There is something better than gold in our Puyallup Valley: soil, the best there is in the nation, if not the world for growing crops.
In this time when countries’ food supplies, including those in the United States, are being decimated by drought and floods, some billionaire hedge-fund investors are reported to be selling their gold investments to purchase farmland. It is simple: People need food to survive. Rich soil plus knowledgeable farmers are a national treasures better than gold.
So are we in Pierce County investing in our rich valley soil? It appears we are growing houses, warehouses and malls instead of eatable crops.
There is an attitude of “build, baby, build and jobs, jobs, jobs.” This “create-jobs priority” was evident at a recent Pierce County Community Development Committee meeting. Citizens showed support for Sumner’s Orton Junction development by sporting yellow stickers with “jobs” printed in bold black. And this plan has “community-pleasing” features: a YMCA, medical facilities, retail business and housing to be developed on 182 acres currently zoned agriculture/rural use.
No doubt, this proposal is a job creator, but what about the farmland? What about our local food supply if things get bad in other areas of the country, in the world?
Be aware that it is reported that when a developer prepares a site, the good soil is sold and replaced by building site fill. Once the soil is gone, there is no way of replacing it, unless Mount Rainier buries the development with mudflows.
When I grew up in the Puyallup Valley in the ’50s, there were plenty of jobs then for us teenagers willing to work hard. Each summer we were in the fields picking crops to earn money for school clothes and college. Harvesting produce was back-breaking work, but it gave us a work ethic and a greater appreciation for the farm industry. Canneries such as Hunt, Farman and Nalley Valley produced area jobs.
These canneries are gone now, some to India and Sri Lanka. Are foreign countries to be trusted to process our food?
Living overseas and traveling the world for three years gave me a greater appreciation for what we have here in Pierce County. To stay healthy while traveling some Third World countries, we were advised not to eat fresh uncooked fruits and vegetables. There were no food safety regulations in place. Also, we would not risk drinking tap water or even brush our teeth using this water in some areas.
After these experiences, I will never again take for granted our local food source or clean water. I now value each bite of fresh local produce. I especially enjoy eating local berries.
At one time the Puyallup Valley provided one-fifth of the nation’s berry crop. Conditions are right for growing lettuce, beans, peas, pumpkins, cucumbers and many other vegetables and fruits. This is the world’s best rhubarb-growing area. Now more demand for organic food provides new opportunities. There could be an expansion of growing organic crops into food production of jams, jellies and canned produce. Think job creation.
Also, more people are becoming interested in buying local. Recently, at a Fred Meyer store, I bought a flat of berries with “Sterino Farms Puyallup” written on the side of the box. Those words were a big incentive for me to buy the berries.
We need jobs in these economic times, but we also need wise planning and this questioned answered, “What will be our children’s inheritance?”
My suggestion: Give them something better than gold – preserved farmland.
Patricia Drake of Puyallup is a former reader columnist.
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