Food and Farming Part 2

I have been observing some very interesting things starting to happen at the grass roots level with respect to food production. These things are very welcome in my mind because I have also been watching the approaching "train wreck" of the on-going world-wide population explosion, climate change, degradation of the oceans, food price spikes, desertification etc. This list includes two trend lines that can't help but cross each other with serious consequences. One is the loss of food production and the other is the exponential growth in human population.

Over the past 50 years or so we have seen food production turned into big business with a focus on profit by shareholders and commodities speculators. There has been a steady loss of small farms in favour of  larger  farms that have shifted towards specialization and exportation over diversification and local markets. This is in the name of efficiency but at the same time apparently "sales-only" income for farmers is hitting rock bottom which raises the question of sustainability.

It was of interest to me this morning to read a Canadian report focused on Canadian food policy that calls for a restructuring of Canadian food production from start to finish. You can access this report at http://peoplesfoodpolicy.ca/files/pfpp-resetting-2011-lowres_1.pdf . It amazed me to learn that it was developed over 3 years and was the result of input by over 3500 Canadians. These people sat around kitchen tables and talked about what was important to them. This fact alone ties into my previous blog concerning apathy. It is obvious that people are not apathetic about issues that are important in their lives.

I was struck by the similarity of the Food Issue to that of Health Care in Canada. It seems obvious that change in food production and the way we treat those who produce it will only happen through changes in public policy. It will not be undertaken by corporations that control s huge proportion of the food  production system. It was the same  when medicare was adopted as a public policy. Medicare was never advocated by the medical profession but rather by a visionary politician, Tommy Douglas, who saw the need to re-organize the system to make it better for all of us.

To quote the People's Food Policy Report, Canada needs  "a policy which places the well being of the majority and the health of the planet at the centre of all decisions". 

Coincidentally, I will attending a Think Tank on Wednesday organized by Laurent Thibault who is chairing the Town's Economic Pillar of the Halton Hills Sustainability Advisory Committee.  Central to the discussion will be a position paper prepared by Laurent that emphasizes the importance of our local agricultural industry and the opportunities we have to capitalize on this resource.

I am looking forward to this week's discussion as we tackle locally issues that are clearly being discussed in many other communities across the country.

I also look forward your reaction to the issue of food production particularly in the local context.