Reduce reliance on imported produce, report urges

Found a relevant article posted today in the Vancouver Sun. According to a new paper by a consortium of the province’s research universities, British Columbia’s near total dependence on imported fruits and vegetables is making them vulnerable to food supply interruptions and price shocks. The health researchers feel that the responsibility is on governments to step in and ensure that baseline levels of food are being produced locally.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the article:

The more food we grow in British Columbia, no matter where it goes, the better for the economy.

“I think looking at the industry long-term, if we continue to ignore the infrastructure that is necessary, if we continue to create an uncompetitive environment for agriculture then [food security] is going to be a concern for us,”

Where we are least self-sufficient – fruits and vegetables – is a concern because those are the foods that our nutritionists are telling us we are missing from our diets and that by eating more of them we would reduce some of the diet-related illness that are endemic in our population.

This may be occurring in British Columbia, but Nova Scotia has become increasingly dependant on imported fruits and vegetables, and thus could be at risk for facing the same vulnerabilities.

Click here for the full article. What are your thoughts? Feel free to comment below.