Family Farms
Each purchase helps sustain a family farm!
A valuable aspect of our society is quickly disappearing.
As reported by Statistics Canada, "The number of census farms continues to drop, according to data from the 2006 Census of Agriculture, declining 7.1% to 229,373 farms over the five-year period between the censuses. This represents 17,550 fewer farms than in 2001." With the same amount of land being farmed between 2001 and 2006 this means farms are getting bigger and moving away from the family model. The same is happening in the United States, where according to Farm Aid, of the two million remaining farms, only 565,000 are family operations. This may be seen as some as adaptation to economic realities, but at what cost is this shift happening?
Family farms are so important to our people, planet and profits because they:
- produce fresh, nutritious, high-quality products
- strive to preserve the surrounding environment for future generations because they live on our near the farm
- guarantee the preservation of green space within or around a community
- provide jobs and purchase goods and services within their communities
- instill family values like community, respect, civic participation, and hard work
- help to preserve an essential connection between consumers and their food
According to Sustainable Table, "The loss of small family farms has dramatically reduced our supply of safe, fresh, sustainably-grown foods; it has contributed to the economic and social disintegration of rural communities; and it is eliminating an important aspect of our national heritage. If we lose our family farmers, we'll lose the diversity in our food supply, and what we eat will be dictated to us by a few large corporations. Clearly, family farms are a valuable resource worth preserving. Now, more than ever, it's important to realize that family farms are a valuable resource worth preserving."
