Farmers: Our Everyday Super Heroes

Charleen McCartney is a fourth-year University of Waterloo Environment Studies student and contributed to Cleanfarms as a Business Assistant for the first eight months of 2020.

Canadians like me rely on farmers every day to grow the food that fills our plates and do their best as stewards of the land, protecting the resources we all depend on. Yet, before my time at Cleanfarms, this was rarely something that I ever thought about. I didn’t think about farmers, and I certainly didn’t think about the plastic that may be used as a tool, on-farm. Now, my mind is constantly filled with new and exciting knowledge about Canada’s agricultural sector and the many superheroes that make it all work. That’s right, I said superheroes.

Farmers are our modern day superheroes, and while they may not have capes, they have something much greater than that. Our farmers have a close connection to the land, something which most of us have lost. We rely on our farmers to keep this relationship alive and thriving – in fact, Canadian consumers trust farmers first before any other source when it comes to providing them with accurate information about their food (The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity, 2019). Farmers wear many different hats – including food producer, soil/plant scientist, ecologist, politician, mechanic, boss, businessman, just to name a few. Not such an easy gig, now that you think about it. Farmers aren’t just keeping things running smoothly on their own land either – they know that what they do on-farm has big impacts in their larger ecosystem and community. We rely on farmers to follow sustainable agricultural practices (like properly recycling their AG plastics) to ensure the protection of our land, air and water.

So the next time you’re driving past a farmer’s field, supporting your favourite restaurant, or browsing the supermarket aisles, remember to be grateful for all the amazing things our farmers do for us, rain or shine, 365 days a year, no matter what’s going on in our world.

Soon I’ll be heading back to for my final semester at the University of Waterloo following my eight months as  part of Cleanfarms Inc., a truly outstanding and supportive team of individuals who all share the same passion as I do for protecting the planet and supporting our food system. I’m grateful for what I’ve learned from this team that works hard to support, our superheros,  modern day farmers.

Reference:

The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (2019). Public Trust Research: Connecting with Canadians. Retrieved April 2020.