Lucie Lamerre and Alex Leclair: a conversation with 2 young market gardeners
Tell us about yourselves. Alex and Lucie: We met 5 years ago, we fell in love, and we decided to start a vegetable farm together. Lucie wanted to apply everything she learned at agriculture school and Alex had just come out of the 2012 student protests, ready for change. Facing all the economic difficulties in starting a farm and having no money, we founded a farmers’ cooperative to pool our resources and become a more sustainable alternative to the food distribution and commercialisation networks in place.
What is your response to this quote by Kurt Vonnegut: “We could have saved the earth, but we were too damned cheap”?
Alex: Hahaha! That sums up capitalism’s inability to solve climate change. Capitalism has cast a spell over us all – it’s hard now to imagine ourselves other than being consumers. My response: break the spell and free your imagination!
Both of you have experience in agriculture. The coronavirus has put many farmers’ markets in jeopardy. Do you have any recommendations for organic farmers to weather this crisis, and how can the public help farmers?
Alex: The Quebec government has just announced that farmers’ markets are an essential service, in the same way grocery stores are. At last grassroots economic initiatives such as farmers’ markets are considered as important as grocery stores. In our globalized food systems, considering small local food networks essential is a step forward. There is some fear that customers won’t show up at the markets. I would recommend to farmers to keep strict sanitation rules and reassure customers through social media. Ask other farmers what they’re doing to adapt to the new markets – sharing knowledge and practices is what farmers do best! People fear scarcity, and organic farms are showing what food sovereignty should look like.
Lucie: Big farms are encountering more obstacles in this crisis: reliance on foreign workers and exports to foreign countries. It’s going to be a good year for small farms – the demand is high. Solidarity between small farmers is more important than ever: creating coops, sharing equipment, collective distribution systems. I hope this crisis pushes consumers to participate in a more durable and circular economy.
What would be the best outcome for your generation following the end of the virus?
Alex: I think the best outcome would be to come up with a plan and measures for food sovereignty and climatic and sanitary emergencies. What this crisis has shown is that governments are capable of enacting a lot of economic emergency measures but don’t have a real plan. I hope our generation starts thinking about these issues. Our resiliency depends on this future planning.
Lucie: Local consumption! If people keep buying local after the crisis, the ties between people in their communities will be stronger. It’s an opportunity to slow down climate change and create resilient communities.
How has the coronavirus affected your lives?
Alex: It hasn’t affected my life really. I work as much and keep busy. The idea of a recession preoccupies me though. People are going to hurt badly and nobody’s prepared for what awaits. Public funding to departments and necessary research might get cut because of all the spending going on now.
Lucie: As I’m still working, I’m lucky to still be active. Since we have a simple life, the virus hasn’t really changed daily living for me. However, I’m stressed for my family and people who are vulnerable around me. It’s hard not to be able to hug and be physically present with the ones we love.
What do you feel your legacy will be in 50 years?
Alex: I want to say that no single person is going leave much of a legacy if nothing’s done at a community and collective level. We have to pull together and find solutions if we want to leave anything of a legacy, individually or collectively.
Lucie: Solidarity, mutual aid… A healthy planet.
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