City of Toronto Workers Destroy Free Community Food Garden Amid Growing Food Crisis

Amid a growing food crisis, this morning workers from the City of Toronto were ordered by City of Toronto
Parks Director Richard Ubbens to remove all live plants and food from the People's Peas Garden in Queens Park. They were ordered to take the plants and food to the dump and lay sod overtop of this most beautiful free community food garden, without warning, without a chance to remove the rare heirloom plant species or harvest the food.

The garden was planted by Occupy Gardens and allies on May 1st, in defense of local and global food security. While the garden has been growing undisturbed for nearly 5 months, with the help of hundreds in the community, the city deliberately decided to have it removed upon the eve of the Autumn Jam: A Harvest Party and celebration of sharing, community and free local food, which is happening tomorrow from 12-6pm at the garden in Queens Park (northwest section).

[link to toronto.mediacoop.ca]

There's plenty of community gardens in the neighbourhood, where they could have planted their peas & they wouldn't have been destroyed.

They chose to plant on the lawn of the provincial government. Occupy planted wastefully.

They are either complete utter fools or there is something sinister going on.

What the community farmers need to do is organize and get the local laws changed to allow for a community garden BEFORE planting that garden.

Why was the garden taken out:

The reason? The people did not have permission to grow free food on public land.

That is from your link.

Why is that law there? To protect people from others who may plant other things that are not so nice and friendly as food. what if a person wanted to plant poison ivy, deadly night shade, hemlock and other toxic plants?

Come on, we all know that there are sick twisted people in the world who would have no problem planting toxic plants where kids play and might eat some of the plant.


Codes can really be easily changed in many circumstances, the same thing applies for having a front yard garden.

People get upset when these gardens are ripped out or the person is fined heavily as per the law, without understanding that these laws were made to keep property values up and to prevent people from growing things you may not want to have in your community.

Of course doing the right things first, such as checking the local codes and following a systematic approach to changing the laws/codes is required.

In this case, if the community farmers got together and make a strong case for a community farm, the local code makers most likely will set aside land for that sole purpose.

A lot of communities around the western World are moving toward 'co-op' and 'community food gardens' as a way to improve the neighborhoods. There is enough precedence on the books to demonstrate that this is a good idea.

Changing the local code also makes it easier for other co-op/community gardens to rise up in other neighbors, brings attention to the need and benefits of such.

If done correctly.

While it hurts to see this nice garden summarily executed, it wouldn't have happened if the farmers would have done the right things to begin with.

Lets hope that they now understand the local law/code and take the right steps to changing the law in Toronto, and even set about getting legal community farms placed here and there across the city.

Amid a growing food crisis, this morning workers from the City of Toronto were ordered by City of Toronto
Parks Director Richard Ubbens to remove all live plants and food from the People's Peas Garden in Queens Park. They were ordered to take the plants and food to the dump and lay sod overtop of this most beautiful free community food garden, without warning, without a chance to remove the rare heirloom plant species or harvest the food.

The garden was planted by Occupy Gardens and allies on May 1st, in defense of local and global food security. While the garden has been growing undisturbed for nearly 5 months, with the help of hundreds in the community, the city deliberately decided to have it removed upon the eve of the Autumn Jam: A Harvest Party and celebration of sharing, community and free local food, which is happening tomorrow from 12-6pm at the garden in Queens Park (northwest section).

[link to toronto.mediacoop.ca]

yah TPTB don't like it when we show how easy it is too grow our own food. cuts into their GMO profits.

yah TPTB don't like it when we show how easy it is too grow our own food. cuts into their GMO profits.

There's plenty of community gardens in the neighbourhood, where they could have planted their peas & they wouldn't have been destroyed.

They chose to plant on the lawn of the provincial government. Occupy planted wastefully.

what the fuck is wrong with you?

This.

Of course they don't want people being able to take care of themselves in regards to growing crops.. they want everyone to be forced to suckle off the gubment teat and smile blissfully while we choke down their GMO food and they take our money, since we're paying for the grub that's making us sick.

People gonna start growing 'maters inside hot rooms in their closets like pot growers. "He's got a garden! Straight to jail!" heh.

The people should just plant 100's of poison ivy plants all over the place in any grass they can find in the city.