On February 10^th, Paul Hughes was charged for possessing and keeping chickens in his backyard. Hughes is part of an urban farming movement that is the wave of the future. Instead of being charged, Hughes should be rewarded for helping to create a more sustainable city.

Most cities were founded around fertile farmland. As of 1900, only 14% of the world lived in cities. Now over half the world lives in cities, including over 80% of Canadians.

The result is cities have expanded, often destroying the most fertile farm land in the process. From 1976 to 1996, over 60,000 hectares of farmland in Ontario was lost due to suburban sprawl. The Fraser Valley, that once contained Canada’s best farmland, has largely been paved over to build suburbs in the Greater Vancouver area.

The consequence is having to farm on less productive land, which puts our food security at great risk. The ability to be resilient through drought and other environmental changes significantly decreases. Sadly humans have done this before and the results were catastrophic. Destroying the most fertile land to make room for people is thought to be one of the key reasons why the Roman and Mayan empires collapsed. Yet we don’t seem to learn from history.

Many people in ancient cities were probably waving the red flags, but like today, those in power failed to respond. Instead of just one culture’s future at stake, now all of humanity’s future is at stake. The earth’s food supply is created upon an unsustainable inter-connected model. Can we break the cycle of stupidity?

Well many are trying. In Havana, Cuba, 90% of fresh produce comes from urban and local farms. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of subsidized oil, Cuba was forced to do this. Perhaps this was a blessing. Other cities have responded too. In Shanghai, 50% of pork and chicken, 60% of vegetables, and 90% of milk and eggs are grown within the city or in the immediate surrounding area.

Urban gardening is catching on in North America. Almost half (44%) of the people in Vancouver grow food. Since 2006, Vancouver has created over 2,400 shared garden plots. Calgary, with its horrific waste of space, is in a prime position to join in on this movement in a big way. With our short growing season, we need to utilize every inch of space we can to grow local food.

The City of Calgary government could provide the resources to make such a transformation. There is 800 landscaping staff at its disposal, many whom could use all or part of their time to creating healthy, nutritious, and affordable food.

Not everyone can afford organic food. The people who need nutritious food the most, are the least likely to afford it. The largest determinate of a person’s health is income. The City could ensure that every Calgarian has the opportunity to be eat healthy food.

The Calgary Food Policy Council is lobbying City Council to create 2,011 shared garden spaces by 2011. They are also leading by example. In the heart of downtown, they helped create a food garden on Barclay Parade (3 St SW between 5 and 6 Ave SW).

Some are taking this further by raising chickens in the city. You can’t do that you say? Well you can in over 300 cities in North America. Not in Calgary though. A City of Calgary bylaw prohibits people from raising chickens in the city.

The Calgary Liberated Urban Chicken Klub (CLUCK) is trying to change this. CLUCK is promoting urban chicken farming as a way of eating eggs in a healthy and sustainable way. Paul Hughes, founder and chair of the Calgary Food Policy Council, told CBC that, “You’re able to provide fresh eggs in close proximity, so you walk out your back door and then you can have some fresh eggs, as opposed to those eggs travelling hundreds and hundreds of miles”.

Chickens have many benefits. They can eat your table scraps, they produce a natural fertilizer, they act as a pest control by eating bugs, and they are a great educational tool to learn about food. In addition, they are a friendly and useful pet that can provide you food on a daily basis.

Hughes is to appear in court on March 25, 2010 and will be pleading not guilty. He is hoping to use this opportunity to change the City bylaw so that people can have up to 6 hens in their backyard. 

 The citizens of Calgary need to rise up and say to the City ‘CLUCK this!’ As Paul Hughes says, “A farmer is not a criminal”.

Please contact City Hall by phoning 311 or by contacting your City Councillor directly to help change this CLUCKING stupid bylaw.