Rethinking Lifestyle

One of the arguments used over and over when the question of environmental protection comes up, is that protection of the Canadian natural environment must not impede our use of natural resources, because they are an important part of our economy.

Not just in the sense that it increases social and economic inequality as the world’s poor and indigenous communities bear the brunt of the effects of warming while the world’s (mostly white) rich contribute most to it.

The back to the land movement has always been an interest of mine. My grandparents, like many others in their generation, grew up rural, but even in their later years, in a semi urban setting, continued with large gardens and some livestock.

Why should we conserve in a time of prosperity? Really? Try to answer that question as though a child had asked it. Is it really necessary to conserve something that for now seems to be plentiful?

In last week’s column on sustainable phosphate, I made the point that phosphate use in our current food system is inherently not sustainable.

In last week’s column I suggested that, rather than merely celebrating the productivity of our conventional food production model, we also compare that model with the alternative – the organic model.

It was in the 1970s – 50 years ago – that then US Agriculture Secretary, Earl Butz is to have said “Before we go back to organic agriculture in this country, somebody must decide which 50 million Americans we are going to let starve or go hungry”.

I grew up in southwestern Manitoba, in a small town just like La Broquerie. My mom was a cook for a local diner and later in a nursing home. She always seemed to be surrounded by food.

Mary’s early childhood experience of being a refugee in the Ukraine flavoured her entire life. She was six years old when her family retreated with the German army in 1948.

I was trying to find out when Jack and Ruth developed their current simple lifestyle, but the impression they gave me is that the simple lifestyle is what they grew up with; it was what was normal.