Agriculture

Digging into local food security

Industrial food threatens food safety: Shortages of water and fossil fuels will make factory farming increasingly difficult in the coming years. Local mixed farms must remain to ensure our food security.

Food production threatened: Widespread contamination of US corn, soybeans and other crops by genetically engineered varieties is threatening the purity of organic and natural food products.

Our health at risk: Industrial agriculture contaminates our fruits and vegetables, makes produce vulnerable to dangerous bacteria and puts genetically engineered growth hormones into our milk.

People want:
- To choose the food they eat
- To support local agriculture instead of factory farms
- To reduce stress on farm animals by buying animals born and raised in humane conditions
- To reduce greenhouse gases by buying locally
- To support mixed family farms
- A safe local food supply, not a reliance on food imports

The Green Party position:
The Green Party of Canada wants what you want! We support the right to choose local food and to be guaranteed a safe local food supply. Here on the Saanich Peninsula we are blessed to have the advantages of lands protected for agricultural purposes and a climate which favours a long growing season.

What else is going on?
A healthy agricultural system is necessary for sustainability in the Capital Region. Local agriculture can supply much of the local demand for fresh nutritious food in a world with increasingly uncertain food supplies. It contributes significantly to the local economy and is an integral part of the regional environment…

Support for local agriculture requires local policies that ensure a secure, affordable and productive agricultural land base and water supply, provide opportunities for appropriate farm-related income, help minimize costs associated with farming and encourage environmental stewardship.
CRD Roundtable on the Environment: Food and Agriculture Subcommittee (June 2009)

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