Uncertain Future: Who will replace Canada’s Elder Farmers?

School Food Policy as a Tool to Popularize Farming

Ableman, 231.

Michael Ableman

 It is amazing to consider what a recent phenomena our society’s departure from the natural world is, a mere blip. In such an extraordinarily short time we have forgotten where we came from, that we are a part of, not apart from, nature. And for the first time in the history of human evolution, there is an entire generation of young people who are for the most part, completely denatured.  So I wonder, who are we going to be able to seek out to guide a society that has become so disconnected from the natural world, from the most fundamental necessities such as food and water. What will happen if there are more Katrina’s, what will happen when the oil runs out? I think we desperately need leaders, real leaders. I’m not talking about managers, or actors, or dictators or manipulators. Leaders, folks who have compassion, respect for diversity, creative vision, an understanding of our true place in nature. [BC Farmer] John Thurman told me, “if you farm, you can run the world". 

Michael Ableman, Salt Spring Island farmer and author of Fields of Plenty

Farmers under the age of 35 are quickly becoming an endangered species. According to Statistics Canada’s Census of Agriculture, the number of farmers in Canada under the age of 35 fell by 62% between 1991 and 2006-a decline in young farmers that has been the most dramatic of the last century. The aging of our farming community has led to concerns about who will feed future generations of Canadians. This post is about the idea that school food policy or ‘place-based education’ might be used as a tool to encourage Canada’s youth to become farmers.

There are several causal factors related to the rapid decline in numbers of young people farming in Canada. These include a lack of economic opportunity in farming and the lure of city life- two factors that education policy may be ineffective in addressing. However, education policy could help to encourage young people to farm in two ways. For one, education policy could be designed to help debunk the myth that farming is unskilled work. And two, changes to school curriculum could help spread the idea that farming is a rewarding and highly valued occupation. Michael Ableman writes: “Farming isn’t just some lonely form of drudgery, but is an art and craft and an honourable profession”. Schools should take it upon themselves to transmit this important message to our young people.

There are a number of ways this could be done, here are just a few ideas.

‘Out-of-classroom learning’ or experiential learning is critical. Examples of the types of out-of-class room activities students could do:

-Guided farms tours

-School garden project

-Visit a Farmers’ Market

-Attend a public lecture on farming/food production issues

-Volunteer at a community garden, urban or rural farm

-Visit Heritage Village Museum and other interactive information centres

-Workshop on canning, drying and preserving food

-Attend a community event on animal rights

In-class learning:

-Incorporate more food-based curriculum into existing subjects including Biology, Social Studies, Math and History. This could include units on food politics, nutrition, and Indigenous Traditional Knowledge about food.

-Implement a mandatory sustainable food systems and nutrition class tailored to meet the needs of elementary and secondary school students. 

Place-based Education- ‘A Pedagogy of Community’

The suggestions I have outlined above are characteristic of those made by advocates of ‘place-based education’. I had not heard this term until recently when I read Place-based Education: Connecting Classrooms & Communities by David Sobel, Ph.D. According to Sobel’s book, place-based education seeks to engender a greater connection between students and their natural surroundings and helps students to develop a strong sense of responsibility towards their communities.

The idea behind place-based education is to bring the environment and community to the core of school curriculum. About place-based education Sobel (48) writes: “For too long, we felt, environmental education had been like art class. It happened for 50 minutes a week when the naturalist brought the owl into the classroom and the teacher got a break. It was a tassel on the edge of the fabric, not the [fabric itself]”. Advocates of place-based education argue that ecological and community literacy must become a central component of every school’s philosophy.

Canada's rapidly aging farming community and lack of young farmers to take their place is a serious issue and the solution to this problem is complex and requires change at multiply policy levels and across sectors.  Changes to education policy that include the expansion of food and community based curriculum may be one step towards cultivating young Canadians' interest in farming.

Sobel, 7.

Sobel, 63.

Ableman, Michael. Fields of Plenty. San Francisco: Chronical Books, 2005. 
Sobel, David. Place-Based Education.USA: Orion Society, 2005.