Last week I attended a meeting in Elmwood, Ontario (Grey-Bruce) about the closure of small abattoirs across the province. Over 300 people attended the meeting, organized by the Malcolm Women’s Institute.
The crowd heard from an abattoir owner, a farmer, a retailer and the Foodlink Grey & Bruce coordinator. The meeting provided much needed context for me – the abattoir issue has been raised over and over again by Sustain Ontario members. Read more »
There is a role for Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) labeling and Terroir to contribute to agricultural economic development and land preservation in Ontario. Countries such as France and Spain have used PDO labeling to classify and market their products. Tammara Soma, Sustain Ontario’s newest staff member has done extensive research on this topic, and shares the results in this blog.
“Food processing is a major industry. It is the second-largest manufacturing sector in [Ontario], while other manufacturing industries are declining, the food-processing industry between 2007 and 2008 in the census metropolitan area grew 14% in employment. The market is strong. There is opportunity here. We just need to be more proactive in our programming to stimulate the sector.” Michael Wolfson, food and beverage sector specialist, City of Toronto Economic Development
Calgary Herald – AB, Canada
