Hey everyone! It’s Marissa Lester, one of the 2021 4-H Ontario Ambassadors, here again with another blog post for you. I will be talking about food security and sustainable agriculture. This topic is very important to my family and I, since we are food producers, or better known as farmers. Here is a little overview of my life. I am part of the 8th generation of our family farm here in Brigden, Ontario. The land our farm is on now is the original location where my family began this farming journey back in 1829! Our primary focus is cattle; however, we also grow wheat, corn, and soybean crops as well. Being a farmer is an amazing opportunity and comes with great responsibility.
The Importance of Food Security
Food security can be described as the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. This means that us farmers have a lot of people counting on us to provide them with food. Whether meat, vegetables, fruits, breads, or dairy, farmers play a big roll in growing food for us all to eat and enjoy. With that being said, it important to make sure there is enough food available for everyone to eat and to ensure everyone is well fed – that’s one part of food security. Another important aspect of food security is ensuring that food is affordable for consumers. The most important part of food security is to produce good quality foods for our consumers. It is very important that the foods we produce are up to standards that anyone would appreciate having on their plate. Food security is so vital to ensure we are keeping up with the demand of food and keeping everyone healthy and well fed.
The Ways Canada Will Continue to Improve its Food Security
Our food security strategy will never be perfect, but with new challenges also comes new ideas and opportunities to improve. Canada will continuously develop new strategies to keep our food secure and safe for everyone in the country. One way Canada will continue to develop is by increasing food availability. As our population grows, so will the need for more food to be produced and it is important that farmers are able to produce enough food to match the increase in demand. Another way Canada will develop is by improving access to food. We will have to increase the number of places people can access food, while ensuring these locations are accessible to people everywhere. Canada will also continue to develop by increasing availability to quality, nutritious food. This is where farmers have to ensure there is enough food produced, but also at good quality. Increasing the sustainability of our food security is a strategy that is constantly being evolved to be as efficient as possible for the country. The last way Canada will continue to develop is by supporting improved governance of global food security. Canada will continuously monitor food security in other countries and make changes to improve our standards. A constantly developing food security plan is the reason us farmers can continue to do what we are good at.
Ways To Promote Sustainable Agriculture
Having sustainable agriculture is the reason we are able to have food security in Canada. There are plenty of ways farmers can promote sustainable agriculture when farming including crop rotation in field crops, the use of renewable energy resources with farming practices, eliminating tilling in between crops, using precision nutrient management for their crops, and using manure instead pesticides on crops. Farmers have these opportunities and more to contribute to sustainable agriculture, but there are also many ways that everyone in the country can participate. We can all support sustainable agriculture through good environmental stewardship, by creating a clean atmosphere for food to be produced, by supporting local businesses and by contributing to a stable rural community. Sustainable agriculture is very important to everyone, even when you do not have a direct relationship with agriculture.
Ways Youth Can Contribute to Sustainable Agriculture
One of the ways youth can contribute to sustainable agriculture is by picking up after yourself and encouraging others not to litter. Cleaning up the lands, parks, ditches, or anywhere can improve the health of the earth and improve growing conditions of our food. Recycling is another way we can all contribute to sustainability. By recycling, we are providing these products with the opportunity to be re-made into other products, extending their life cycle. Protecting our oceans and forests is another way we can help, since forests and oceans provide habitats for all kinds of wildlife.
Food security and sustainable agriculture are both very important to all of us. From the farmers to the consumers, everyone plays a big part in these systems. My family and I are dedicated to producing high-quality food and we know how helpful it is when there is contribution to healthy environments from everyone. Producing affordable, nutritious, high-quality food is such a great opportunity, but also a great responsibility. We want to keep our country well fed but most importantly, safe. Next time you are grocery shopping in a store, think about all the thought and care that was put into making all the products that stock the shelves, and thank the producers. We also want to thank you for supporting us and contributing to sustainable agriculture and food security in Canada.
Thank you to our sponsor, FS, for their ongoing support and leadership of the Ambassador Program.
