Canada: Fruit and nut trees, chickens — bring more farming into cities

Food prices are soaring, and the city has lots of green space where people could safely do small-scale farming. And why not let everyone raise poultry?

By Beth Lawless
Windsor Star
Feb 22, 224

Excerpt:

When you ask city officials why Ottawa maintains a ban on chickens for properties that do not have an agricultural zoning, they will tell you that the birds pose a fire hazard. Tell me, what risk is present in a chicken run that you do not see in a dog run, a backyard workshop, or even a densely grown garden? Each can be dangerous if not properly maintained, and yet we do not hold those to the same legal restrictions that we do chickens.

The same bylaws surrounding noise, clutter and safety that maintain order among the backyard woodworkers and tinkerers of the city could easily be applied to chickens. The city should immediately end its chicken ordinance and allow for limited residential ownership of chickens.

In the case of urban agriculture, a city’s tree-planting policy could shift towards ensuring a greater availability of nut- and fruit-bearing trees. Unused public land that currently requires mowing and other maintenance could be developed for agriculture, the proceeds of which could support low-income communities and food banks with locally grown, fresh produce.

Read the complete article here.