We’re using up farmland at rapid rate

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Published on Thursday, 28 March 2013 17:18

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At Saturday’s AWARE meeting in Bradford, Carl Cosack of the North Dufferin Agricultural Task Force said, “We’re using up land, land, land, in a way that is not recoverable and we will pay a price. We’re living way beyond our means... this (farmland) is fundamental to life itself.”

His comments dovetail with AWARE Simcoe’s Vision for Simcoe County that calls for evaluating growth to determine if the results of projected growth will be positive or negative or whether it is sustainable in the long run.

In other words, will we have enough food and water to take care of the projected population?

Kudos to the province for its new local food efforts, but food requires farmland. Despite supposed provincial regulations, we are using up farmland at an alarming rate.

Most of Bradford, for example, is built on arable farmland. It comes down to this: How much water can we take out of Lake Simcoe? How much processed sewage can we dump into a lake that turns over at an incredibly slow rate?

How many acres do we need to feed our growing population? At one time, it seemed water and farmland were endless, but we know now that it isn’t. Unending growth is not sustainable in the long run.  

Most lost civilizations died out because they outgrew their resources.

I think it is best summed up in a proverb that has been attributed to various First Nations people, including the Cree: When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money.

By Meade Helman, Bond Head

Posted in the Opinion Section of simcoe.com Mar. 28, 2013