POL 358 Week 10 Natural Resources-Agriculture

Overview Readings Fisheries next week. Interconnections: water, agriculture, aquaculture,fisheries energy Interconnections: social, economic and environmental Scarcity. Renewable vs non renewable. Timelines. Film: Alternative agriculture: food for life Activity: Modelling agricultural linkages

Agriculture Federal Ministry: Agriculture and Agrifood Provincial Ministries Responsible for: Canadian Dairy Commission Canadian Food Inspection Agency Canadian Grain Commission Farm Credit Canada National Farm Products Council Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration Research Branch Rural Secretariat Cooperatives Secretariat

Importance There are five major agricultural production sectors in Canada. In order of importance to farm cash receipts, these are: grains and oilseeds (34%) wheat, durum, oats, barley, rye, flax seed, canola, soybeans, and corn red meats (27%) beef cattle, hogs, veal, and lamb dairy (12%) horticulture (9%) poultry and eggs (8%) The Canadian agriculture and agri-food system accounted for 8.0% of total Canadian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2005 (Agriculture 2%). The system provides one in eight jobs, and employs nearly 2.1 million people. (Agric CDA)

Importance 2 Social and environmental importance. Linkages to rural communities, livelihoods, other economic sectors. Importance of food for life and, increasingly, fuel (Ford 1906). Impact on water systems, energy systems. Agricultural runoff. E.g effect on phosphorous on oxygen in water for fish. Groundwater (wells) for agriculature and drinking. Intensification of livestock farming. Pollution. Food security. Food safety. GM Food. Intensity of fish and animal farming (BSE, contaminated salmon).

Resource theories Innisian Staples: History of Canada is history of resource extraction and dependence (fur trade, cod, etc). Vulnerable. Dependent on others to refine and manufacture. Eventually resources will run out. Need to develop forward and backward linkages, diversify. Common property resource economics. (e.g. Hardin) People will degrade shared resources if they have access and can. Underpinned need for government, or privatization (to keep people off/out) grounds), whose size or characteristics makes it costly, but not impossible, to exclude potential beneficiaries from obtaining benefits from its use. Common Property Regimes Institutions. Elinor Ostrom. Need not privatize. Resource users can set up systems to self-manage. Who controls the resource ultimately determines the nature of the industry and the effect on jobs, ecosystems.

Provincial Variation

Exports and Distribution

Agriculture and the Environment From McKenzie: 1. fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides remain vital tools used extensively by farmers and agribusiness. 2. biological controls. 2. Integrated pest management. – wasps to kill flys. 3. biotechnology. Canada-US do not support precautionary principle on GM. Impact of BSE on attitudes. CFIA reports to agriculture and Agrifood. Questionable independence. CFIA in conflict of interest. 4. organic farming. Chemical free? Local? Enforcement? Smaller? 5. large scale industrial farms. Cycle: Intensive practices requires fertilization, medication.

Canadian environmental law association: ‘intensive operations cause decline in property values, marginalize small scale farmers, environmental threats. Ontario’s 4 million hogs as much raw sewage as whole province population. More than half the canola, 25% of the corn and 20% of potatoes are grown from GMO seeds. Also squash, tomato, soybean. Fish added to strawberry makes it more resistant to cold. Can be engineered to be immune to some pests. Problem, uncertainty, costs. Approvals based on studies by the companies. Antibiotic resistant impacts on human health. Mandatory labeling. In Europe, not here.

Urban-Rural university of Minnesota study found farms with incomes of $100,000 a year bought 90% inputs locally vs $900,000 bought 20%. Social, economic and environmental consequences of de-population of rural areas.

Urban-Rural 2 Nitrogen made monoculture possible. External inputs create dependence, reliance. Role of collective action for processing, value added, efficiency, lobbying. Agricultural co-operatives. Local entrepreneurship. Creation of linkages vital for realization of economic benefits, stability.

Food and fuel Food FOR fuel controversy When the appetite for biofuel grows so too does the price of staple foods. Amount of grain to make enough ethanol to fill the tank of a single car could feed a person for a year. Riots in Mexico over price of flour. Connections between food and energy systems Water use Bio energy Waste energy Efficient uses of energy: 2k corn- 1kg chicken 4 k grain – 1 kg pork 8k grain- I kg beef. ‘transcontinental head of lettuce’. Grown in California, flown 5,000km. Concentrated processing facilities. Vs ‘alternative food systems’. Schlosser argues that help will be needed to make the transition….farmers need to be nitrogen free for 3 years before they can be certified organic.

Food and Water Water withdrawals vs in-stream Run-off from agricultural activities Walkerton, ON Harris: Between 1996 and 1998 the MOE saw budget cut by 44 % and more than 800 jobs eliminated. 220 in environmental inspections. Privatized water testing in 1996, laid off 42 percent of the ministry staff dedicated to monitoring drinking water. Canada some of heaviest water users in the world Challenges in meeting demand for water, for security, for crop irrigation and drinking. Water for people vs water for the environment, for maintaining wetlands, fish stocks,

Activity Compare and contrast the economic environmental and social impact of two different scenarios for agriculture. Try to think through the forward and backward economic linkages. Think through the social repercussions of different modes of economic organization. What are the risks to local populations? The rewards? Where would you locate facilities? What impacts would location have on the economy? Scenario 1- small scale local farm based agricultural system. Scenario 2- large scale intensive agricultural system.