My Personal Environmental History – Seeds of the Past

September 22, 2022 By: Vanessa Butler

Mark Butorac

Environmental History 3991

Vanessa Butler

September 18, 2022

 

My Personal Environmental History

 

            This summer I watched my daughter grow her first tomato plant from seed and my son grow his first bean plant from seed. Seeing them literally plant their first seeds of vegetation, I hope will also plant the seed in their minds that homegrown food is superior to processed grocery store options. I come from a family who has supplemented their dietary needs with back yard gardens at least as far back as my grandparents; likely further. This is not to say that gardening was a hobby or passion among my family, more so it was a necessity given the socio-economic status of my grandparents and parents.

            My dad was raised in Odense, Denmark, where he lived with his mother, father, grandmother, aunt and uncle in a small apartment. This was in the early 1950s, post-World War II, at a time when Denmark’s economy was still suffering. My dad’s male family members all worked in the nearby shipyard and he was cared for during the day by his mother and grandmother. During this time, my dad’s family relied heavily on fish and whatever vegetables could be grown in their communal garden. This often consisted of kale and cabbage. When he and my grandparents moved to Richmond in 1960, they no longer tended a garden; however, they still relied on sustenance from the land as my grandfather became an avid hunter. Over time his hunting trips became further and fewer between. He opened a radiator shop and with the new found career as an entrepreneur, came a new found reliance on the supermarket for food. Although it may have seemed easier at the time, given the preservatives and additives that accompany grocery store food, it was not necessarily better.

            My grandmother on my mom’s side of the family, who was born in 1936, grew up quite poor. When she was nine, her father was killed in a mill accident, leaving my great-grandmother to provide for her four daughters. Having grown up during World War II, then losing the main provider for her family instilled in my grandmother a sense of prudence and abstinence. She would make most of her food herself, whether it was bread or soup or other, and was inclined to repair rather than replace any broken clothing or item. My grandfather on my mother’s side grew up as the son of a butcher. His family financially benefitted from the European settler’s decision to import cows, hogs, and other animals as these are what were predominantly sold in the family shop. Despite the fact that as a child his family was financially sound, by the time he married my grandmother and they gave birth to their four children, money had become scarce. Again, the family turned to home grown food to help with the cost of food. Their garden was rich with native species, such as strawberries, pumpkins, and squash. However, it was also rich in species that had previously been brought to Canada from abroad, such as apples and tomatoes. Although their backyard was typical of a neighbourhood developed in Richmond in the 1970’s, they managed to grow an apple tree, pear tree, cherry tree, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pumpkins, tomatoes, herbs, and many more vegetables. As a child, it felt so special to be able to eat this fresh produce in such a beautiful space. The food that they grew they used fresh, canned, or froze for the winter. They bought their meat from a store; however, my Grandpa was an avid fisherman and whatever fish he caught that was not consumed immediately was canned for winter.

            My grandparents laid the foundations for a family who values providing for themselves from the land, in addition to shopping at the supermarket. My mom and dad now have a vegetable garden that almost rivals my mom’s parents, and my brother’s family will only eat meat that he has hunted. I grow vegetables in my yard and during the summer, when I can’t grow something myself, I bring my children directly to the local farms so that they can see where and how the food they are eating is grown.

            As a household with two working parents becomes the norm for our society and detached houses with large yards become increasingly financially unavailable to many young families in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, I feel that providing one’s own sustenance is becoming more challenging. Yet, this is the time when people need it most. The consumer price index was 8 percent higher in July 2022 than in the previous year. (Government of British Columbia 2022) In addition, supply chain issues caused by factors such as the Suez Canal block and labour shortages, make certain items near impossible to locate. If people could prioritize some level of home grown or naturally sourced food it would relieve financial pressures, as it did for my grandparents and parents. In addition, it would give people a greater appreciation both for the food and the land that it came from. All they have to do is just plant the first seed.

 

 

Works Cited

Government of British Columbia. 2022. “Consumer Price Index.” July. Accessed 09 17, 2022. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/data/statistics/economy/cpi/cpi_highlights.pdf.