1311 replies to this topic

[FogPub]

Yes of course, but it’s nice-haves, not must-haves. 99.9%* of what we consume comes from elsewhere.

*VHF stat.

Yes, and shouldn't it be a general goal to reduce that percentage when-when possible and-or practical?  If yes, then preserving every available bit of arable land on the Island is a must, as there's not all that much of it.

[Victoria Watcher]

Yes, and shouldn't it be a general goal to reduce that percentage when-when possible and-or practical?  

 

why?  what difference does it make if we produce 2% of our food locally or 1.7%, or 0.3%?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 June 2020 - 05:07 PM.

[Matt R.]

Yes of course, but it’s nice-haves, not must-haves. 99.9%* of what we consume comes from elsewhere.
*VHF stat.

I’d say fruit and vegetables are must haves. I’d rather see more local food production, especially in volume like both of these farms do. I know it doesn’t matter to you, but it does to me.

Matt.

[Nparker]

I'd love to see more local pineapples and bananas.

[FogPub]

I'd love to see more local pineapples and bananas.

Give climate change another 100 years and you just might get your wish.

[Victoria Watcher]

I’d say fruit and vegetables are must haves. I’d rather see more local food production, especially in volume like both of these farms do. I know it doesn’t matter to you, but it does to me.

Matt.

 

i'm still not sure why.  produce from other regions is usually superior and cheaper.  and their "carbon footprint" even after taking into account shipping is often lower.  i know that local produce feels good but there is not much logic or science to it other than warm thoughts.

 

and i suppose you can sell those thoughts to customers in the form of higher prices and profits. industries big and small are doing it successfully.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 June 2020 - 02:52 AM.

[Mike K.]

Oh yeah, the “locally grown” thing is hugely marketable in the restaurant industry. People like that because it’s not what they have at home, or if they’re visiting from elsewhere will never (likely) have again.

[Victoria Watcher]

Kate Fraser owns and operates Metchosin-based Bees Please Farms, where she offers rental chickens through a Rent The Chicken program. People can have a home chicken coop set-up delivered, along with temporary rental chickens that are returned after six months – unless, that is, renters become attached to their hens and decide to adopt them.

 

Fraser said there was a noticeable difference in popularity a few weeks aft

er the pandemic hit.

“I sold out earlier than usual,” she said. “Everyone was calling all at once.”

In a normal year Fraser rents out about 80 chickens. This year she rented 120, and sold another 200.

 

“I think after people went through the toilet paper thing they started to get smarter and look at our food systems … and what would happen if the food can’t get to us, being on an Island.”

 

 

here's that faulty economic thinking again.  don't home chickens still require store-bought  "feed" or at least kitchen scraps?   it may be cheaper and cruddier tasting than eggs, but the life-sustaining volume is likely the same.

 

https://www.vicnews....eater-victoria/

 

also:

 

Pandemic spurs egg-citement for backyard chickens in Greater Victoria

Fowl surge in popularity during COVID-19 pandemic

 

_____________________________

 

Fraser said there was a noticeable difference in popularity a few weeks after the pandemic hit.

“I sold out earlier than usual,” she said. “Everyone was calling all at once.”

In a normal year Fraser rents out about 80 chickens. This year she rented 120, and sold another 200.

 

 

 

is 80 > 120 a surge?  120 chickens compared to 400,000 people?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 June 2020 - 08:19 AM.

[Mike K.]

People think chickens are great for the first week, then the cleanup starts, the rats arrive and the chickens start going missing as predators catch wind of a new food source.

Whoever made the decision to allow chickens in urban/suburban and semi-rural communities on parcels smaller than an acre was not thinking practically.

[Matt R.]

i'm still not sure why.  produce from other regions is usually superior and cheaper.  and their "carbon footprint" even after taking into account shipping is often lower.  i know that local produce feels good but there is not much logic or science to it other than warm thoughts.
 
and i suppose you can sell those thoughts to customers in the form of higher prices and profits. industries big and small are doing it successfully.

It’s because it feels good. Some stuff, like berries and tomatoes, are truly better tasting when grown locally.

Matt.

[LJ]

^Corn especially.

[Mike K.]

Sound familiar?

Both city officials and the companies that built Ottawa's troubled Confederation Line made "egregious" errors during the construction and testing of the $2.1-billion LRT — errors that raise questions about whether the city is fit to oversee such massive infrastructure projects, according to the final report from the Ottawa Light Rail Transit Public Inquiry.

The city and Rideau Transit Group (RTG), which includes SNC-Lavalin, ACS Infrastructure and Ellis Don, lost sight of the public interest in their race to finish the LRT, which was late by more than 15 months, according to the report.

It's clear the Confederation Line "was rushed into service" by RTG, which was under financial pressure due to construction delays and political pressure from the city, says the report.

…

In his conclusion, Hourigan wrote: "While human errors are understandable and expected, deliberate malfeasance is unacceptable in a public project. When participants deliberately mislead the public regarding the status of a public undertaking, they violate a fundamental obligation that underlies all public endeavours."

Since its September 2019 launch, the Confederation Line has been hampered by a litany of problems: malfunctioning doors, flattened and cracked wheels, faulty overhead power lines and broken axles, to name just a few.

Hourigan said there were many issues that led to the wide array of problems, including a pair of derailments last year — one near Tremblay station shut down LRT for nearly two months.

…

"It was unconscionable that RTG and its main sub-contractor knowingly gave the City inaccurate information about when they would finish building the LRT," Hourigan wrote in his report, adding that the gambit failed on a commercial level and further strained RTG's already tense relationship with the city.

..

Ontario's Progressive Conservative government called the public inquiry in November 2021, after Ottawa city council voted against a judicial inquiry and settled on an investigation by the city's auditor general.

- https://www.cbc.ca/n...tions-1.6668152