Motion – Local Food

Only 3% of the food that New Brunswickers eat is produced in the province. The government can kickstart the process of making New Brunswick more self-sufficient, but we will never get there without targets.

Kevin Arseneau

WHEREAS New Brunswick only produces 3% of the food that New Brunswickers eat;

WHEREAS, according to the 2021 census, New Brunswick lost 20% of its farms between 2016 and 2021;

WHEREAS, according to the 2021 census, only 6.7% of New Brunswick farmers are under 35 years old;

WHEREAS local agriculture encourages dynamic land use;

WHEREAS agriculture is a structuring sector that is resistant to relocation;

WHEREAS encouraging local non-industrial agriculture constitutes a way to fight climate change;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly urge the government to immediately set ambitious local purchasing targets for public institutions in New Brunswick;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly urge the government to see to the creation of a farm school in New Brunswick in partnership with NBCC and CCNB in an RSC that does not have a postsecondary institution;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly urge the government to undertake an agricultural reform that focuses on diversification rather than intensification, which includes completely stopping the destruction of the Tracadie shooting range.