The B.C. government should stop dragging its feet on the expansion of food production on agricultural land in the wake of a new survey that shows widespread support for the idea across political lines, say advocates.
More than 73 per cent of British Columbians surveyed by firm ResearchCo say they think B.C. should maximize food production on land within the Agricultural Land Reserve, according to results released Wednesday.
Most people also expressed worry about B.C.’s food security being threatened by the heavy reliance on the United States for fruits and vegetables, and think the government should take immediate steps to increase the amount of food grown, packaged and processed on ALR to combat American tariffs, according to ResearchCo.
The results were part of an online survey of 1,002 adults, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
“I’m not terribly surprised because it is what many of our members have been saying,” Bridgitte Anderson, president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, said in an interview.
“Looking at not only the Eby government but also the Horgan government, both have shown willingness to make changes on this. I have said over and over again, I don’t understand what the delay is. And now this poll shows there is clear support for this.”
Premier David Eby has expressed interest in allowing more food processing on protected ALR farm land, as both an economic development and food security measure.
That includes relaxing or scrapping B.C.’s current 50-50 rule, which requires farmers to source more than 50 per cent of any product they create from items grown on their own farm.
Critics of the rule say it unnecessarily hamstrings farmers from being able to create made-in-B.C. products even if they source other ingredients from nearby farms. Advocates say it protects farmlands from becoming industrial processing sites.
Support for expansion is cross-partisan
The ResearchCo survey found support for expanding food processing stretched across partisan lines, hitting 74 per cent among BC Conservative voters, 76 per cent among New Democrats and 79 per cent amongst Greens.
“What is the holdup from government?” said Anderson.
“They now can see there is broad public support. And that’s often the kind of tipping point for government.
“The 50-50 rule is something unique to B.C., like so many regulations. There really isn’t a global precedent for it.”
The ResearchCo poll shows 75 per cent support for food production to use 50 per cent of B.C. products “when and if seasonally available” and not necessarily confined to products grown on any single farm.
BC Ag minister cites protection of farmland as top priority
Despite the premier’s push, Agriculture Minister Lana Popham has appeared hesitant to enact the change, saying the first priority must be to protect agricultural land for farming.
“The Premier’s Task Force on Agriculture and Food Economy, a request from the sector, is also looking at ways to improve access to land for processing as part of their discussions on making the sector more profitable and competitive,” Popham said in a statement.
“With this need for more land to do processing, we are actively working on a renewed inventory of the ALR so we can make better policy decisions supporting agriculture.”
Food processing has become flashpoint
The food processing issue has become a flashpoint for the future of agriculture in the province.
Experts say it boils down to a question of whether we want more productive farms or just small-scale hobby farms that preserve green space.
“We need to value-add wherever we can for our farmers in B.C.,” said Paton.
“You can grow all the vegetables you want, and raise beef cattle or bison or whatever, but if you don’t have a processing facility nearby to take that product to, what’s the point of farming?”
For the business community, the food production issue is about seeing the Eby government follow through on its big talk about boosting the B.C. economy in the wake of the Trump tariffs.
Anderson, who was named co-chair of Eby’s trade and economic security task force after the tariffs hit, said she’s still waiting to see the provincial government actually do something.
“If I back up the clock and think about all the messages from the Eby government a year ago when elected, he was talking about more economic growth and talking about working more closely with the business community. And then we had the trade tensions start with the U.S. and the Carney government talking about elbows up — well here we are in September waiting to see some of the actions,” said Anderson.
“If there was action taken on this file it would send the right message.”