Sustainable Food Production, Consumption, and the Generation of

production in Victoria could really be an issue. This chapter will discuss sustainable food
systems in the context of local food production in Victoria.
2.3 The history of food production in Victoria
As a point of settlement at a time when transportation from the mainland was not such a
simple matter and when refrigeration was non-existent, Victoria had to produce most of its own
food locally. Just fifty years ago it is estimated that Vancouver Island farmers produced as much
as 85 percent of the food supply for the Island (MacNair, 2004). In war times, the concept of
victory gardens spread across the Atlantic from Britain to Canada and the US; “in England
1,300,000 urban gardeners saved their nation from malnutrition, if not starvation,” while the
country was blockaded by submarines (Warner, 1987:17). After the war, technological
innovations from earlier in the century began to take hold resulting in the expansion of
mechanization in the production of many commodities, including food (Millstone and Lang,
2003). In Victoria and across North America, the connection that once existed between people,
communities and food gave way to the connection between individuals, automobile and grocery
stores, and between farms, freight trains and factories.
The last half century has seen many changes in the way food is produced including the
industrialization of farming, extensive loss of employment in the agricultural sector and massive
growth of the food processing and distribution industries (Parrott et al., 2002). Today, Victoria
imports nearly all of its food and farmers and agricultural land are becoming scarce (MacNair,
2004). Is Victoria on the road to complete dependence on the mainland and abroad for its food
supply? Or, is it possible for the pattern to shift, for Victoria to rebuild the connection between
its inhabitants and its food?
2.4 Victoria’s food system today
From standard grocery stores, to farmers markets, to backyard gardens, Victoria’s
population has a range of options when it comes to food choices. This section will discuss how
personal attitudes, consumer choices and agricultural practices in Victoria come together to form
a complex, multi-layered food system. Conventional agriculture, grocery store buying,
alternative food distribution/access options, and alternative modes of production will be
addressed. The goal is to give an overview of local food production options available in Victoria,
and also to highlight obstacles faced by consumers, producers and retailers in building Victoria’s
capacity for sustainable, local food production.
11