The 100 Mile "Diet" and our Food Security

The 100 Mile Diet refers to the practice of eating only what is produced locally. Knowing where you food comes from is key. 100 mile diet is both good for ourselves as well as for the planet, to eat healthier and more nutrient filled foods as well to cut down on greenhouse gases.

Traceability is knowing where your food is coming from. Is it grown close or far away from home? Was it trucked in, or shipped overseas? Or is it from the mom and pops farm just a town over. The ability to follow animals, plants, food products or ingredients from one point in the food supply chain to another. "Farm to Table".

Food Security is the availability of sufficient food, nutritional well-being; and stability so that sufficient food is always available. Food Security is becoming weaker as the climate has been hard to predict and causing many problems for agriculture lands like Drought, Fires and Floods and the Change in what we can grow in this "new" climate. Also, with our food supply chain tracing back to all around the world, it does not make for a very secure food supply, as we all have seen during the roughest parts during this pandemic. We must adapt to our climate change, plant what will grow best and grow more locally to secure our food supply.

Did you know, there is 4.6 million hectares of suitable agriculture protected land in B.C. and 22% of that protected land is in Metro Vancouver. British Columbia is a total of 95 million hectares. Only roughly 5% of the total provincial land base is considered arable land in B.C. When you think about those in comparison to how much land we have, how much of it is actually good and how much food we all demand, that is not enough.

Some simple things people living in urban areas can do, is turn the water absorbing lawn into a garden. Weather that be a vegetable garden, an ornamental garden or what ever your heart desires, maybe a mixture of both. By changing out the lawn we can rejuvenate the soil as well have more locally grown foods, "Yard To Table". By planting an ornamental garden that might be drought tolerant or native to the land. Possibly planting a barrier around your vegetables, we can then reduce the consumption of water as well as protect the land from run off and/or corrosion. That is just the beginning of what we can do to help repair the land and build a stronger food security.

What are some ideas or plans in motion you have? I would love to hear about them! I cant wait until the day I finally get my chunk of land, fix up the soil and build a sustainable and Diverse Farm.

Thanks for reading!