not feed increasing populations.”
The causes – and solutions – are complex, but one thing seems clear to me: individuals need to face paying more for food, and demand nutritious food over fare with shelf life. And farmers need to get a bigger portion of the money that individuals fork out.
