Brief History Of Food In Canada And Around The World

Unit 2 – Historical Perspective of Food

The second unit we learned about the history of Agriculture, both in Canada and around the world. Agriculture allowed groups to rely less on hunting and gathering and allowed communities to prosper and grow, having a more reliable source of food, increasing food security and quality of life.

Learning Point 1: I learned about the historical distribution of urban versus rural areas

I was surprised to discover the rapid trend of urbanization, starting in 1921 (StatCan). In 1931 on third of Canadians lived on a farm, but in 2006 this dropped to 2% (StatCan). The rapid urbanization of our country post WWII is very interesting, and coincides with the invention of new farm technology, especially the tractor after WWII, requiring less physical help on the farms.

From this week’s discussion I discovered the many agriculture technology advances and how it has shaped what it is today. One of the responses was about the home refrigerator. This post was very unique, and though the invention of the refrigerator is not a typical agriculture advancement, it has very much helped shape the agri-food sector. Being we have a seasonal variability in our climate, allowing use to store and eat frozen foods is immensely helpful. A typical Canadian grocery store has a lot of rozen foods available. Frozen foods, whether it be pizzas or flash frozen vegetables are a staple in the Canadian diet. (Dick & Taylor, 2007)

Learning Point 3: I learned about the Acadian settlers in the Maritimes.

This was interesting to me because there is still a large French population in the Maritimes. Travelling to the Maritimes this summer I noticed the many French communities. This is interesting that it still somewhat reflects early French settlement in Eastern Canada.

Unit 3 – Agri-Food