Tomb

Our lives have been inextricably linked to oil since the first commercial wells were drilled in the early 1900s. Even crops, grown in petroleum-based fertilizers and transported by gas-guzzling trucks, depend on the slick black substance.

Yet, while the first wells seemed to flow with never-ending streams of inky liquid, some experts believe the oil supply (produced over billions of years) is now dwindling. Inevitably, they say, demand will surpass our ability to produce new oil — it’s just a question of when.

The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) expects global production to peak as early as next year, or 2020 at the latest. Others, such as the International Energy Agency (IEA), say we won’t hit peak oil before 2030, which ASPO claims is hopelessly unrealistic.

Of course, there are still many experts out there that claim the world is awash in oil, but if ASPO is right, we might see prices skyrocket soon after peak oil is reached. In that case, we’d better prepare for doomsday by learning, at least, to grow our own food.

It’s an important skill, seeing as we currently rely on commercial farms to grow crops in oil-based fertilizers and, in some cases, ship them over 3,000 km before they arrive at our kitchen table. Phosphates and nitrates from these fertilizers seep into our rivers and lakes, while transport trucks burn gases that emit hydrocarbons.

Raising livestock is even more energy intensive and environmentally damaging than growing crops. Nearly 21 per cent of Canadian water pollution is caused by run-off from high-density livestock farming, according to the David Suzuki Foundation.

Ironically, while we’re busy polluting our landscape by shipping food from other countries, we’ve paved over prime agricultural land right here in our own city, according to community activist Grant Neufeld. There’s also an array of abandoned or vacant lots overrun with weeds. “These are spaces that could be put to more productive use,” he says, adding people could replace weeds with fresh vegetables.

It’s called guerilla gardening and has given rise to tactics like seed bombing, where transgressive gardeners bombard vacant lots with clumps of vegetation and soil. It’s also a great way to release pent up anger (something I’m sure many activists can attest to).

If you prefer to colour within the lines, there are several city-recognized community gardening associations that rent plots on a yearly basis, though they often have long waiting lists says Jackie Puff of Calgary Garden Path, an organic community gardening association.

Puff, a seasoned gardener, has a garden plot in Sunnyside, and says cities are actually perfect for gardening. The greenhouse effect, it turns out, makes for a longer growing season.

If we start growing our own crops instead of nourishing ourselves with genetically modified strains, we might actually remember what fresh fruits and vegetables taste like. It’s the difference between eating berries from the grocery store versus biting into a thick, juicy strawberry from the bush. “We forget how amazing food tastes that’s fresh from the garden,” explains Lindsay Meads, the organizer of Calgary’s yearly seed exchange, Seedy Saturday.

She adds, however, that eating local has forced her to make changes to her diet, since she has to rely on seasonal foods. That can be tough in Calgary’s short, and often unpredictable growing season, she says (tomatoes — one of my favourite vegetables — are incredibly difficult to grow without a greenhouse). Instead, root vegetables, like potatoes and turnips, and dark leafy greens, like kale and dandelion greens, are easy to grow here.

Puff isn’t bummed about the short growing season, saying that the frost makes for deliciously sweet root vegetables. She adds that many vegetables which grow easily in Calgary are also some of the most nutritious. Kale and dandelion greens, for example, have powerful antioxidant properties and high iron levels.

If you’re not one to get your hands dirty, you can shop at the farmers’ market or local grocery stores, like Sunnyside Market. You have to be careful though, says Meads, because even at the farmers’ market not all food is local. Preparing for peak oil and the inevitable chaotic transition by learning the basics of local food production means you may not have to decide between heating your house or eating.