Urbanization and the Farm

Per Capita Food Costs

In 1988, Americans spent 9-13% of their disposable income on food. In the same year we in Canada spent 10.4%, the French spent 14.8%, the Greeks 25.7% and South Africans 26.7%. In the poorer countries of the world, most people spend more than half of their earnings on food. For example Filipinos spent 57.4% of their 1985 income on food.

Our agricultural system is so efficient that it shames the productivity of all other sectors of the economy including the utility, automobile and textile sectors; assuming that increased efficiency is good in all cases. In a recent 30 year period, output per farm worker in Canada increased by four times while the rest of the Canadian commercial enterprise doubled in efficiency.

Productivity

Productivity in the dairy industry is one example. Since 1971 productivity per cow has increased by 73.5% in Canada, while increasing by only 46% in the U.S., and 3.5% in Western Europe.

At the turn of the century, the average farmer in Canada fed 12 people. In the 1990s, the average farmer feeds more than 100 people. Accordingly, the farming population has declined from about 50% actively farming in 1900, to only 3% in the 1990s.

This increase in production has occurred while the number of hectares under cultivation has actually decreased. Urban development is highly profitable to those immediately involved. It is usually detrimental, however, to all of society for the lifetime of that society. Approximately 50% of the land in Canada which was "developed" for urban use between 1976 and 1981 was prime agricultural land. Southern Ontario, with about half of the very best land in Canada, is undergoing the most rapid urbanization.

Urban Frontiers

Only three regions of Canada which can support productive agriculture are still relatively undeveloped for agriculture. These are the Peace River area of Northern Alberta and British Columbia, Ontario's northern clay belt and scattered land in the Maritimes. The rest of the productive land in Canada is presently being used for food production or has already been "developed;" that is, taken out of food production permanently.

Developers buy land ahead of the expansion of the cities and either take it out of crop production or lease it to local farmers who cannot afford to implement proper cropping systems which will continue to maintain the soil and its productivity. Those refusing to sell to developers and continuing to farm close to the city face the difficulties of the occasional smells and noises resulting from food production being too close to the consumer. These farmers find it difficult to drive their farm vehicles on busy streets and face the problems of higher wage demands, increased vandalism and trespassing. Whether farmers like it or not, as Urban areas encroach, the farm must give way.

Declining Farm Income

The farmer has not benefited, as the consumer has, from the increase in farm productivity and the low cost of food. The average net farm family income between 1980 and 1989 increased 48% from $11 584 to $17 219. On the other hand, the average family income in Canada increased 82% from $22 572 to $41 083. In addition to providing a living, on-farm income must also be applied to the farm mortgage and equipment replacement costs for the farm family.

The total farm value of all eggs, milk, turkey and chicken produced in Canada in 1990 was $4.8 billion. This amount was 32% less than the total sales of one large grocery chain. Clearly, the farmers are not making much money out of farming. If farmers were paid fairly for the food they produce, they wouldn't be forced to sell their land to developers. In this scenario, Canada would have food at a reasonable price, and would be free forever from foreign influence on our food production.

According to common wisdom, farmers should be able to sell their land to whomever they wish. They bought the land initially, just as someone buys a business in a city, and they should be able to sell it when they are finished with it, regardless of its future use. However, as with all aspects of society, farms could one day be of national importance, and laws could be enacted stipulating that all land that can be farmed cannot be rezoned for non-agricultural purposes. Such a measure would ensure that we were able to produce food for Canadians.

Save Our Farmland

Farming, as it stands now, costs this country too much, both in terms of cash and environmental degradation. Government programs tend to encourage poor use of what farm land remains. The following examples indicate one perspective on the state of our farming culture:

• The crop insurance program which encourages over use of land and increased use of pesticides because the farmer is paid according to her/his yields, cost Canadians $207 million in 1991;
• Over $725 million was paid through the Western Grain Transportation Act to farmers in 1991. This subsidy discourages proper soil management through crop rotation;
• Contamination of the Great Lakes region by agricultural sediment costs us $91 million annually.
• If our food was produced elsewhere we wouldn't have to pay so much to support a dying industry.