Politics has changed so much since I grew up that I still have trouble coping with modern conservatives who are usually outraged by the way things are going and are very militant and venomous about the need for abrupt changes. I find today’s radicals equally out of character with my memories. Many old-time Toronto activists seem moderately comfortable about the…
Category: Food Policy
The Four Rs: Retooling Schools as Community Hubs
By sheer luck, I got a quick taste of the linked future of food and schooling last week. At the last minute, I was invited to fill an empty seat on a charter plane and come see a meal program in a First Nations Cree community of a thousand people in Fort Albany, near where the Albany River empties into…
It’s An Ill Wind That Shows Local Food Is No Longer Debatable
Driving from Toronto to Halifax last week to help move my daughter Anika into King’s College, I had a lot of quiet time to rehearse a rant against a recent flurry of attacks against local food systems by right-wing extremists across North America. I was pretty happy with some of my vitriolic lines until we got to the university residence…
Canadian Conservatives Scrapping of Long-Form Census Prevents Food Planning
It’s a pretty strong sign that we live in an information economy and society when the Conservative cancellation of the longform census became one of the hot button political issues of the summer season. I was stupefied when the Harper Conservatives dug in their heels, refusing to budge despite a chorus of harsh criticisms from senior planners, civil servants and…
Labor Day Lesson: Coalition of Immokalee Workers Turn Tables For Migrant Workers
With Labor Day just a few weeks away and badly in need of an event to celebrate, an historic agreement was signed on August 24. Written in legalese, the statement commits Sodexo, a gigantic global food service company employing some 500,000 workers to partner with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a tiny organization of some 4000 members, to respond…
Agro-Ecology Is the Oldest and Newest Form of Bio-Mimicry: Count the F Words
Imitation is the highest form of flattery, and the intricate form of food production practiced by peasants through much of Asia and South America still express that flattery in relation to Nature. In the Global North, all food production except hunting and gathering is commonly referred to as agriculture. But in the Global South, the peasant and Indigenous styles of…
The Stress of Food Bank Food
I was fully prepared for several days of poor eats when I took part in the Stop Community Food Centre’s Do the Math media stunt earlier this April, when ten well-known Torontonians signed on to stretch a three day ration of food bank grub for as long as possible. But I was shocked by how quickly and completely this poverty…
Feast & Famine: Shifting to a Sustainable Food System
The Canadian International Council, Toronto Branch & The Munk School of Global Affairs,University of Toronto present Feast Famine: Shifting to a Sustainable Food System. Featured Panelists:Professor Harriet Friedmann, Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of TorontoRosemary McCarney, President & CEO, Plan CanadaDr. Wayne Roberts, Toronto Food Policy CouncilMargaret Webb, author of Apples to Oysters – A Food Lover’s Tour of Canadian Farms…
“If Id Known You Were Comin…” The Role of Food and Hospitality in Community Development
Here is a great presentation by Wayne regarding the role of food and hospitality in community development. He talks about the role food policy experts can take in understanding the global tradition of “breaking bread” and how food bolsters connection and community with each other and other species.