STORY about FoodEnvironment posted on May 14, 2010 by isaac
The Delicate Politics of Food
Sustainable Growing at UBC Farm
Photo credit: UBC Farm blog
A venue that has had to struggle to survive, UBC Farm is a ten-year-old project that was until recently at the epicentre of the university's plan to create more condos on the endowment lands.
“There's more to growing food than the idea of eating locally-grown fruits and vegetables,” said Andrea Morgan, a farm staff member and former UBC student. “A lot of folks come to the farm thinking just about eating locally, but end up learning about sustainable growth, as well as how food relates to things like the oil industry, pharmaceuticals, indigenous food sovereignty and so on.”
According to Morgan, the educational and community value of the UBC Farm's programming is one of the main reasons the farm needs to stay where it is. Even with constant pressure to develop the land into condos, groups like Friends of the Farm rallied support from the student body and the municipal government to preserve the area as is.
“The idea of supporting the farm is something a lot of the student body got behind,” said Morgan, “especially since food is something everyone can relate to.”
Struggles such as that of UBC Farm are at the centre of the ongoing We Ate the G8 counter-summit, being organized by students and educators against the G8 Education summit in Vancouver, the latter of which encourages the ongoing commercialization of education.
The site for the Vancouver local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.