ast
night I went to go see NDP agriculture
critic Corky Evans and got to eat alot of locally grown foods for dinner. August 15, 2008
ast
night I went to go see NDP agriculture
critic Corky Evans and got to eat alot of locally grown foods for dinner.
Corky
is continuing
the B.C. province
wide agricultural initiative Food
for BC tour in central and northern B.C. this
summer. Corky is joining Cariboo North MLA Bob
Simpson and the B.C. Farmed Women's Network (which I did belong to at one time,
but have no extra time for it for right now) for a public discussion on
agriculture.
Corky
has been traveling around the province talking to farmers, ranchers and
producers about the fact that B.C. continues to rank last in government funding
for agriculture supports and for investment in the 
business of farming. Central
B.C. plays an integral role in the growth of the local food movement and this
event provided an opportunity to hear from the community on agri-food issues and
others related to the future of sustainable agriculture. He wants to hear from
the farming communities what we need to be able to continue farming and what can
help us.
Corky said alot of disturbing things as well as a positive outlook for where our British Columbia agriculture could be heading.
One thing which was unsettling is, what is up with Monsanto being so much of the push behind Carbon Credits? They have done enough nasty things in the past, and little good, that it makes me suspicious that they are up to any good.
Climate Change Co-option
Monsanto have seen the potential for new markets for their GM products within
the mechanisms of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Since 1998 Monsanto
has been one of the principle corporations attempting to hijack the UN climate
change negotiations for its own ends. Monsanto claims that its products offer
high tech solutions in the battle to reduce CO2 emissions. Monsanto hopes to
gain carbon credits in two ways.
1. Monsanto claims that wide spread use of RoundUp Ready crops will reduce the need for ploughing thus keeping large quantities of CO2 locked in the soil.
2. Monsanto hopes to be a major provider of GM trees for forestry ‘carbon sinks’ (large areas of forests planted to soak up CO2 emissions). Monsanto are close to commercializing RoundUp Ready trees and are rumoured to be developing carbon absorbing trees and plants.
One of the things Corky said was, "The government will not care about agriculture unless the citizens demand it. Make sure that the people you vote for have a agriculture platform. Politicians are much like shopping at Safeway or Save On... they are competing for your voting dollar. It is no different with politicians." For the last 25 years, British Columbian government has not cared about agriculture. The 'powers that be' whom are in Victoria are disconnected from the reality of where their food comes from.
I learned that west of the Rocky Mountains, western Canada grows more diverse foods than the rest of the nation, but support for farming in British Columbia is only 4%. Apparently Newfoundland, which is pretty much a bare rock for growing crops, gets more support for its farmer than British Columbia does. And BC has extremely productive lands for growing food.
As Corky stated, " True wealth is not in manufacturing, it is in the farmer who is the one who feeds us."
