Did you know about the Melanchton mega-quarry project? Its goal was to convert 765 hectars of prime farmland into a rock mine. Fortunately, the project was derailed thanks to a powerful "coalition of farmers and urban foodies," as the Globe and Mail writes in this engaging article.
What can we learn from this story? Is this a turning point in food issues? Are we starting to acknowledge that farming and farmlands are critical to our collective well being and that they deserve to be valued as such? It is too early to tell. Watching how other resource conflicts play out in the future will help us discover whether this was a mere exception to the rule or the beginning of a new political reality. In the meantime, however, let's celebrate this victory!
