{"id":131,"date":"2014-06-13T19:40:41","date_gmt":"2014-06-13T19:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/?post_type=chapter&p=131"},"modified":"2014-09-02T15:53:19","modified_gmt":"2014-09-02T22:53:19","slug":"6-4-food-systems-in-british-columbia","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/chapter\/6-4-food-systems-in-british-columbia\/","title":{"raw":"Food Systems in British Columbia","rendered":"Food Systems in British Columbia"},"content":{"raw":"

Indigenous Foodways<\/h2>\r\nThe first human food systems in British Columbia were primarily based on hunting,\u00a0gathering and cultivating root crops (Turner &\u00a0 Turner, 2008).\u00a0The ancestors of\u00a0First Nations peoples often practised\u00a0periodic migration to take advantage of seasonal resources, including the abundant salmon runs and a number\u00a0of native seasonal fruits.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_124\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"600\"]\"Figure<\/a> Figure 5.5 Indigenous food-gathering map shows the geographic layout of villages, tribal watersheds and food-gathering locations before European contact[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIndigenous food systems\u00a0also included the cultivation and gathering of root crops such as springbank clover, Pacific silverweed, northern rice root, and Nootka lupine (Turner, 1995).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1301\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"400\"]\"Fig<\/a> Fig 5.6 Indigenous food systems also included the cultivation and gathering of root crops such as (top left) springbank clover (top right) pacific silverweed (bottom left) northern rice root (bottom right) nootka lupine[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThis food system relied on populations moving to find\u00a0food sources around\u00a0coastal areas or\u00a0interior locations usually within a constrained geographic region.\r\n

Introduction of European Agricultural Practices and Foodways<\/h2>\r\nThe settlement of European communities in BC led to the displacement of indigenous food systems through the destruction of indigenous food resources (e.g., tubers<\/strong> and native crabapples), constraints to the movement of indigenous peoples, and the introduction of new crops and agricultural methods\u00a0(Turner &\u00a0Turner, 2008).\r\n\r\nThe expansion of European agriculture was largely a function of the\u00a0 settlement following the gold rush in the 19th century. As the gold rush expanded through the Interior, entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to begin\u00a0cattle ranching in locations like Coldstream, which were ideally placed in grasslands\u00a0relatively close to gold mining communities. Land developers soon followed in the Interior, creating\u00a0small parcels of land in pre-planned communities with names like Summerland and Peachland -- parcels that would be advertised as a \"British Garden of Eden\" to new settlers and potential investors from Europe.\r\n\r\nIn addition,\u00a0many other immigrant communities often took\u00a0up agricultural production in their first generation. For example, Doukhobors near Grand Forks and\u00a0Sikh communities throughout the Lower Mainland represent\u00a0historical immigrant enclaves that continue to practise agriculture as their primary source of income. Much of the growth of agriculture was oriented toward internal markets until the expanded use of canning and the requirements for food exports during the two world wars.\r\n\r\nContemporary agriculture in\u00a0BC plays several roles:\u00a0it is a major economic sector that employs over 300,000 people (in agriculture, fishing, manufacturing and food services), it has a multiplier effect on regional economies, it provides\u00a0ecosystem services and it defines cultural landscapes in several areas where regional identity has become tied to agricultural livelihood.\r\n\r\nThe increases in export-oriented,\u00a0agricultural production has increased pressures on\u00a0BC's natural resources such as\u00a0fresh water, fertile soils and wild animal populations.\r\n

The Contemporary Food System<\/h2>\r\nThe globally integrated agrifoods industry\u00a0includes primary production in agriculture, aquaculture and commercial\u00a0fisheries, and processing of food and beverages. Over 200 primary agriculture products and over 100 species of fish, shellfish and marine plants are produced in BC. The food and beverage processing industry is the largest manufacturing industry in the province with almost\u00a01,400 small- and medium-sized firms.\r\n\r\nThe 2011 Canadian Agricultural Census shows that\u00a0the province's 19,759 farms (9.6% of all farms in Canada) produced $2.9 billion\u00a0(5.8% of all Canadian\u00a0gross farm receipts) on 2,611,382 hectares (4% of the Canadian agricultural lands).\r\n\r\nIn 2012, the agrifoods industry had sales of $11.7 billion with primary production agriculture at $2.8 billion, aquaculture and commercial fisheries at $0.7 billion and food and beverage manufacturers at $8.2 billion.\r\n\r\nIn 2013, the entire agrifood industry\u00a0and\u00a0BC producers exported over $2.7 billion of agrifoods\u00a0products to more than 140 markets. The top exports were\u00a0farmed Atlantic salmon\u00a0at $267 million and \"food preparations for manufacturing\"\u00a0at $190 million. Over $1.8 billion (68%)\u00a0of all agrifoods exports in 2013 went to the United States, though the most rapid agrifood export growth from 2012 to 2013\u00a0was oriented across the Pacific to\u00a0the Philippines ($21 million, increasing by 42%), China ($234 million, increasing by 38%), and Japan\u00a0($174 million, increasing by 13%). In 2013,\u00a0BC\u00a0led\u00a0Canada in sales\u00a0of agricultural products like blueberries, sweet cherries, raspberries, pears, apricots, brussel sprouts and rhubarb. In\u00a0addition, it was\u00a0the secon- highest producer for 17 other agricultural commodities.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_129\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"500\"]\"Figure<\/a> Figure 5.7 Top BC agrifoods exports in 2013[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_130\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"500\"]\"Figure<\/a> Figure 5.8 Top six BC agrifoods exports in 2013[\/caption]\r\n

Growth in Viticulture<\/h2>\r\nAmong the major growth industries within the\u00a0BC food system\u00a0is a rapidly expanding wine industry. Between 2006 and 2011, Statistics Canada estimates that the number of grape growers increased 42% from 686\u00a0to 965, and that\u00a09,169 hectares were dedicated to grape growing. Another 2011\u00a0survey supported by the BC\u00a0Wine Institute and\u00a0BC\u00a0Grape Growers\u00a0estimated that there were 210 licensed wineries, 705 grape growers and 864 vineyards that covered 9,867 hectares. According to this second\u00a0study, the wine growing land\u00a0was distributed\u00a0in the Okanagan Valley (81.7%), Similkameen (7%), coastal areas (8.3%), and other areas (3%).\r\n

Food Distribution and Cost<\/h2>\r\nDespite increasing production in staple foods and growth in the commodities like wine, many BC families have increasing difficulty managing a budget that allows them to access foods that\u00a0meet the requirements of\u00a0a healthy diet.\u00a0In 2011, the average monthly cost for\u00a0the\u00a0nutritious food basket (for a\u00a0family of four) in BC was estimated by the Dietitians of Canada to be\u00a0$868.43. BC's 91 food banks assisted 90,193 individuals in\u00a02010-2011. Of this amount 31.8% were children and youth and\u00a045.1% were women. As well,\u00a016.4% of households receiving food had income from current or recent employment, 14.7% of food bank users identified as Aboriginal,\u00a0and 76.1% lived in non-subsidized housing.\r\n\r\nFood distribution in BC is linked to the large supermarket chain stores (e.g.,\u00a0Save-On Foods,\u00a0Real Canadian Superstore) that sell primarily imported food, though local retail chains like Askew's (in Salmon Arm), farm gate sales, and farmers' markets are firmly established as alternative distribution mechanisms throughout the province.\r\n

Attributions<\/h2>\r\n