Editor:
Jon Bell's letter of Sept. 10, alerting Sechelt residents to a proposed re-zoning of 71 acres on Field Road, sure got my attention.
The Sechelt official community plan is recommending removal of this parcel from the Agriculture Land Reserve? This is happening despite our community's current concerns over food security.
What's up with the people in Sechelt? Do they take their food for granted? I'm talking about the food we all buy every week at the local supermarket. It's grown in California or Mexico using petroleum-based fertilizers. Then it's shipped in trucks for hundreds of miles to our town. And right now, it's cheap, but that could change. As soon as the cost of oil increases, our food costs increase, too.
But it's not just about cheap food, it's about quality, too -flavour and nutrition. It's about knowing where your food comes from and knowing it's safe to eat. And it's about building a local food economy, including farms, added-value food products, restaurants and tourism. It's about building a buffer and safety net in our community so that we have food in the future in the face of global events like peak oil.
There is very little agricultural land on the Sunshine Coast. Don't they think it is prudent to preserve this land for future generations? I hope Sechelt residents care enough to speak to their local government and oppose this proposed change of zoning.
Laura Houle
West Howe Sound
