Editor:
There is so much non-food in our world that the bumper sticker "No Farms, No Food" is so true. We need farms for local food, hopefully organically grown, because it is healthier for all life.
Farms need topsoil, especially naturally produced topsoil. Some agricultural land reserve (ALR) land is very rocky and really only good for keeping goats. In these cases, topsoil has to be made. One of the few areas of the Sunshine Coast rich in topsoil is the flat land at the base of Mount Elphinstone in the area of Pratt Road and Highway 101. Fortunately, there are still many farms in that area, although some good farm land has been developed commercially.
There is one parcel of property that has a long history of farming that missed ALR designation in the '70s. This was probably kept out of the ALR for future development. The old farmhouse on this parcel has recently been taken down, but the old fruit trees remain and the windbreak hedging originally planted along the highway has sprouted up with alder throughout the property.
A development company now owns this property, that a few years back wanted a Wal-Mart on the land. The Park Plaza Mall, also owned by them, has had empty spaces for years, as does the new commercial development on the other side of the highway.
I believe it would be morally wrong to develop more malls or pave over a piece of good arable land. We could have the most gorgeous organic community garden on it, with abundance and beauty for all. Let's eat. In the interest of food security, how can we get this land back into farm hands?
Nanci Gaudry
Roberts Creek
