Imagine apartments and industrial parks stretching all along the East-West Connector, gobbling up every cranberry field, blueberry bush and cornrow in sight.

Imagine if all our food came from the Third World. Now imagine if something disrupted the supply chain.

It could be a virus, the cost of fuel or a product shortage.

B.C.’s Agricultural Land Reserve suffers many attacks from those who wish to bring it down, including a new one from the Fraser Institute. But the ALR is here for a reason, and getting rid of it would be, well, fruitless.

Established to protect the province’s eroding base of farmland in 1973, the ALR, despite its failures, has managed to do just that. It has also succeeded in creating greater awareness about the importance of local food systems.

A new report from the thinkers at the Fraser Institute have concluded it’s a failure, responsible for the most expensive housing costs in North America.

But without it, the urban sprawl and incomplete communities we see today would only multiply.

Without it, we would rely more and more on foreign and developing nations for our food. These are countries that need local food of their own and places without the stringent health regulations that we’re used to in Canada.

Think of unthinkable pesticides to meet demand, salmonella poisoning or E. coli outbreaks.

The Fraser Institute essentially argues that B.C. consumers haven’t shown a preference for local products at their supermarket, so it’s about time the ALR be opened up to developers and flood the market with cheap housing.

Building our own local food system is a measure of security for us all. The more time and money we spend on developing and protecting a local food supply, the greater the accessibility, availability and affordability of these products.

Debates over food systems are complex, and the ALR can undoubtedly be improved. But one thing is clear: establishing the ALR has been good for B.C. If not today, then in the future.

Richmond Review