Canada: Lawless: A chicken in every yard?
A wing and a prayer: Why can’t we raise chickens in the urban parts of the city? SunMedia
Why Ottawa should back urban agriculture. 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
Ottawa Citizen
Feb 19, 2024
Excerpt:
And yet the city does not share the same level of respect for urban agriculture. Where residents of the city can participate in any number of hobbies that are loud or create clutter, urban agriculture is seen with a different lens, particularly when it comes to livestock.
It is ironic that in a city like Ottawa, which boasts about how much green space is available, we view any sort of agriculture as something that is to be done far away, or be seen in a museum. Yet as food prices skyrocket and communities struggle with food security, it seems only logical that the city should encourage the development of urban agriculture.
Whether this be the proliferation of small-scale backyard farming, cultivation of spaces that are unused and currently covered by grass: such as the large fields that surround many of the on and off ramps on the Queensway; encouraging the development of green roofs and other unused urban spaces for farming; or changing the laws surrounding chickens and other small farm livestock. The city is falling short of its substantial promise.
