Creating a Food History of the Land Where We Live

Description

A close look at local history can provide stories about where our food comes from and how this has changed over time. This activity involves students working with local history and maps to develop an understanding of how food has been acquired and produced in their local area over time. Students will research food production, compare data and maps, and develop a timeline or ”story-line” of agriculture in their region. To illustrate how to develop such a timeline, a “Brief Story of Agriculture and Farming in BC” is provided.

Learning outcomes. Students will be able to… • describe how the land in their area has been used to produce food over time. • identify factors that influence food production past and present.

Curriculum integration • Social Studies • Language Arts

Key concepts/vocabulary colony hydroponics immigration mechanization urbanization

Pre-activity preparation • Collect local history books, contact local historical societies for possible speakers, contact the local museum about the artifacts and information that they have, investigate historical tourist attractions in the area as possible sites for field trips.  Compile a list of relevant websites. • Copy A Brief Story of Agriculture and Farming in BC for each group of 3 to 4 students. Cut the sections of the story into strips and put a set of the strips in one envelope for each group. • If you intend to have students do internet research you will need to book the computer lab at your school.

- materials - maps of the area - local histories (including First Nations) - large sheets of paper and glue sticks - highlighters or markers

Procedure 1. Introducing “Story-lines”

To introduce students to the idea of creating a “Story-Line” of the area they live in, have them complete the following activity with the envelopes containing cut up strips of “A Brief Story of Agriculture and Farming in BC.” Give each group an envelope. Ask each group to put the statements in chronological order. Have them glue the statements on to a large sheet of paper. Ask the students to highlight three events that they think were significant in the development of agriculture. Have them add their ideas to the end section “what the future will hold?” Each group can then share with the class the way they organized their "story-line”, explain the events they thought were significant and why, and highlight one of their ideas of how agriculture might change or develop in the future.

2. Creating “Story-lines”

Once students have completed the “Story-line” for British Columbia, explain that this is an example that they can follow as they research their own community in order to create a “history-line” for the area in which they live. Encourage students to use a variety of reference materials to gather information that can be put in chronological order. For example, they can do internet searches, interviews with community members (“old timers”, historians, museum curators), visits to local museums, historical sites, interpretive centres, tourist information centres; use local history books, look at old maps, etc.

References and websites

• agricultural profiles of communities are available from Statistics Canada http://www25.statcan.ca:8081/AgrProfile/acphome.jsp The website has a lesson plan titled, “Where Were Your Ancestors in 1871?”

• BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, www.aitc.ca/bc provides a handout called “What is Agriculture?” and many other useful resources and links.

Invitations to explore… • Ask students to locate on a map of BC all of the places mentioned in “A Brief Story of Agriculture and Farming in BC.” • Have students interview pioneers or people who have lived in the area for a long time or have the pioneers visit the classroom where the interview can take place. • Have students gather “old time” recipes for their Family Favourites Cookbook or write stories from their interviews of “old timers” to include in the book. • Ask students to write profiles of local farms or farmers and submit these to the school or community newspaper for publication. • Look at a world map of soil required for food production. (check: globalsoilmap.net) • Research the history of the growth and production of a particular food (for example; apples, turkeys, tomatoes) paying particular attention to changes over time and the ways local farmers have adapted to changing market trends and consumer demand. • Have students investigate food crops or animals being raised now that are “new” to their area. For example, wasabi, ginsing, tilapia, sheep and kiwi are not indigenous to British Columbia but are being produced here now. Have students think and write about: Why have these food crops or animals been introduced to the area? • Students can investigate the food that is produced within a 100 mile radius of their community. The website http://100milediet.org/map/, can generate a map for any place in North America.

SEE NEXT PAGES FOR “A Brief History of Agriculture and Farming in British Columbia” A Brief Story of Agriculture and Farming in British Columbia

Prior to European contact, First Nations people in British Columbia hunted and gathered what nature provided for food (wild fruits, berries, roots, fish and animals).

The first documented European farming in British Columbia was in 1811 at Stuart Lake near the Hudson’s Bay fort at Fort St. James. It became common for the Hudson’s Bay Company to grow vegetables and raise cows at its forts and trading posts throughout the province to supply food for its employees.

Missionaries who worked to establish churches also encouraged farming in British Columbia. For example a Catholic priest, Father Pandosy, established a mission on Okanagan Lake near what is now Kelowna in 1859 and he is credited with planting the first orchard.

The Gold Rush in the 1850s and 1860s brought many miners to British Columbia. The growing population meant an increased demand for food so agriculture, especially vegetable farming in BC expanded.

Many of those who were lured by gold liked what they saw and stayed to build ranches or farms. The first cattle ranches were established in the interior of British Columbia in the early 1860's.

British Columbia, then a British crown colony, sought to join the Canadian confederation. In 1871 Prime Minister John A. Macdonald offered British Columbia a railroad connection with the rest of Canada within 10 years. Railway building encouraged more agriculture as settlements sprang up along the railway line. The Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885 joining BC to the eastern provinces and it encouraged the development of more agriculture because now the products could be shipped across the country. Farming in the Okanagan (fruit) and Fraser Valley (vegetables and milk) became well established.

In 1888 the first Dominion Experimental Farm in BC was established at Agassiz. Later, other experimental stations were opened in other parts of the province, for example, Summerland (1914), Vancouver (1925), Kamloops (1935), Creston (1940) and Prince George (1940). The research at these farms made a big contribution to improving agriculture in BC.

On the farms of the 1890's there were no cars, few telephones and little electricity. Most of the work was done by the approximately 17,000 horses in use on BC farms.

Another railroad company, Grand Trunk Pacific, completed a railroad line that joined Winnipeg and Prince Rupert in 1914. This opened northwestern British Columbia to increased settlement and farming.

Land was opened for settlers in the Peace River District and when the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway (EDBC) linked the Peace River country to Edmonton in 1915, agricultural equipment could be shipped in and grain products out. This encouraged more farmers to move into the area.

In 1918, the Federal government bought 1000 tractors to sell to farmers across Canada. This started the mechanization of farming as machines began to replace people and horses.

In the 1930’s it is estimated that about 31% of all Canadians lived on farms. In British Columbia most farms are located in the valley bottoms where the land is fertile.

Food processing such as canning and freezing of vegetables for local and export markets was common in BC. From the early 1900’s until the early 1960s, there were up to 15 canneries operating in various parts of the province. By the 1980s only one remained.

In 1974, the Agricultural Land Reserve was established in BC to preserve farming land. Up to that time several thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land were being lost each year to urban development and other uses.

By the mid 1990’s the farm population had dropped dramatically to below 3% of Canada’s total population. However in the 25 year period between 1976 and 2001, British Columbia was the only province to have increased both its number of farms and the amount of farmland in use.

Many farms use organic practices. This means that they try to avoid using inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, and as much as possible re-cycle and use the products of natural de-composition to amend the soil. In 1993, the British Columbia Certified Organic Program was established so that farms could be recognized for their sustainable farming practices. Between 2004 and 2005, British Columbia had the largest increase of all the provinces in Canada in the number of organic farms.

One area that has expanded rapidly since the 1990’s in BC is the greenhouse vegetable industry where cucumbers, tomatoes, butter lettuce, and peppers are grown hydroponically “under glass”. The BC greenhouse vegetable growers are world leaders in using integrated pest management.

Now, there are over 200 different agricultural commodities produced in BC. What will the future hold?