Dear Editor,
I cannot believe that some people still cannot see the importance of protecting farmland.
Have you been to a grocery store lately?
Statistics Canada lists six reasons for the high price in the supermarket: transportation costs, supply chain disruption, poor weather in production areas, input costs and increased retail costs.
Many of these issues are within our control. Richmond-grown food has lower transportation costs and a much shorter supply chain.
The weather in Richmond has been great for agriculture.
Our spring weather comes early and our autumn weather comes late.
Richmond has a much longer growing season than other farming areas in Canada.
Here is a big one: the excellent soil in Richmond and Ladner means that the farmer does not need to add as much to the soil to prepare it for crops.
This means the farmer isn’t spending as much money on fertilizers.
If you don’t mind paying more for food that has to be shipped in from elsewhere, then don’t worry about local farmland.
However, if you are concerned about the cost of food and like your food fresh, then you ought to worry about Richmond farms.
Scott Stewart
RICHMOND
