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FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
BULLETIN
SUSTAINABILITY BY DESIGN
August 2009
Production and Consumption of Food Calories in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia: Identifying Strategies and Barriers to a Self-reliant Regional Food
System.
Lindsay Raftis
Abstract
Photo by Lindsay Raftis
As the population in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland increases to almost 4.4
million people by the year 2050, demands on resources such as food will also
increase. The land base currently designated in the Agricultural Land Reserve
in the Lower Mainland is not capable of meeting the demands of the projected
future population with entirely locally produced foods. The caloric requirements
for the average resident in the Lower Mainland have been estimated at 2,128
calories per day. Further analysis regarding the amount of land required to
sustain this caloric demand was based on a vegetarian diet consisting of ninety
percent high calorie crops, such as wheat, beans, and potatoes, and ten percent
of fruits and vegetables. This diet was chosen to simplify the analysis with a
focus on land efficiency. Based on this diet, it was determined that the average
person requires 0.05 hectares of land annually to sustain a healthy diet. Results
from “B.C.’s Food Self-Reliance - Can B.C.’s farmers feed our growing
population?” prepared by the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands in 2006
found that 0.53 hectares of land were required to sustain a person per year. This
suggests that the significant variance in results might be attributed to an analysis
of self-reliance based on a vegetarian diet and in terms of calories instead of
weight. Animal-based agriculture has been found to be more land intensive than
vegetable crops; therefore, a vegetarian diet illustrates the “best case” scenario
for food self-reliance.
This paper finds that at least fifty percent more ALR land is required to sustain
the growing region. The Lower Mainland currently contains 146,200 hectares
designated to the ALR. Assuming this is all irrigated, arable and used solely for
vegetable crop-based agriculture, the Lower Mainland may be able to sustain a
population growth of approximately fifteen percent using an exclusively local
food supply. In order to meet the projected population growth of almost 200
percent by the year 2050, approximately 73 800 hectares of additional land
under these ideal conditions would be required. First steps towards food selfreliance include preserving, restoring and creating agricultural land in the region
through the ALR and urban agriculture strategies. Strategies such as changing
diets and market demands (eating seasonally and vegetarian), evaluating the
feasibility of green houses, protecting existing agricultural land and fostering
space for urban gardens should be implemented to achieve a more self-reliant
food system within the Lower Mainland.
Background
Photo by Lindsay Raftis
The appealing coastal geography, climate and lifestyle make Vancouver
and its surrounding area a very desirable place to live. The Lower Mainland
encompasses both the Metro Vancouver region and the Fraser Valley Regional
District in a combined area of approximately 16 000 square kilometres (B.C.
Stats). As the Lower Mainland continues to draw new residents from around the
world, the population of this region is estimated to grow from two and a half
million people in 2008 to almost four and half million people in the year 2050
(B.C. Stats)1. The demand on regional resources, such as food, will also increase
with this anticipated population growth. Currently, the Lower Mainland is not
self-reliant in terms of food production and operates in an “open loop” system.
An “open loop” food system is one in which local agriculture is exported and
the food supply is supplemented by food products imported from other regions,
provinces and countries. In contrast, a “closed loop” system is one in which all
food that is produced locally is also consumed locally. Planners and developers
are beginning to acknowledge that existing resources are insufficient for
sustaining the projected population growth and consequently, food self-reliance
is attracting attention as one of the most important and powerful sustainability
issues (British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (BCMAL)).
The issue of sustainable food systems is gaining increasing attention in the
context of global population growth and climate change. The wide range of
exotic and imported foods available today in developed countries like Canada
is largely dependent on producers in the developing world satisfying demands
for year round variety. This international food trade and the food production
monopoly by a few large multi-national companies are associated with
reduced availability and quality of productive land to feed local populations
in developing countries (Global Footprints). Food trade and transportation
involving long distances also require significant amounts of energy with
associated costs and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to global
warming. In contrast, a self-reliant or “closed loop” food system contributes to
economic self-sufficiency by diminishing import dependency, reducing food
costs, and creating local jobs; to health by providing higher quality foods; and to
decreased energy consumption and GHG emissions by reducing transportation
energy.
As such, measures of the ability to provide local food supply are highly
relevant indicators of food security. While the concepts overlap, the relationship
1 The population projected for the year 2050 was calculated as follows, and based on data from BC Stats
Population Estimates and Projections for the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts from
the year 2008 and 2036. Use the following formula to calculate regional growth rates: [((Total Population
Projected for 2036 - Total Population estimated in 2008)/(2036 – 2008)) = Estimated Regional Growth
Rate]; GVRD: ((3,352,592 – 2,271,224 people)/28 yrs)=38,620 people/yr; FVRD: ((409,367-276,255
people)/28 yrs)=4,754 people/yr. Calculate the projected population in 2050 with the same formula. GVRD
= 3,893,272 people/yr; FVRD = 475,923 people/yr.
between the two is integral to understanding the influence of food self-reliance
on food security. Food security is a robust concept that relies on many factors
in addition to the physical food production, and self-reliance is the ability to
meet consumption with what is supplied by domestic production (Food Secure
Vancouver 2009, v – vi).
Local food production can also influence the values and behaviour of a society.
A heightened awareness of and support for local food production and emerging
trends in urban agriculture are beginning to influence urban planning throughout
the Lower Mainland. Incorporating urban agriculture into the development
patterns of a city is a way to re-assert the cultural and environmental importance
of locally produced food to the health and sustainability of the city and its
residents (Sebastian et al. 2009).
Research Goal and Questions
Given the increasing importance of local food production, the goal of this
paper is to estimate the potential for food self-reliance in the Lower Mainland
of British Columbia. In The Quick and Dirty Guide to Lazy-Bed Gardening,
authors Jeavons and Cox state that “a diet that is nutritionally sound needs to
include an adequate amount of calories [and calories are] the most important
nutritional element and the most challenging one to grow in a small area”
(1993, 6). This paper aims to determine absolute local food production capacity
by defining consumption and production in terms of calories to address the
problem: How may local food production, in terms of calories, sustain a Metro
Vancouver region of 4 million?
The following key questions guided the research for this paper:
1. How many calories does the average person in the Lower Mainland
need to sustain a healthy body weight and lifestyle?
2. How much land is required to produce a sufficient number of calories to
sustain the average person for one year?
3. How much agricultural land is available in the Lower Mainland?
4. How much agricultural land is required to sustain a region of 4.4
million?
5. Is a “closed loop” food system feasible in the Lower Mainland?
6. What are potential strategies and barriers to strengthen/expand local
food production in the Lower Mainland?
Research Considerations
This paper uses Lower Mainland population and land area data from Statistics
Canada (2006) and the Provincial Agricultural Land Commission (2008).
To narrow the scope of this research, this study excludes the exploration of
animal-based agriculture, seafood production and food production for export.
Where data on production yields of specific crops in the Lower Mainland was
unavailable, research carried out in Northern California on similar crops is used
instead.
Photo by Liam McCarthy
Discussion of Research Questions
1. How many calories does the average person in the Lower Mainland need to
sustain a healthy body weight and lifestyle?
The average person requires 2,128 calories per day to maintain a healthy body
weight and lifestyle according to recommendations by Health Canada and
given the current and projected demographics for the region. Health Canada’s
Estimate Energy Requirements (2007) define the caloric requirements for the
average person to sustain a healthy lifestyle and maintain a healthy weight. A
person’s age and activity level determine the estimated energy requirements, or
recommended caloric intake. Average estimated energy requirements for various
age groups in the Lower Mainland, assuming a moderate active level for all
groups, are as follows:
Estimated Energy Requirements (calories per day)2:
Age Group
Male
Female
2-13
1700
1500
14-18
2800
2100
19-50
2650
2050
51+
2250
1800
The B.C. Statistics 2006 Census Profile indicates that the gender distribution of
the population in the Metro Vancouver region and the Fraser Valley Regional
District is roughly equal (approximately two percent more women than men).
This paper assumes an equal gender representation. Estimated age distribution
of the Lower Mainland based on the 2006 Census Profile for each region is as
follows:
Population Age Distribution (assuming equal number of men and women
as per the 2006 census for GVRD and the FVRD)3:
Age Group
Estimated Percent
Distribution (%)
2-13
8.5
14-18
3
19-50
22.5
51+
16
Based on these demographics, a weighted average of the population determines
the average caloric consumption in the Lower Mainland for males and
2 Age groups were chosen to remain consistent with the Health Canada Food Guide (2007). Energy
requirements for each group were estimated by an iteration and average of the recommended caloric intake
values stated in the Health Canada Food Guide (2007).
3 Percent population age distribution was averaged from “BC Stats Population by Age Group, percent distributions (2006)” for the Metro Vancouver region and the FVRD to match the same age categories defined
by the Food Guide. These values were combined according to the population of each region to determine
the estimated percent age distribution for the total Lower Mainland.
females: 1,879 calories per day for women, and 2,378 calories per day for men.
Assuming equal gender representation, the average caloric intake required to
sustain a healthy weight and level of activity for a Lower Mainland resident is
2,128 calories per day.
The population in the Lower Mainland is getting older (Metro Van
Sustainability Report 2009) and, according to Health Canada, this age group
requires fewer calories per day to sustain a healthy body weight. Health
professionals have found that women generally have a longer life span; thus,
this paper assumes that as the population ages and the demographic shifts to a
higher number of women than men, the average caloric consumption will likely
decrease. This means if the average caloric demand of 2,128 calories per day
based on current demographics can be met, a sufficient supply can likely be
guaranteed for the projected population of 4.4 million people in the future.
2. How much land is required to produce a sufficient number of calories to
sustain the average person for one year?
The B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands assessed food self-reliance in
British Columbia in 2006 and determined that 0.52 hectares per year are
required to sustain a healthy diet4 for one person for one year (BCMAL 2006,
14). This area is based on Health Canada’s serving size recommendations, the
equivalent weight by food group and the associated area of land required to
harvest that amount of food.
In contrast, basing these calculations on the caloric requirements calculated
above, this paper finds that the total agricultural land area required to sustain
one person for one year is 0.05 hectares (based on 2,128 calories per person per
day derived from a simplified vegetarian diet consisting of ninety percent high
calorie crops and ten percent low calorie crops). The rationale for these findings
is explained below.
2a. The vegetarian diet
A vegetarian diet provides a relatively probable scenario for evaluating the
potential of a self-reliant food system in the Lower Mainland given that,
with the exception of dairy, fruits and vegetables account for primary local
agricultural production crops (BCMAL 2006). Plant crops also return the
greatest number of calories produced per area of land5.
4 A healthy diet in this context is based on Health Canada’s Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide (2007)
and is comprised of a combination of the following food groups:
Vegetables and Fruits
Grain Products – wheat, grains, pastas, cereals, breads
Diary Products – milk, yogurt, cheese
Protein Alternatives – legumes (including beans), soy, eggs, nuts, seeds
Animal Proteins – fish, shellfish, poultry, lean meat
5 Regional differences in climate and soil type influence the production potential of farmland. As specific
data on agricultural production and yields in the Lower Mainland were unavailable, this paper uses Jeavons
and Cox’s research (1993) from northern California as an appropriate proxy.
Photo by Lindsay Raftis
Jeavons and Cox (1993) examine the potential for three primary food group
crops to provide the most calories from a given area: wheat, beans and potatoes.
The three crops chosen by Jeavons and Cox - as well as oats, rye, barley and
onions - are all high calorie crops. It is interesting to note that, while potatoes
contain approximately one-fifth of the calories per pound as wheat and beans,
they provide almost four times the amount of calories per square foot (see
Figure 1). This means that a given area of potatoes produces many more
calories than an equal-sized area of pinto beans or spring wheat, as illustrated
in Figure 1. This illustrates that quantifying food supply by weight does not
account for the caloric value of those foods and can lead to inefficient land use.
Calories/pound
Pinto Beans
1583
Spring Wheat 1497
Irish Potatoes 297
Square foot/pound
Calories/square foot
10
10
0.5
158.3
149.7
594
Figure 1: Caloric yields and agricultural land requirements for specific crops
(calculated based on Jeavons and Cox 1993)6.
Jeavons and Cox further suggest that it is most self-reliant and efficient to use
ninety percent of available agricultural land to grow high calorie crops and the
remaining ten percent for tasty, fresh fruits and vegetables containing important
nutrients but very few calories. On this basis, if every person in the Lower
Mainland ate according to the Jeavons and Cox self-reliant vegetarian diet, how
much land would be required to sustain one person for one year?
A person requires 776,720 calories for sustenance per year (2,128 calories per
day multiplied by 365 days per year). Ideally, ninety percent (699,048 calories)
will come from high calorie crops, and ten percent (77,672 calories) will come
from leafy vegetables and fruits with negligable caloric value7.
Although certain high calorie crops, like potatoes, are more land efficient than
others, it is still necessary to maintain a variety of foods for a healthy diet. This
means the “ideal plot” of land for analysis purposes will grow a variety of high
calorie crops (for example, beans, wheat and potatoes) in equal proportions,
which will produce an average yield of 3,240 calories per square metre of
land8. Based on this production yield, the average person requires 216 square
metres of agricultural land to produce ninety percent of their total recommended
calories per year from high calorie crops9.
The remaining ten percent of the average person’s diet could come from
vegetables and fruits, which is realistic and attainable given that the Lower
6 These values have been converted into metric units for the calculations in this paper.
7 90% of the total yearly calorie requirement of 776,720 is: 0.9(776 720) = 699,048 cal, and 10% is
77,672 calories.
8 This was calculated by an average of the yields for each crop (158.3 + 149.7 + 594)/3 = 301 cal/ft2, or
3240 cal/m2 in metric units. 1 ft2. = 0.0929 m2.
9 699,048 cal (derived from 90% of high-quality crops) divided by a yield of 3,240 cal/m2 equals 216 m2
of land required.
Mainland produces much of British Columbia’s vegetables, berries, floriculture,
nursery crops and tree fruits because of the very rich soil and flat terrain of the
Fraser River delta. The lower Fraser River area between Hope and Vancouver is
considered to be among the most rich soil areas of Canada (BCMAL 2009).
Health Canada’s Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008) contains
calories and weight found in standard serving sizes of common foods. This data
was used to calculate the average caloric yields of a few fruits and vegetables
grown in the Lower Mainland (see Figure 2).
Veg/Fruit Serving
Weight (kg)
Carrots,
0.061
raw
Lettuce,
0.058
spring mix
(mesclun)
Peas, raw 0.030
snow peas
Average
Vegetables
Apples
0.138
Pears
0.166
Average
Fruit
Calories/
serving
25
Calories/kg
kg/m2
Calories/m
409.8
0.55
225.4
12
206.9
0.55
113.8
14
466.7
0.55
256.7
198.5
72
96
521.7
578.3
0.66
0.66
344.3
381.7
363.0
Figure 2: Yields of vegetable and fruit crops that can be grown in the Lower
Mainland10.
These numbers indicate that fruits typically produce more calories per square
metre of land than vegetables (363 calories per square metre for fruits versus
198.5 calories per square metre for vegetables) in similar growing conditions11.
However, vegetables are integral to a healthy diet. Assuming an ideal diet
is comprised of the variety of fruit and vegetable crops seen in Figure 3, the
average yield for these fruits and vegetables is 264 calories per square metre of
land. Based on this production yield, 294 square metres of agricultural land will
be required to produce the remaining ten percent of calories (77,672) from fruits
and vegetables12.
Assuming that this combination of ninty percent high calorie crops (for
example, wheat, beans and potatoes) and ten percent water-based vegetables and
10 Serving size calculations and conversions based on data from: Health Canada Nutrient Values of Some
Common Foods, 2008. (Cal per serving/kg per serving = Cal/kg). Yield in kilograms (kg/m2) is based on
data from B.C.’s Food Self-Reliance (2006), p. 14. Fruits yield 116 kg/177m2 = 0.66 kg/m2; and vegetables yield 83kg/152m2 = 0.55 kg/m2 per year.
11 Note that a far more extensive variety of foods could be considered, but in order to simplify, the fruits
and vegetable portion of the diet will be represented by an average yield of the selected crops listed in
Table 3.
12 77,672 cal divided by a yield of 264 cal/m2 equals 294 m2.
fruits produces the total average 776,720 calories per person per year, the total
agricultural land area required to sustain one person for one year is 510 square
metres, or approximately 0.05 hectares.
2b. The “meat” on eating meat
Animal-based agriculture is a resource-intensive and inefficient process
compared to crop farming, consuming large amounts of energy, water and
land. Results of a New York State based study indicate that animal products
can require up to fifty times the land base necessary for fruits, vegetables
and grains to produce the same number of calories (Peters et al. 2007, 145153). The question arises as to whether reducing or eliminating animal-based
foods will compromise a healthy diet. The necessity for animal protein and
milk in the human diet (beyond breast feeding during infancy) has been the
source of debate, and dairy products have been associated with ear and tonsil
infections, allergy, sinusitis, headache, congestion, runny nose, rash/eczema,
fatigue, lethargy, irritability, bedwetting, asthma, intestinal bleeding, colic,
childhood diabetes, and even bovine leukemia virus (Williams 2002). In 2003,
The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada reported that
“appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate,
and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases”.
Hence, in an effort to move toward self-reliance, it is desirable to encourage
reduced meat consumption and increasingly vegetarian diets.
If diet trends continue to change and the desire for local, organic foods
provides incentives for agriculture to return to local, small scale and/ or organic
production, it is possible that a diet comprised solely of local grains, legumes,
vegetables and fruits may become more commonly accepted - contributing to
the development of a more self-reliant food system in the Lower Mainland.
However, given that the majority of the population in the Lower Mainland
cannot be expected to become vegetarian, additional research on this subject
should consist of carefully evaluating the caloric yield per land area of animalbased agriculture that is feasible in the Lower Mainland. Further research might
determine how an omnivorous diet including animal-based foods would affect
the calculated amount of land required to sustain one person over a period of
one year.
2c Caveats regarding preliminary research results
The estimated 0.05 hectares per person per year required land base for selfsufficient food production in the Lower Mainland is approximately equal to
one tenth of the 0.53 hectares recommended by in the BCMAL 2006 report;
however, significant differences in analysis methodologies prevent direct
comparison. Firstly, the diet used in the BCMAL report is based on the Health
Canada’s Food Guide recommendations, which consists of 36-43 percent
vegetables and fruits, 32-35 percent grains, 10-21 percent dairy and 11-13
percent protein (animal and bean-based), as opposed to the vegetarian diet
chosen in this paper that is less resource-intensive. Secondly, the BCMAL
research examines food production and consumption based on the weight (rather
than calories) of food required to sustain a person for one year. This caloric
assessment, on the other hand, indicates crops that produce the greatest caloric
yield, which promotes more efficient use of land and thus, more accurately
indicates the potential for self-reliance.
Due to the different assumptions in the respective research analyses further
testing is required to confirm the accuracy of this research. In addition, further
comparisons are required to further evaluate the merits of a calorie-based
evaluation versus a weight-based evaluation of food security in the Lower
Mainland.
3. How much agricultural land is available in the Lower Mainland?
The Lower Mainland of British Columbia encompasses 16,239 square
kilometres (1,623,900 hectares) of land. Nine percent (1,462 square kilometres,
or 146,200 hectares) of that land base is currently designated as Agricultural
Land Reserve (ALR) (Provincial Agricultural Land Commission).13 Although
not all of these lands are actively farmed at present, the ALR designation
restricts activities allowed on these lands and how they can be subdivided.
According to statistics published by the Agricultural Land Commission in 2008,
the Lower Mainland has lost a total of 115.47 square kilometres of agricultural
lands since the designation of the ALR in 1974. In addition, the total number of
farm operators in the Lower Mainland in 2006 has dropped from 9,775 to 7,980
over ten years, which indicates that production is declining.
Also, when we consider the current demand and pressure to develop suitable
agricultural land, it becomes apparent that the ALR is not unconditionally
protected. The ALR lost 11,547 hectares of land in the last 35 years. Without
imposing more stringent policies to protect this land, it is possible that the
current ALR could decrease by another 11,547 hectares by the year 2050. This
would mean a potential total reduction of 16 percent since the designation of
the ALR. Clearly, the remaining agricultural land is limited and exposed to
significant development pressures.
4. How much agricultural land is required to sustain a region of 4.4 million?
This paper finds that at least 50 percent more agricultural lands than currently
protected by the ALR are required to sustain the growing region. Assuming that
a vegetarian diet requires 0.05 hectares of land to sustain one person for one
year; the population in the Lower Mainland increases to roughly 4.4 million
in forty years; and all agricultural land is irrigated, arable and producing only
vegetable crops, then the Metro Vancouver region requires approximately
220,000 hectares of agricultural land to feed the population annually in a selfreliant manner. This implies that 73,800 hectares of agricultural land in addition
to the currently designated 146,200 hectares of ALR land would be required to
produce enough calories and healthy diet each year to sustain a population of
4.4 million people.
13 To compare, only 5% of all of land in British Columbia is arable (Georgia Straight 2008).
5. Is a “closed loop” system feasible in the Lower Mainland?
The agricultural land currently available in the Lower Mainland could not
sustain the demands of a population of 4.4 million people using a self-reliant
food system even in an ideal scenario, where every resident is a vegetarian and
every hectare of the current ALR is irrigated, arable and used for crop-based
agricultural production for consumption within the boundaries of the region.
Based on the calculations and assumptions above, the currently designated
146,200 hectares of ALR in the Lower Mainland could theoretically sustain
2,924,000 people (376,521 or approximately fifteen percent more than the
current population of 2,547,479) in a closed-loop system. However, only eighty
percent of the ALR is currently in production and not just for food. Of the
ninety-four percent that is used for food production, seventy-six percent is used
for livestock products (Food Secure Vancouver 2009, vii). In order to achieve
an additional 73,800 hectares of agricultural land, measures need to be taken
to protect, preserve and create more food product growing space through ALR
designation and urban agriculture strategies (see Section 6 below).
However, these numbers do not take into account the land required to produce
animal food products, including the grain required to feed the animals; the
amount of agricultural land that may not have access to irrigation or may not be
suitable for crops used in this analysis; and the non-food production demands
on agricultural resources (such as ornamental flowers, sod, Christmas trees
and recreational/tourist farms). The supply and demand gap will increase with
greater consideration of such factors.
Commodity prices and trade arrangements also present challenges to developing
a “closed loop” food system. The actual use of farmland is market driven –
if the demand for certain food crops increases, thereby making production
more profitable, farms may shift from one crop to another, or from meat to
grain production and vice versa (BCMAL 2006). Similarly, if it is cheaper to
import a product from another province or country than to produce it locally,
local agriculture will operate within that market by limiting or selecting local
production to maximize land efficiency. For example, B.C. produces high
quality greenhouse tomatoes that are sold to the US while it imports less
expensive tomatoes from Calilfornia. Another example is B.C. yearling cattle,
which are sold to Alberta for feed-lotting and slaughtering. Subsequently,
producers ship some of this meat back to B.C. for consumption (BCMAL 2006,
data tables).
The question of whether greater food self-reliance is in fact desirable is
complicated. In terms of food security, trade reduces exposure to risk of
domestic crop failure, foreign catastrophe and production supply shortfalls.
However, local production also has advantages in supplying local markets
and meeting food security objectives that imports cannot, such as holding
market share in niche areas. Although practically, an entirely self-reliant food
system is not likely achievable in the Lower Mainland, incrementally increased
self-sufficiency is. As environmental concerns continue to elevate, the food
distribution network in the region will evolve to favour local production and
alternative distribution networks. These alternative systems will include bulk
food buying cooperatives, community shared agricultural initiatives, urban
gardens, community gardens and direct-to-consumer food service (Food Secure
Vancouver 2009, ix).
6. What are potential strategies and barriers to strengthen/expand local food
production in the Lower Mainland?
Given the agricultural demands of the current and growing population, the
extensive development in the past and the continuing growth in the future, the
following strategies are likely to be the most effective in increasing the selfsufficiency of Metro Vancouver’s food system:
1. Improve public accessibility to wholesome, nutritious, healthy food
products and develop distribution systems more responsive to the food
challenges of local residents (Food Secure Vancouver 2009, ix).
2. Examine cultural attitudes, diet trends and consumption patterns to
promote a more efficient and self-reliant agriculture
o Eat seasonally
 Replace fresh fruit with frozen produce during winter
months, and
 Reduce dependency on imported vegetables and fruits
o Reduce consumption of animal products.
3. Evaluate the pros and cons of greenhouses used to increase crop output.
Greenhouses in an urban context may be effective in using land that
has been developed and is no longer suitable for conventional farming.
Greenhouses can be twenty times as efficient as standard field farming
operations for certain crops, such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.
However, the downside is that greenhouses are very energy intensive,
and not a good use of high quality, fertile agricultural land.
4. Protect and preserve all agricultural land to ensure no further
development of potential agricultural land and protection of all current
farmland.
5. Maximize the capacity of developed areas for urban agriculture
practices. Urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating, processing
and distributing food in, or around a village, town or city (Bailkey et al.
2000, 6).
Some of these techniques include:
o Green Roofs and Rooftop Gardens – Intensive green roofs
offer adequate growing media for vegetable and fruit gardens.
Some intensive roofs in the Vancouver area are being used to
grow medicinal herbs and seasonal produce for restaurants.
Intensive roofs are accessible to the public and/or residents of the
All Photos (above) by
Dave Hohehschau
buildings.
o Balcony Gardens – Developing and/or utilizing balconies with
the structural integrity to withstand adequate growing media for
vegetable gardens enhances local growing space opportunities
and maximizes the efficiency of land in urban centres.
o Community Gardens – Public gardens in communities foster
relationships between/ among neighbours, and between land
and food. Community gardens can maximize land use alongside
deserted train tracks, in parks, along sidewalks or on residential
roundabouts. As a form of recreation, education or a step towards
self-reliance, community gardening helps empower citizens to
make positive contributions to local/ regional food production.
In the City of Vancouver, landowners now have to opportunity
to reduce their property taxes by creating a garden or park.
Over the past two years, five development sites were converted
into gardens or parks and received a property-tax reduction of
approximately eighty percent combined (Smith 2009).
Appendix A: Energy and Agriculture
Food production and distribution are energy intensive and polluting processes,
and higher energy demand equals greater costs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
(GHG) emissions. Hence, it is valuable to understand the relationship between
food production and energy toward choosing those foods that are less energy
intensive. Switching from a meat-based diet to a crop-based diet will have a
significant impact on the amount of energy, land, and water required to sustain
a person as well as associated GHG emissions. For example, at the global scale,
the United Nations determined that “livestock farming is responsible for 18
percent of the carbon dioxide equivalents emitted worldwide, more emissions
than the entire transportation sector”.
Food energy includes five categories:
1) Imported Energy – energy required to transport products from another
country,
2) Exported Energy – energy required to transport products to another
country,
3) Embodied Energy – energy required to manufacture and package a
finished product from raw materials, including the energy used to
transport the product,
4) Food Production Energy – energy required to harvest, process, package,
render and transport a finished product from raw materials, and
5) Food Storage – energy required to store and preserve foods, including
during transport (ECSC Strategies website).
Appendix B: The Importance of Bees in Urban Agriculture
Bees are essential to a sustainable environment and successful urban agriculture.
Some plants, for example grasses, produce light pollen grains that wind or water
may carry from plant to plant. Other plants need help from insects for successful
pollination (such as Honey Bees). Insect pollinated plants make up one third
of the average B.C. diet, with industrious bees pollinating 80 percent of those
crops (Levenston 2009).
Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the flower’s anther, where they
are formed, to the stigma, the opening to the part of the flower where the seed is
formed. Plants make flowers that have nectar and pollen that the bees need for
food. Plants must transfer pollen between flowers for the plant to produce fruit
and seeds so that new plants can be made. This relationship between bees and
flowers is necessary for the continuous production of many types of fruits and
vegetables (DeGrandi-Hoffman).
Urban agriculture strategies have proven to be effective in creating habitat
for urban bees. The new Vancouver Convention Centre (opened April 2009)
features a six-acre green roof – the largest in Canada – with 400,000 indigenous
plants and grasses and several beehives installed to house a colony of 60,000
bees (Sin 2009). This is an excellent example of how urban agriculture
strategies can contribute to complex agricultural process in an urban, built
environment.
6. References
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B.C.’s farmers feed our growing population? http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/PubDocs/
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B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (BCMAL). 2009. Industry Profile. http://www.agf.gov.
bc.ca/aboutind/profile.htm (accessed July 28, 2009).
Bailkey, M. and J. Nasr. 2000. From Brownfields to Greenfields: Producing Food in North
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(accessed April 2009).
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DeGrandi-Hoffman, G. An Apple For Your Teacher-From the Bees. GEARS Internet Classroom.
USDA-ARS. http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/ic/apples/apples.html (accessed May 2009).
Woolley, Pieta. 2008. Pressure Builds on Agricultural Land Reserve. Georgia Straight
(December 30), http://www.straight.com/article-177711/pressure-builds-farmland (accessed
April 28, 2009).
Global Footprints. 2009. Food, http://www.globalfootprints.org/issues/local/food/food.htm
(accessed May 2009).
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. 2001. Greater Vancouver Regional District Agriculture in Brief, http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/resmgmt/sf/agbriefs/GVRD.pdf (accessed
May 4, 2009).
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www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/reference/table/index-eng.php (accessed April 2009).
Health Canada. 2007. Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide. http://www.healthcanada.gc.ca/
foodguide (accessed April 2009).
Health Canada. 2008. Nutrient Values of Some Common Foods.
Jeavons, J., and C. Cox. 1993. Lazy-Bed Gardening: The Quick and Dirty Guide. California:
Ten Speed Press.
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Notes’, http://www.cityfarmer.info/60000-bees-on-green-roof-of-new-vancouverconvention-centre/#more-1297 (accessed May 2009).
Metro Vancouver. 2009. Metro Vancouver Sustainability Report, http://www.metrovancouver.
org/about/publications/Publications/SustainabilityReport2009.pdf. Accessed May 2009.
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metrovancouver.org/about/publications/Publications/2006census_Agriculture2006.pdf
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Ministry of Agriculture Food and Fisheries. 2001. Census of Agriculture, http://www.agf.gov.
bc.ca/stats/2001census.pdf (accessed April 2009).
Null, G., Martin Feldman. 2009. The Argument for a Vegetarian Diet - Part One. Townsend
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Peters, C.J., J.L. Wilkins, and G.W. Fick. 2007. Testing a complete-diet model for estimating
the land resource requirements of food consumption and agricultural carrying capacity: The
New York State example. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems: 145-153.
Provincial Agricultural Land Commission (PALC). 2008. http://www.alc.gov.bc.ca/ (accessed
April 2009).
Sebastien, G. and C Foyd. 2009. Architectural design competition submissions highlight urban
agriculture, http://www.cityfarmer.info/architectural-design-competition-submissionshighlight-urban-agriculture/#more-1490 (accessed May 2009).
Sin, L. 2009. Vancouver Convention Centre Opens to Public. The Province, April 5.
Smith, Charlie. 2009. Open a park in Vancouver and cut property taxes. The Georgia Straight,
(June 11), http://www.straight.com/article-229507/open-park-cut-taxes (accessed July 17,
2009).
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Doctors and Patients, (October), http://www.townsendletter.com/Oct_2002/milk1002.htm
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Food Secure Vancouver – Baseline Report. Vancouver Food Policy Council.
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