Confessions of a Tree Planter

TREE-HUGGING HIPPY or MONEY HUNGRY MARGOT

          Tree planting was my summer job.  Up in Northern Ontario, I spent my days walking the slash burned, chemically killed, unscarified land that was once a lush forest, planting trees every seven feet.  Making an average of ten cents per tree, I often daydreamed of the non-monetary costs of deforestation; the effects it has on biodiversity, natural habitats and greenhouse gas emissions.  “Deforestation is the permanent removal of forest cover from an area, and the conversion of this previously forested land to other uses” says Natural Resources Canada.  Deforestation is such a large industry because of the value of trees and the land they reside on as a scarce resource. Timber and other tree-related products such as paper are valuable products in our global economy, as well as: clearing forests for agricultural needs, housing, and industrial and urban infrastructure. Deforestation is without a doubt, a lucrative endeavor.

            Deforestation is a phenomenon that dates back almost half a million years—ever since humans began deliberately making fires.  Many think deforestation to be a modern activity, beginning somewhere in the nineteen fifties when tropical rainforest began to disappear.  However, the only thing that has changed since the mid twentieth century is the escalation to scale of this primitive activity—it is now possible for mass deforestation to take place thanks to new technologies and a more demanding marketplace. The scarcity of trees and the land they occupy as a resource is increasing; therefore the demand for this resource is increasing as well—making deforestation a large industry that is highly competitive. Light has been shed only recently on this ancient practice because of the sensitivity of our environment and the irreversible damage deforestation has imposed upon it.

     I know all of the above, however I also know that if i push myself from 7am to 6pm I can plant $500 worth of trees.  Pushing myself however, means clearing my mind, not getting distracted by wilderness sightings, not collecting moose antlers as I encounter them, and essentially, not stopping for a lunch break.  Doing all of this means, not being true to myself.  I love the wilderness, and everything associated with it.  Most would believe this to be enough to be a successful tree planter: sleeping in a tent, void of any sort of regular hygiene practices, and planting outside all day every day regardless of snowstorms in June, are things only Nature lovers can endure.  The opposite, however is how I feel.  When I plant, although the brutally laborious work and harsh conditions are greatly rewarding, I dispose of my nature-loving self, and adapt a money-hungry demeanor.  Its the only way I can justify traipsing over kilometer upon kilometer of scarce brown land full of felled trees, sawdust and discarded liquor bottles. So if you are someone looking for a prosperous career in tree planting, prepare yourself for mother nature punishing you for what our kind has done to her.  Expect the harshest conditions and a devastating landscape, and remember, to leave your tree-hugging hippy persona at the door. The costs of this industry are much greater than ten cents per tree.

           

          Beyond the environmental impacts, as a tree planter, you can expect to see a dramatic decline in your personal values and self dignity.  Funneling bottles of wine, giving yourself DIY tattoos and sitting around a bonfire of burning baby trees, letting their chemically fertilized soil emit toxic smoke into your eyes and lungs are not below you.  You WILL pick up smoking, and you WILL hate trees by the end of your experience.  You WILL also come frighteningly close to death by insect bites/stings (see image below) and consider feeding yourself to a Grizzly or a rattle snake as not to feel the ridicule from your crew mates if you simply 'quit.'  You WILL hang out at a laundromat all day on your only day off, and consider a half-star Northern Ontario motel paradise. This can only be justified, potential planter, should you make lots of money. Put your head down, clear your mind, Good luck. 

Who wants to play Monopoly?

          As Canadians, our climate is not able to support the growth of many of our favourite foods: bananas, oranges and other fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes cannot survive our harsh winters, or flourish in our mild summers.  In our communities however, we are lucky enough to walk into almost any supermarket and find exotic foods during all seasons of the year: coconuts in January, and fresh pineapple in March.  These foods are certainly not coming from inside our country, and thus little is known of the costs of importing these goods other than the considerably small fee we pay at the checkout counter.

            The food industry starts off quite simply—a seed is all it takes.  Everything we eat and rely on to fuel us day-by-day begins with a seed:  grains, fruits, vegetables, and feed to nourish the livestock we consume.  The growth process of a seed is commonly practiced throughout the world.  The seed is planted, tended and harvested by gardeners and farmers and botanists everywhere, with the intent of producing food, but also with the intent of producing more seeds to be used in next year’s process.  Once a farmer has a healthy crop, they also have seed to plant for the forthcoming harvesting season: it is how plants have evolved to regenerate themselves.  In an ideal situation, once a farmer has purchased their original vat of seeds, considering their crop was in good health after the first season, they should have healthy seeds to plant for the following year.  If a farmer is able to put forth an initial investment for the purchase of seeds, all crop yield is profit—an asset to their farm and business.  Farmers in developing countries often do not have the money to put forth a lump sum investment at the start of their farming venture and thus are forced to purchase their seeds off companies willing to sell for the lowest market price. 

           

Enter Monsanto.

           

Monsanto is a company known to have controversially purchased a patented technology off of an innovative agriculture company called Delta & Pine.  This patent is known colloquially as the ‘terminator seed,’ or ‘suicide seeds’. These seeds are genetically engineered so that when crops are harvested, all regenerated seeds from this particular yield are sterile, and cannot be re-planted for next years season—they terminate the most significant genetic trait plants have: fertility.   Because most seed companies expect their investors to be, for the most part, single purchasing clients, in order for them to make any profit seed prices have a set minimum market price.  On the other hand, companies such as Monsanto with terminator seed technology, can afford to lower their prices below the competition’s rates, with the assurance that their clients will need to purchase more seeds the following planting season.  We may see this as an easily avoidable issue—do not purchase seeds from companies with terminator seed technology.  The reality is that small scale and subsistence farmers in lesser-developed countries don’t have the means of investing a lump sum of money into their business; making cheaper annual purchases is a more feasible option.  This is how monopolizing companies such as Monsanto succeed.

            The scope in which these seeds are affecting food security are much widespread than the small scale farms in which they are planted.  It is estimated that a minimum of 1.4 billion people rely directly on the harvest of poor, small-scale farms—the target of terminator seed companies.  There is also concern that these seeds will end up on the farmland of neighbouring farms to terminator seed users; not immediately harming natural crops, however sterilizing seeds for the forthcoming year’s harvest.

            Narrowed down to its simplest form; farmers in lesser developed nations are left with no choice—they do not have the money, nor the education to attenuate their dependence on multinational companies that offer the cheapest prices for their products.

           If people's 'Buy Local' Bumper stickers perviously meant nothing to you, consider Monsanto and their bully-like monopoly before you buy from Multi-National Corporations trying to save a buck.

International Development and The Bachelorette

     I have a guilty pleasure: curling up on the couch every Monday night and watching city TV’s reality trash hit, the Bachelorette.  I also have a not so guilty pleasure: staying current in the realm of international development.  Last week when I was indulging in my Monday night ritual, the Bachelorette took us to a group date where the contesting husbands were revamping a children’s orphanage in Thailand.  It has always been a pet peeve of mine when development initiatives take shape of North Americans undertaking light tasks such as painting murals, building a wall or constructing a desk is considered humility.  My annoyance isn’t in the lack of education of the theory that development means painting walls, my annoyance is that a hit show such as The Bachelorette has the capacity to sway its viewing demographic into supporting a cause.  Should INDEVOURS be on this show, we would have enough support to cover the cost of all of our field placements abroad.

            This episode got me thinking further about the show and international development.  If America is willing to spend millions of dollars to watch twenty eligible bachelors to follow a five-foot tall bachelorette around the world just to follow the drama of heart break and ache, where do our priorities lie?  And why am I, an educated individual of the economic issues of the world supporting this massive expenditure?  Furthermore, how can organizations tap into this market of viewers so that they can collect even just the equivalent of the airfare of all of the bachelorette participants—enticing America to empathize with their charitable cause as they do with Ashley Herbert’s heartache? 

            So, Bachelorette, I ask you this… when the winner of the orphanage painting date stole your heart by demonstrating extra effort by painting an elephant on the wall, how much praise would one of these eligible bachelors receive if they decided to pay their own airfare to the next Asian destination on the show, and donate what the show would have originally spent to the orphanage? How romantic is it when someone is covering their own expenditures as they chase you around the world, on top of donating to a charitable cause! I think you’ve found your husband…