DCHP-3

foodland

DCHP-2 (Jul 2016)

Spelling variants:
foodlands, Food Land

n. — Agriculture

land with food-growing potential; farmland.

Type: 5. Frequency — The term foodland is used to describe land that has the potential for growing edible crops (see Gage-5, s.v. "foodland"). Foodland is most often used in the context of initiatives to preserve farmland threatened by urbanization or development (see the 1981 and 1987 quotations). The term is most often used in Ontario (see Chart 1). It is likely that the term was popularized by Foodland Ontario, a provincial farm preservation plan implemented in 1978 (see CIP: 18). The earliest attestation of the word is from an Ontario source only two years prior to the program's beginning (see the 1976 quotation). The term appears to be one of several terms that originated in Ontario and then spread to other parts of Canada (see, e.g. cube van). The term is most prevalent in Canada overall (see Chart 2); the high frequency in Australia, New Zealand and the US is primarily because it is the name of a grocery store food chain, "Foodland".
See also Gage-5, which does not give a Canadian label, yet offers a Canadian example, COD-2, s.v. "foodland", which is marked "Cdn".
This term is commonly used in the plural form.
Agricultural land reserve expresses the same concept.

Quotations

1976
Foodlands must from now on be regarded as a vital resource, to be reserved for their prime purpose, with exceptions granted only when the public need is compelling and and alternative lower quality land is not available. [...] Such action to preserve agricultural land is, of course, only a negative first step. It would halt the erosion of foodlands, pave the way for reclaiming foodlands already lost and provide time for implementing new procedures for resolving the conflict between urban and rural land use.
1978
It is shortsighted indeed of William Newman, as Minister of Agriculture, to support this type of project and, as Mr. Webster says, Anyone who opposes building a midway on top of quality foodland is against jobs for the unemployed and this, dear God, comes from the Minister of Agriculture and Food.
1981
"Ashes to ashes, farmland to pavement, foodland to profit," UBC students chanted Sunday as they buried, for the second time, a coffin labelled 'B.C. agriculture'. The protest, at George Spetifore's land in Delta, was joined by local residents and politicians angry at the removal of the 523 acres from the B.C. agricultural land reserve.
1984
APPEAL, which claims about 130 members, has also asked Ontario Agriculture Minister Dennis Timbrell for his support in the Cabinet, since the Ministry of Agriculture and Food has already objected to the development of the Caledon lands and some of the planned development near Brampton. "This is the Premier's home riding," Ms [Ann Pohl] said. "If the Government is in favor of preserving the foodland of Ontario, it's got to do it in Brampton."
1987
As the foodland defence group completes its reconnaissance mission through Pickering to Markham, there is a feeling of disappointment among the members. They say so much land has been gobbled up by urban growth in the past few months, they feel defeated.
1990
Gary Runka, the former commission chairman, said golf courses are bad for the farming community and dramatically affect land values for food production. The location and conditions related to golf courses should be decided directly by the Agricultural Land Commission, "whose mandate is to protect the foodland resource and the agricultural community," he states.
1998
True, his topic was sprawl, but to so slight and diminish the value of the foodland being destroyed only reinforces the belief that farmland isn't all that important.
2003
Until 1996 the Foodland Guidelines, administered by the ministry of agriculture, food and rural affairs, were viewed as the provincial government's answer to protecting our best farmland from urban expansion.
2012
Pressure is growing on council to sacrifice northeast's fertile soil Late last month, Greater Edmonton Alliance and Live Local organized a public tour of some of the farmland within Edmonton's northeastern city limits. More than 400 people got the chance to experience, first-hand, the foodland that city council will be ruling on this fall.
2016
The primary objective of the Foodlands Trust Project is to create and enable a governance and financial model for holding foodlands in trust and/or under covenant, specific to British Columbia, in partnership with leaders in the agricultural and land trust sectors. The Foodlands Trust aims to serve a complementary function to BC's Agricultural Land Reserve policy through facilitating access to farming and foodlands.

References

Images

Chart 1: Regional Domain Search, 17 Jun. 2014

Chart 1: Regional Domain Search, 17 Jun. 2014

Chart 2: Internet Domain Search, 17 Jun. 2014

Chart 2: Internet Domain Search, 17 Jun. 2014