The Tilsons

Suzanne and Dominique of Rocky Mountain Flatbread threw a media event today to promote Feast of Fields. Feast of Fields brings farmers and chefs together at three different events each summer including Vancouver, Whistler and Vancouver Island.

The morning event included some delicious dessert like pizza featuring toppings from our garden and two other urban farmers: Ward of City Farm Boy and Craig of Kitsilano Farms. Fresh fig with blackberry or fig with apple and a bit of cinnamon are incredible! The figs were so good I plan to go buy a Desert King fig tree tomorrow. It was a great event with many passionate and committed folks in the room. I was able to connect with some allies who may be able to help get Vancouver’s bylaw (9150) changed that prohibits keeping chickens in the city.

Numerous media folks attended the pizza tasting including the daily newspaper 24 Hours. 24 Hours wanted to snap a few shots in the garden for a short story so I gladly jumped on the opportunity to give the urban farming movement a little exposure. I got page 3, right across from from Kate Moss and some other celebs. Sadly, no calls from Oprah or Martha yet. The article, like the attention span of the intended audience of urban commuters, is short but carries a positive tone. Maybe a few more people will make the connection and realize just how nourishing urban gardening can be.

Granville Magazine has spread the urban farming gospel in their latest issue. The online story doesn’t have any of the great pictures that we’re displayed in their print version. I’ve attached it as a pdf for those who don’t have access to a print copy.

The more I dig into the unreported details of peak oil and how dependent our current agriculture system is on petrol the more I see the necessity of vastly expanding urban agriculture to put every sunny piece of ground, grass, balcony and rooftop to use. With our food system 100% dependent on oil for farming, fertilizers, transportation, cooling, processing and disposal we can expect to see food prices inflate as oil prices do. Perhaps it won’t be 1:1 but it will be a significant amount, significant enough to make it prohibitively expensive to maintain the system we have built. The system is already failing and the media is just starting to report on it. If you haven’t started your “victory garden” yet, I think it’s time to dig in.