Rhythm of the Tides: my arctic experience

Food Farming North of 60

Farming in the arctic! Who would be crazy enough to recommend that?

Actually, the tundra is not as barren as one might imagine. The Inuit were not just hunters; they were also gatherers, albeit to a lesser extent.

Wild plants like mountain sorrel, snow-bed willow, Labrador tea, lamb's quarter, violet and shepherd's purse have been foraged by the Inuit for ages, and still are. The same is true for berries, including cranberries, cloudberries, blueberries, gooseberries and crowberries.

Given that wild plants can grow here, why not increase their production by farming them? After all, they have been part of the Inuit diet for millennia, and farming can increase production for a rapidly growing population!

But why stop there? Southern vegetables can be grown here too, and for less money than flying them in. Don and I have seen it with our own eyes. We saw it in someone's front yard, in someone's homemade greenhouse and in the city's greenhouse. It works. We've even eaten salad greens from both greenhouses, so it's not just theory: it's reality!

For six months of the year, there's plenty of sunshine in Iqaluit and the rest of Nunavut. The other basic ingredient is soil and it's not plentiful here, but it's not a showstopper. The city can easily turn kitchen waste into nutrient-rich soil by implementing a composting program that will eventually convert organic waste into food, while reducing their garbage disposal problems. The missing ingredient is political will and determination to restore some modicum of self-sufficiency in the north.

Farming has not been part of the Inuit tradition, but they have become dependent on southern agriculture, which is even worse because they can ill afford it. Isn't it time for northern agriculture? Few would believe it to be possible, but it is!

This should not be surprising. Although the summers are very short in Iqaluit, and the rest of Nunavut, the days are very long, so the amount of sunlight for growing vegetables is about the same as in the south. Therefore, there's no reason why community gardens, as we have in the south, should not be successful in the north.

It all has to do with education and that's the number one priority of those managing the Iqaluit greenhouse. They are trying to develop agriculture into the new Inuit way of life, and they're using the town's greenhouse to educate people and demonstrate to them what is possible and what is not.

Don and I visited the greenhouse on two different days and on both occasions we only saw southerners. Although the greenhouse is open to the entire community, the Inuit were notable by their absence. It may take generations before agriculture becomes entrenched in the Inuit way of life, and unless there's a strong community commitment, it may not happen at all.

In a relatively short time, most of the Inuit population has undergone a tremendous dietary change. They went from eating wholesome country food, to eating cooked, processed food like hotdogs and french fries. Their ancestors didn't know what cereals or sugar were, now they get both in a box for breakfast, not to mention the toast smothered with butter. Many of today's Inuit can't afford to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

Changes in Diet, together with those in language and culture, have taken a toll on today's Inuit. The changes have been remarkably fast, and not only are their bodies confused, but also their minds.  

They are straddling the past and the present trying to decide where their future belongs. They are torn between the simpler life of their ancestors and that of the southerners, with all the trappings of modernity. Emotionally, they crave the past – it's in their genes – but physically they're grounded in the present. They know that there is no going back and it pains them to see their past disappear in front of their very eyes.

Farming in the north would allow Inuit families to become more self-sufficient, as they were in the past, and thus become more connected with the land that fed them and clothed them for thousands of years.

In my view, farming in Nunavut is no longer an option that can be dismissed simply because it's not in the Inuit's genes: it has become an imperative. Growing traditional food like the wild plants and berries that have been part of their diet seems to me to be a good starting point. But the potential for growing other food is enormous, especially for communities that continually struggle to put food on the table.

Like harnessing the free wind to generate electricity, Nunavummiut can harness the long hours of sun during the summer to grow fresh, organic vegetables, such as beets, radishes and potatoes that can be stored for the winter, in addition to salad greens and tomatoes, which can be enjoyed during the summer. Incidentally, green tomatoes at the end of the growing season can be preserved for the winter by canning them. They make delicious snacks and can also be added to salads or stir fries.

Community gardens alone will not solve the food security problem faced by the Inuit, but they can make a significant dent. Big farms can make a bigger dent, and there is no shortage of land to develop farms. Moreover, if wind power is harnessed to generate electricity, big greenhouses can be built and heated electrically to extend the growing season by several months. This could really make a significant difference in food production and food security in the north.

Food imports may not be completely eliminated, but every pound of food grown here is one pound less to be imported from the south; and the more food grown here the more people are employed here. This not only increases food security it also decreases unemployment and all the social ills associated with it.

The lack of homegrown food in Iqaluit and the rest of Nunavut punishes the poor Inuit families who can't afford to buy imported produce, and ensures that they remain poor and malnourished. Surely, that cannot be the end game of their political leaders! What is the government of Nunavut waiting for?

Farming, or community gardens, won't happen until the city implements a composting program, requiring citizens to separate compostable waste from all the other. Soil is a problem by its scarcity in the north and so composting is essential to generate a growing medium. A major composting program is a prerequisite to any significant amount of local food production.

In the interim, while towns establish composting facilities, plants could be grown hydroponically. This is another technology that hasn't been around for long, but is now well established in the south and there is no reason for not being used in the north.

The local politicians, so long accustomed to arguing with Ottawa, have to start thinking outside the box. While they have legitimate grievances with the Feds, they are also wasting much of their energy arguing, which prevents them from developing and implementing programs that will start to have immediate positive impacts on their communities.

Where are the John Amagoaliks, Tagak Curleys, and the Sheila Watt Cloutiers of the twenty-first century?

Nunavut needs more visionaries to take it to the level of food security and sustainable Inuit lifestyle that they want.