The Intersectionality of It All - Agriculture 🌾
A very brief look at the intersectionality of agriculture in western Canada.
Moving to western Canada opened my eyes to many things, I did not expect agriculture to be one of them. I grew up in a small farming community, and to me agriculture meant corn, tractors, and farmers markets every Saturday. I believed that the practices being used were the most effective and the damage they had on the environment was simply inevitable. It was until I moved halfway across the country that I started to question things.
Why are we restoring ecosystems when they could have been protected from the start?
I work as a watershed technician at the Moose Jaw River Watershed Stewards. My role generally has nothing to do with agriculture, but for my coworkers that’s their entire focus. I couldn’t help but notice that much of their work was supporting projects that worked to restore farmland and native pasture. Their newest project, however, focuses on the implementation of new, sustainable practices. The idea of protecting the land from the start. It was then that I began questioning why we haven’t always been using these practices. I had a few ideas and some basic answers, but I decided I needed to start at the beginning to truly understand.
The Beginning and End of Balance
Through oral communication and generational teachings we understand that Indigenous peoples of what is now Canada lived a sustainable lifestyle that supported the regeneration and vitality of the land. The planet moves through cycles in order to maintain balance, and so too must all living things move through cycles to promote this sustainability.
Agriculture and the domestication of plants allowed early humans to settle and establish larger communities. Occurring simultaneously in 11 regions of the world, the cultivation of plants is the single most important event that has led to the modern world. Agriculture enabled the human population to grow and encouraged individuals to specialize in a variety of skills. The idea of trade was created as a result and is the basis of our economy today.
European explorers brought many things to North America, including the concept of settlements and ownership. Stolen land was used for sedentary farming, and the produce was shipped back to Europe. Settlers believed the land to be perpetual and immune to the ongoings of people. The land was there simply to provide for the people and the people could do as they please. This system worked … until our populations began to boom.
The Golden Era of Agriculture … and a Second Thought
By the turn of the century agriculture in the Canadian west supported a large portion of the worlds population. This was a time of innovative, industry, machinery and streamlining. Mechanical farming equipment made it easier to seed and harvest. Trains and vehicles made transporting goods cheaper. Food was more affordable and you could buy it in bulk! Mid-century brought herbicides and fertilizers that made food production simple. Not a thought was given to the health of the planet and the effects of this exponential growth.
The environmental movement of the 1970s brought concern for the land to the western provinces. People became concerned about the crumbling soils, the poisoned water and the increase in chemical-tolerant pests. There was a tremendous effort to restructure Canadian agriculture, but once capitalism has its claws in something, it's hard to change things.
A Return to Balance
As I write this I see the future of agriculture in the relearning of Earth’s natural cycles. I see it in the returning to regenerative practices and digging our fingers in the dirt. I see it in the community gardens and backyard farms. I recognize that large-scale, commercial farming is a part of this future but I also recognize that better practices can be implemented.
~ trekogeko