Urban food strategy unveiled

David McKeown is out to change the way you think about food. What you eat, where it comes from, where you buy it and how you consume it. Toronto’s Board of Health is unveiling a wide-ranging food strategy whose broad and lofty goals include creating “food-friendly neighbourhoods,” connecting city-dwelling consumers to rural producers and eliminating hunger. The strategy, which goes before the Board of Health today, is the most ambitious attempt yet by any Canadian city to reform a local food system that simply isn’t doing its job when it comes to feeding residents. Globe and Mail story.

Toronto’s Food Strategy unveiled

It is a historic day for municipal food policy. This afternoon, the Toronto Board of Health will endorse the consultation report, “Food Connections: Toward a Healthy and Sustainable Food System for Toronto.” Congratulations to the Board of Health, the Medical Officer of Health, the Food Strategy Steering Group and staff on their work. Lauren Baker, Sustain Ontario’s director will make the following deputation at City Hall this afternoon. The City of Toronto is a global leader in municipal food policy development. Across North America municipalities look to the City of Toronto, and in particular Toronto Public Health and the Toronto Food Policy Council for leadership, guidance and advice. Sustain Ontario statement.

City takes aim at “food deserts”

Toronto’s public health department is working on the creation of a “food strategy” that would promote healthy heating, a green economy and vibrant neighbourhoods. Toronto Star story.

Toward a Healthy and Sustainable Food System for Toronto

The next stage in the Food Strategy project – Food Connections: Toward a Healthy and Sustainable Food System for Toronto – is being submitted to the Toronto Board of Health on Feb 16, 2010. The report launches a period of public consultation and engagement.Toronto Food Strategy project website. Food Connections report.

Perth Beef Producers President: Industry Is Broken

The new President of the Perth County Beef Producers Association says the industry is broken.

Murray Brodhagen says immediate government assistance is needed because Ontario’s beef industry is in serious jeopardy. He adds the retailers seem to have too much power so there needs to be marketing changes or Perth County beef producers and there counterparts across the Province will continue to get paid very little for their product. Brodhagen says he is not a big supporter of government subsidies but something has to be done or the beef industry will be lost. CKNX Radio Wingham story.

Pork Producers Told They Need Consumer Help

Hog farmers are urging consumers to let retailers know they want to buy pork from domestic producers. Stiff competition from the U-S hog industry contributed to a disastrous year for Canadian producers in 2009. Anita Ivanauskas is a strategic marketing consultant with Ontario Pork. She says their labelling programs can help consumers identify Canadian and Ontario-grown product – but shoppers have to help create the demand for domestic pork. CKNX Radio Wingham story.

Durham Food Charter moving ahead

The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation announced January 22 that it was providing $35,000 to the Community Development Council Durham (CDCD) to put into action the goals and mandate of the Durham Region Food Charter. Endorsed by Durham Regional Council last December, the Charter reflects the community’s vision for a food secure Durham Region focused toward building a just and sustainable local food system as a foundation for population health. Sustain Ontario story.

Province invests in Bobcaygeon dairy

Kawartha Dairy Limited’s ice cream facility will be around ’til the cows come home’ after the province announced $620,000 in funding to go towards an approximately $1.24 million refurbishment at the iconic Bobcaygeon business. Kawartha Dairy Limited general manager Blake Frazer and director of operations at the family-run business, Mike Crowe joined MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock Rick Johnson in making the announcement at the plant on Friday (February 5). They said up to 10 new jobs would be created as well as helping to retain the 86 existing positions. Lindsay Post story.

Farmers stand up for local abattoirs

A group of local abattoir owners and representatives of the National Farmers Union (NFU) are meeting with Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman Friday to discuss food safety regulations that are threatening the future of small abattoirs. An executive meeting of the Perth-Oxford local of the NFU is also planned for later today to consider action that could be taken in support of Mogk’s Killing and Butcher Shop south of Tavistock and other long-standing local meat processors facing onerous expenditures in order to stay in business. Stratford Beacon Herald story.

Economic study shows hefty impact

Holland Marsh farmers are discovering that when you want to change a local council’s mind, let your numbers speak for you. A recently published study on the economic impact of the area’s agriculture production has already helped change municipal council members’ minds “on a few issues,” says Alex Makarenko, chairman of the Holland Marsh Growers’ Association. Commissioned by the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation with input from the growers’ association, the study reveals that the economic impact of the area’s agriculture production is more than $225 million. Better Farming story.

Green Party Leader Calls For Finance Changes For New Farmers

The leader of the Ontario Green Party says finance changes are needed to allow new farmers to get into the business. Mike Shreiner says there are sons and daughters who want to take over the family farm but they need help with land costs. Shreiner suggests an arrangement like a reverse mortgage is one way to get around the financing hurdle. He says efforts to bring a new generation of farmers into the business are hampered because existing farmers have their retirement locked up in the equity of their land. CKNX Radio Wingham story.

February 16, 2010

Minister Visits Award Winning Riverside Market (UK)

Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, said: “There are numerous benefits attached to farmers markets from environmental benefits such as reducing food miles to encouraging healthy eating and boosting the local economy. “Through buying locally sourced food and drink, we are minimising the energy used in food production, transport and storage and therefore securing a sustainable future for our farming and food industries. Meat Trade Daily News, Wales – Welsh Assembly government press release.

First Ever Rooftop Farm on Affordable Housing Project

Solar is not the only green feature appearing on affordable housing projects these days. In fact, a project in the South Bronx is hoping to combat food miles and food deserts at the same time, growing fresh, nutritious vegetables in a 10,000 sq ft rooftop greenhouse on top of a six story affordable housing project. But does the project make sense? Treehugger.

Consumers fed up with misleading food labels (Australia)

Consumer groups say the serving sizes listed on food packaging may be giving people the wrong impression about how much they should eat. While the US Food and Drug Administration is considering changing its standardised serving sizes because they are smaller than the average American’s consumption, consumer groups say Australia should take a different approach to food labelling.ABC News story.

School Gardeners Strike Back

In the article Flanagan saves special scorn—she’s really good at witty, seemingly undisputable scorn; I’ve long enjoyed her writing, and once in a while even agreed with it—for Alice Waters and the Edible Schoolyard, the program Waters launched 15 years ago at a Berkeley middle school where she saw a vacant lot. She has tirelessly and relentlessly turned that garden and a kitchen-classroom she built into a national movement to incorporate gardens into schools and what students learn in gardens into the school curriculum. It’s no stretch to say that Michelle Obama planted a garden on the White House Lawn and invited schoolchildren to be her first helpers as a direct result of Waters’s crusade. The Atlantic story

Food Deserts Could Bloom if City Hall Helps

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has hired a food policy czar and formed a Food Policy Task Force. And City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has said she will roll out a policy agenda for food this spring that will address the question of access in a more comprehensive way. The question now is how far these efforts will take the city toward a more holistic food policy. Gotham Gazette story.

Supplier to Buyer tourism event

Supplier to Buyer – a crucial event for anyone involved in the tourism industry, leisure and hospitality in South-West Wales – is being held at Haverfordwest tomorrow, February 3rd. “From food producers, web designers, interior decorators, retailers and others, they all benefit from a vibrant tourism industry,” she said. Western Telegraph story.

Food Policy Councils: Lessons Learned

Based on an in-depth survey of 48 Food Policy Councils, the authors found that despite dozens of successful case studies, Food Policy Councils tend to encounter similar challenges, challenges that can sometimes stymie progress, and must be countered with careful planning and evaluation. This report contains tips and case studies for successful councils, warns of common red flags, and includes ample resources for citizens and local governments who may be interested in establishing or helping run a Food Policy Council. Food First: Institute for Food and Development Policy report (3.0 PDF)

Will Walmart, not Whole Foods, save the small farm and make America healthy?

He was right. In the grocery section of the Raynham supercenter, 45 minutes south of Boston, I had trouble believing I was in a Walmart. The very reasonable-looking produce, most of it loose and nicely organized, was in black plastic bins (as in British supermarkets, where the look is common; the idea is to make the colors pop). The first thing I saw, McIntosh apples, came from the same local orchard whose apples I’d just seen in the same bags at Whole Foods. The Atlantic story.

The Next Wave: Wellness Food Trends for 2010

And what consumers are demanding is clear. “The new consumer mantra when it comes to health and wellness is ‘simple,’” says Kimberly Carson, director of beverage solutions for Sensient Flavors LLC (www.sensient-tech.com), Indianapolis. “Already there are products on grocery store shelves with ‘simple’ and ‘simply’ on the package, referencing both a simplification of the ingredient statement as well as…healthier ingredients.” FoodProcessing.com story.

Oscar-nominated film on food industry hits screens in the UK

Food, Inc is a 90-minute documentary that claims to expose “the highly mechanized underbelly that’s been hidden from the American consumer”. It claims the country’s food supply is controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and the environment. The film is being supported in the UK by the Soil Association which is encouraging as many people as possible to go and see it. Farmers Weekly Interactive story.

AND if You Have Time

Turn our cities’ windows into vertical veggie farms

I started The Windowfarms Project as a grassroots way to start to address a nexus in these issues– our food system– and to give ordinary people a way of participating in the “green revolution.” Over the last year, through an organized online collaboration of regular folks, we “windowfarmers” have designed a system for growing nutritious veggies in the windows of homes in a way that looks like an elegant garden/fountain. We have given away the plans and shown anyone how to make them out of cheap, easily accessible and recycled materials. Us windowfarmers are ongoingly testing new techniques and sharing results online to make windowfarms continually more efficient, more productive, more nutritious, quieter, prettier, and more tasty. Interesting Kickstarter project.

The City of Toronto is a global leader in municipal food policy development. Across North America municipalities look to the City of Toronto, and in particular Toronto Public Health and the Toronto Food Policy Council for leadership, guidance and advice.

Just yesterday I received an email that also went to Toronto City staff, from a city of Columbus, Ohio staff person.

The note states:

“Throughout my research, I have noticed that Toronto is by far one of the most progressed cities in North America in regards to local foods…As I am about to present my report to the City of Columbus, specifically about Toronto’s local food economies and policies, there are a few last questions that I hope can be answered.
How Toronto has dealt with Urban Sprawl and the local food economy? 
How does Toronto ensure rural communities receive just compensation for their risk and labour, while welcoming all the diverse urban communities to the table? 
How this benchmark is Toronto’s local food procurement been implemented and how has it affected Toronto and the local food economy?
How has Toronto increased the number of food markets and food availability? 
What sort of tactics were used to market local food?
With your help, we might be able to establish better local food economies in other places throughout North America, as Columbus looks to take a step in Toronto’s direction.”

Big, broad questions. But all are ones that the City of Toronto, despite many jurisdictional limitations, is grappling with. And Toronto is not only grappling with the questions, but addressing the thorny and complex issues related to implementation. Because of this balance between policy development and implementation, Toronto is recognized as a global leader.

The Food Connections report builds on the City’s commitment to provide healthy, affordable, accessible, local and sustainable food to Torontonians. It links food to health, the economy and environment, to our culture and neighbourhoods. And, in the tradition of the Toronto Food Policy Council, is making these issues part of the City’s public discourse.

I’d like to point out several ways that this report stands out, from my perspective.

Builds on Toronto’s Leadership
…and others are following.

Toronto signed a Food Charter outlining food rights and a vision for food security for Toronto. Many others followed suit, including the province of Manitoba, Thunder Bay, Sudbury and most recently, Durham. Endorsed by Durham Regional Council last December, the Durham Food Charter reflects the community’s vision for a food secure Durham Region focused toward building a just and sustainable local food system as a foundation for population health.

Local Food Procurement
Toronto has committed to a local food procurement policy, but has been slow to assign target benchmarks. Markham was the first municipality in Canada to adopt local procurement practices for its municipal food services, an initiative to help support Ontario’s farm economy, address climate change, reduce green house gases and pesticide use, and to promote environmentally responsible purchasing. At the same time the City of Markham implemented a Zero Waste policy. The City of Toronto should become the first large municipality in Canada to develop a comprehensive local food procurement policy.

Other food strategy processes: the People’s Food Policy Project, the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. All are undertaking federal food policy processes. The Toronto Food Strategy paves the way for looking at food, regional agriculture and health in an integrated way, and will inform these policy making processes in the same way Toronto led the way for municipal food policy councils and food charters across North America.

Makes food a priority
This report defines food from field to table, as generating health along the food chain, as connected to other pressing societal issues. One neighbouring municipality has done extraordinary work in this area, and I hope Toronto Public Health uses this work as a model for moving forward. Waterloo Region Public Health has led the way for municipal health authorities, releasing a discussion paper entitled “Towards a Healthy Community Food System in Waterloo Region” in October 2005. Public Health asked the public for input on the proposed strategies in the report. In 2007 the report “A Healthy Community Food System Plan” was published.  Waterloo Region is actively reshaping its regional food system to deliver healthy local food to residents.

Citizen Engagement
The report outlines a broad, creative and meaningful consultation and engagement process that will capture Torontonians Good Food Ideas, and more importantly, strategies to effectively implement these ideas.

Connects City and Countryside
In late 2008, Sustain Ontario was formed as a provincial alliance that would research and develop policy proposals related to healthy food and local sustainable farming. Sustain Ontario’s mandate is to advocate for a food system that is healthy, ecological, equitable and financially viable. Sustain Ontario acts as a bridge between rural and urban farming and food leaders, and connects farmers, food entrepreneurs and eaters.

I want to end my comments by speaking directly to the report’s recommendation related to connecting city and countryside through food. The report outlines a few strategies to do this.

• local food procurement
• participating in a regional food strategy process
• school food and food literacy
• promoting diverse crop production
• city to farmer linkages and training through urban agriculture

There are other recommendations in the report that meet this goal. These recommendations mesh with how Sustain Ontario’s constituency view the interrelationship between urban, peri-urban and rural areas.

• support small and medium size businesses through initiatives such as the Toronto Food Business Incubator. We must rebuild our local food infrastructure and food entrepreneurs as central to this task.
• enable urban agriculture – as food education and through enabling land use policies that will, no doubt, be taken up and implemented by other jurisdictions
• local food promotions. Torontonians need to be inspired to choose local first.
• farmers markets. The city should continue to release public space for markets.
• link priority neighbourhoods with local sustainable food and community food programs. Eating fresh, local fruit and vegetables is key to meeting the health challenges of all Torontonians, especially those who live on fixed incomes and in food deserts.

For more information:
City of Toronto Food Connections website

Board of Health Agenda

Urban food strategy unveiled – The Globe and Mail.

February 11, 2010

Food author pushes for national food policy in Guelph speech

Canadians are aware of the country’s broken food system and need a national food policy. It was the message delivered by author Margaret Webb at the 2009 Organic Agricultural Conference’s keynote address Saturday. Her book Apples to Oysters won a silver at the 2009 Cuisine Canada/University of Guelph National Culinary Book Awards. Last fall, Webb also wrote an eight-part investigative series for The Toronto Star called Crisis on the Farm. Addressing a packed lecture hall at the University of Guelph, Webb presented the state of today’s food sector. The 29th annual organic conference drew at least 1,000 farmers, distributors, retailers and advocates between Friday and Sunday. Guelph Mercury story.

Home is where the hearty food is

Residents of 100 Mile House have turned local eating into a way of life, with an agricultural co-op and their own Cariboo potatoes.Globe and Mail story.

Quebec Slaughterhouse Gets Fed Loan

The federal government is lending a Quebec company that specialises in the slaugher and processing of milk-fed calves. Ecolait processes more than 1 hundred thousand head of veal a year. The animals come from it’s over 150 producer partners. 50 per cent of it’s products are exported. The 2 point 7 million dollar federal loan will help Ecolait improve it’s storage capacity and upgrade it’s slaughterhouse plant technology. CKNX Radio Wingham story.

Local Market Industry benefits from a Mentorship Program

In September 2009, the Camrose Regional Exhibition, Edmonton Regional Tourism Group, Peace Region Economic Development Alliance, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD), and the Learn Agri-Food (LAF) and Country Roads (CR) Networks partnered to bring Jane Eckert of Eckert AgriMarketing to Alberta.  Jane Eckert is an award winning leader in the farm direct/ag tourism industry, and is the founder and CEO of Eckert AgriMarketing. Local market businesses from the Peace, Edmonton and NE regions of Alberta benefited from Eckert’s experience and expertise.  One of the ten participants in the program was Heather Edwards of Pottery by Heather. Heather has been very successful at turning her passion for pottery into a thriving rural business in Bon Accord, Alberta. RTW This Week story.

Canada’s Master of Wild Edibles

The matsutake is just one of many hard-to-find products harvested from the Canadian wilderness and sold by Forbes Wild Foods. Founded by Jonathan Forbes, the business started back in the late 1990s when Forbes realized that no one knew what he was talking about when he told them of the chokecherries he’d picked or the beechnuts he was eating. “If you asked people what are Canadian wild foods, you’d be lucky to get more than wild rice, maple syrup, and blueberries,” he said. The Atlantic story.

First Nations School Gardening Program

The past school year has seen the beginning of a new and promising trend among some First Nations schools in Manitoba. A number of schools have begun planning for, or have already started implementing gardening programs. An integrated school/community gardening program offers potential benefits too numerous to list in a single brief article, such as this. However, some highlights will be explored herein. Development and implementation of a school/community gardening program can help to address a wide range of issues facing schools and communities. First Perspective National Aboriginal News story.

Growing Right

While 100-mile dieters provide a ray of hope, small-scale farmers the world over continue to face intense pressures, and many are still forced out of farming each year. In response, we need to think carefully about our aspirations for the 21st century food system.Peter Andrée essay in Alternatives Journal.

Meet Howard Soon, wine master of the Okanagan

If anyone embodies the quality revolution in B.C. wine that’s taken place since the sip-while-you-slalom era, it’s Mr. Soon. This month he will celebrate his 30th year in the business, overseeing the Western Canada operations of Grimsby, Ont.-based Andrew Peller, which owns the Calona, Sandhill and Red Rooster brands in British Columbia as well as the Peller, Hillebrand and Thirty Bench. And unlike athletes, who tend to peak early in life, Mr. Soon, 57, is at the top of his game. Last fall, Sandhill was named Canadian Winery of the Year by Wine Access magazine for scoring consistently high ratings in a blind tasting by experts from around the country. “It took us 30 years to get winery of the year,” Mr. Soon said. Globe and Mail story.

Ignatieff commits to national food policy during Guelph stop

Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff appears not only willing to listen to the agricultural grassroots but to incorporate the priorities of rural Canada into the party’s rural policies and the national food policy it is crafting. “I pledge that a national food policy will be part of what we offer to the Canadian people at the next election,” Ignatieff told reporters Friday at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre’s Loyola House in Guelph, adding he is committed to enhancing rural health care and expanding broadband connectivity in rural Canada.Guelph Mercury story.

Call for Articles: Innovation in Environmental Education

Alternatives Journal is looking for articles for the next annual Education issue, and you are invited to submit story ideas that explore every angle of environmental education. How has environmental education changed in today’s increasingly accessible world? What should be a part of every person’s educational background, but currently isn’t? How do applied skills such as farming, gardening, and building complement more theoretical environmental learning methods? Story ideas for this issue could answer these questions, or they could involve a critique of the current education system in Canada, and propose ways to improve it. The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2010. Alternatives Journal for information.

AND if You Have Time

London Skyline Recreated With Fruit and Vegetables

Back in November, Carl Warner (responsible for many of the foodscape photographs you may have come across) was commissioned by the Good Food channel in the UK to make an edible version of the London skyline. The Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, the Tower Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Gherkin all get the treatment. The making of video explains how he did it:

Tougher rules threaten local meat industry with extinction

The owner-operators of Mogk’s Custom Killing and Butcher Shop south of Tavistock are awaiting a crucial meeting Monday with a food safety inspector they fear could close them down. Ken Mogk, 73, who has been operating his small abattoir for 20 years, said if he is required to do all of the things a food inspector is demanding he will have no choice but to go out of business. Stratford Beacon Herald story.

OCA President Says Producers Need Strong Partnership with Consumers

The President of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association says the future security of beef producers will come from forging a strong partnership with the province’s consumers. Gord Hardy made the remark in his speech to the recent Beef Industry Convention in London, hosted by the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association. To help the build the partnership, Hardy says Ontario beef is about to receive a promotional boost from a deal signed by Cattlemen’s Association and Foodland Ontario. CKNX Radio Wingham story

Brule Creek Farms – Locally-milled Flour

Brule Creek Farms is the only stone-milled flour producer in Northwestern Ontario.  It is owned and operated by Jeff Burke and Andrea Delarosbil.  We started farming in the spring of 2008 in the township of Conmee, just west of Kakabeka Falls. We mill both our own grains and grain purchased from other local farmers using heritage techniques with a modern spin:  our grain is ground between granite stones spun by an electric motor.  We mill flour on a weekly basis to ensure that our customers enjoy the freshest product possible.  Brule Creek Farms flour is unbleached and contains no additives. Farm website.

Markham’s bold proposal is suburbia’s salvation

The land-use rebellion now unfolding in Markham is another skirmish in the war against the development industry. At stake is who controls growth – government or industry? Christopher Hume writing in the Toronto Star.

Perth Beef Producer to Push Marketing Strategy At OCA

The former President of the Perth County Beef Producers is seeking a role at the Provincial level. Bill Jeffrey plans to put his name forward for a Director’s position at the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting at the end of the month. He says he wants to see if producers are interested in a new marketing strategy. Jeffrey says immediate changes are necessary to save the industry. Jeffrey says he wants to see if producers are interested in moving forward with a “single desk selling mechanism” to make the beef industry profitable again in Ontario. He adds he hopes to be in the running for a Director’s position at the annual meeting of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association later this month. CKNX Radio Wingham story.

Training board wants local farmer input on industry

An employment training board wants area farmers and people working in agri-business to give their views in a survey about dramatic changes taking place in their industry. The Grand Erie Training and Adjustment Board is sending out surveys to people working in six agricultural sectors in area counties. Haldimand recipients are receiving their copies first because that county’s economic development department is supporting that component of an agricultural analysis project which GETAB intends to carry out across Brant, Norfolk, Oxford, Elgin and Middlesex counties. Simcoe Reformer story.

Virtual Farmers’ Market a Success

The Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative (OVFC) connects consumers with local area producers using the Internet. This local food system increases profits, improves distribution efficiency and reduces food miles. “The OVFC started in 2007 when a small group of like-minded people came together to look for ways to address the concern over decreasing numbers of local area farms and to find ways to reduce their food miles,” explains Christina Anderman, OVFC coordinator. “We were fortunate to connect with Robert Waldrop of the Oklahoma Food Co-operative, who pioneered the virtual marketplace concept. He also generously shared his software for free with other interested groups.” FarmCentre.com story.

Local Food Movement Growing In Owen Sound

The local food movement is gaining ground in Owen Sound. The ‘Around the Sound’ market was on 1st Avenue West.  But Owner/operator Anne Findlay-Stewart says she needed more space so she’s moved to 6th Street East. ‘Around the Sound’ sells locally produced fruits, vegetables, baked goods and some prepared foods. Findlay- Stewart says people can know they’re getting good wholesome food. Findlay-Stewart says she tries to be fair to producers so customers might pay a premium. Findlay-Stewart says with the extra space she now has in Owen Sound, she plans to put in a community kitchen for cooking classes and demonstrations. CKNX Radio Wingham story.

New Projects Supported By Ontario Market Investment Fund

Provincial support for marketing projects is feeding people’s appetite for local food and strengthening rural economies. To promote the local foods that support the people, communities and economies of rural Ontario, the Province is investing in eight new projects through the Ontario Market Investment Fund. Details in OMAFRA backgrounder.

Local Harvest

Foodlink Waterloo has posted a new issue of Local Harvest featuring BARLEY and a local farm profile on WINTERMAR FARMS, a grower and processor of seeds and grains. Newsletter.

THIS IS NOT A PRODUCT SALES MEETING

We are going to focus on successful cropping strategies used 2009.
We will discuss why our soils are demanding more horsepower and
inputs to produce.

Speaker: MICHAEL FREIESLEBEN B.Sc.
Bio-Chemist & Micro-Biologist – University of Waterloo
Agricultural Consultant since 1986 with TLC Animal Husbandry Inc.
*  Reducing Costs  *  Fertilizer Recipes  *  Feeding Programs  *

LOCATION:
Mount Forest Fire Hall (381 Main Street North in Mount Forest)
We are limiting this to 55 people!
————————————————————————-

Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Each meeting planned for 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Cost:  $35.00 per person (GST included)
Family Rate:  $30.00 per person  (GST included)
Includes a copy of Modern Miracle Men ($14.00 value)
————————————————————————–

REGISTRATION REQUIRED:
to allow for the number of hot lunches needed.
Hot coffee, tea, juice, doughnuts, homemade pies will also be available.

Please contact:

Michael or Phyllis Freiesleben
Telephone:     519 327 – 8060
Fax:               519 327 – 8068
mpfreies@wightman.ca

Ron or Karen Parish     (Uxbridge)
Telephone:    905 852 – 7588
Fax:              905  852 – 4217
parbro01@hotmail.com

Robert Greenfield     (Meaford)
Telephone:   519 538 – 5474
Fax:             519 538 – 5477
robertgsh@gmail.com

—————————————————————————————
A meeting for cash crop or livestock farmers, gardeners or fruit growers.

February 1, 2010

Urban Food Policy: Municipal Food Planning A-Z

New York, like most other US cities, lacks a comprehensive food system plan. Nevertheless, New York has implemented some of the most ambitious policies and programs in the nation to address issues of food security, nutrition, urban agriculture, and institutional purchasing of sustainably produced food. Every stage in the food system, from production to residuals management, is addressed by at least one city agency, typically with input from various stakeholders. In the list below, I’ve briefly reviewed all of the major (and some minor) New York City agencies. Policies, plans, and programs for sustainable urban food systems blog.

Why Big Ag Won’t Feed the World

A year ago I sat in a room at the Earth Institute at Columbia surrounded by executives from big food companies. One of them, I believe from Unilever, clicked to a slide that read “The solution to global hunger is to turn malnutrition into a market opportunity.” The audience—global development practitioners and academics and other executives—nodded and dutifully wrote it down in their notebooks; I shuddered. The experience stayed with me and I haven’t gotten over it. Last month, I had a flashback. Josh Viertelwrites in The Atlantic.

New York State Council on Food Policy Report to Governor

The mission of the New York State Council on Food Policy (NYS CFP) is to recommend policies that preserve and enhance agricultural food production in New York; and ensure that all New Yorkers have adequate access to safe, affordable, fresh and nutritious foods, especially by children, low-income individuals, the senior population, and other at risk or under represented citizens. The chief role of the NYS CFP is the development of policy recommendations for the Governor’s consideration in the area of food and the food system infrastructure. The report urges adoption of a wide range of initiatives to: (1) increase public participation in food and nutrition assistance programs; (2) support local and regional food production; (3) connect consumers to local producers; (4) ensure adequate food production and retail infrastructure; and (5) promote healthier easting and easier access to healthy food. Report.

UK farm strategy ‘lacks bite’, Washington told

The UK’s landmark 20-year agriculture strategy, with which the government is attempting to lead the world on food policy, is “short in detail” and “lacks bite”, US farm officials have been told. US Department of Agriculture attaché Jennifer Wilson has, in a report sent back Washington, said that much of the UK’s Food 2030 strategy unveiled earlier this month is “not new” and highlighted the “soft tone” of its action plan. However, while many observers had highlighted the strategy’s limitations, flagging a dearth of fresh investment pledges and direct government support measures, these reflect a looming general election. “It is unrealistic to expect major programmes or potentially contentious policy changes to be announced less than six months before a national election,” Ms Wilson wrote. Agrimoney.com story.

When selling local grub is outlawed, only outlaws will sell local grub

One can only wonder how long an idea this good is going to remain underground. Or on good terms with the health department, who actually stopped by during the last Underground Farmer’s Market to inspect the homegrown goodness going down, leaving amiably with some chiding words of how they could make it a little more “legal” next time. But that’s kind of the point of the UFM- that the produce and other foodie goods on offer are outlawed. That’s because they’re made in home kitchens by folks that can’t afford the fees involved in renting out a commercially-certified space to cook, but still want to offer up their wild mushrooms, sarsaparilla and sauerkraut to the neighbors. The party/market squashes vendors, bands and informational workshops on topics from soap making to the husbandry of urban chickens all into a little house on Capp. It’s a concept that’s really resonating as the locavore movement runs afoul of the budget concerns of even the most well-intentioned eaters. Caitlin Donohue writes for SFBG Arts & Culture Blob.

Colonial Historians Press for Crackling Revival

Members of an eastern North Carolina historical organization are trying to stimulate interest in Colonial-era pig preparations they claim the current crop of pork devotees has unfairly overlooked. “Cracklings have gotten a lot of bad press,” sighs Sarah Weeks, a volunteer for the Perquimans County Restoration Association. But she insists, “People can add them to any savory recipe,” she insists. While a few high-end chefs have toyed with cracklings, Weeks would like to shift the crunchy, salty byproduct of rendering lard from the amuse plate to the kitchen pantry. That’s why she’s enlisted an ally to show up at the association’s hog-killing festival this weekend with crackling-streaked biscuits. Cracklings won’t be the only piggy product showcased at the festival: Doug Layden — whose country market still does a steady business in hoop cheese and Dan Doodles, the sausage-stuffed intestines that eastern North Carolinians plop in their collard green pots – will lead a whole hog-butchering workshop. Slashfood story.

Is it time for Kentucky Damn Proud?

One might say that being a locavore makes me Kentucky Proud, which is true, but I want to go a step further. I’m trying to be Kentucky Damn Proud. What is Kentucky Damn Proud, many of you might be asking? Kentucky Damn Proud is how many in Kentucky’s agriculture community define a product that is completely grown, harvested, processed and packaged right here in Kentucky. Having always understood that for a product to carry a Kentucky Proud label, it meant that the major ingredients were grown and/or processed in Kentucky, I was surprised at the outcry from readers last week who felt the new Kentucky Proud Angus beef product line should not qualify as a Kentucky Proud product. While the finishing and processing of the animals used in the Kentucky Proud Angus beef line is taking place outside of Kentucky, the animals are bred, born and raised on Kentucky farms. Does this make the Kentucky Proud Angus line of beef “Kentucky Damn Proud?” No, but it is Kentucky Proud. Kara Keeton writes acolumn for Business Lexington.

Wedding Guide: Locavore wedding inspiration

A smart locavore bride showcases flowers that are in season (sorry, no peonies in October) and grown nearby. Quinton Tschetter said he and his wife have worked with brides who have called in advance and have budgets of $3,000, as well as with brides who walked up to the Tschetter stand at the Downtown Farmer’s Market the morning of their wedding looking for stems. Sunflowers, available at the end of May and early June, are popular, as are lilies and delphiniums. If you’re planning a 2011 wedding, stop by their stand this summer or early fall to see what’s available. DesMoinesRegister.com story

HMS Raleigh chefs cook breakfast for Cornish pupils

The chefs from HMS Raleigh stepped up to the challenge at Antony Church of England School as part of Farmhouse Breakfast Week. All the food was locally produced and donated by suppliers in the area. Teacher Leisha Champion said the aim was to teach children about food miles and emphasise the benefits of a nutritional, healthy breakfast. BBC News story.

Wal-Mart turns over a new leaf as it embraces local produce

Inside the cavernous new Walmart on Highlands Boulevard Drive, grocery manager Russell Davis stands with a gleaming bounty behind him. Lettuce from California, blueberries from Michigan and grapes from South America. Then there’s the store’s hottest grocery commodity these days — pumpkins and corn grown in Brunswick, just a couple of hundred miles away. “Our customers want locally grown products,” Davis says. “They all ask for it. They all want to know: Is this from Missouri?” St. Louis Post-Dispatchstory.

AND if You Have Time

What’s the Food of the Decade?

If we look back over the past ten years, is there a food that stands out as the one that defined us? To Harry Balzer there is. Balzer, who’s vice president of the NPD Group, has been following the food industry for more than thirty years. He’s seen trends come and go, and he’s not one to come to any quick or easy conclusions. His answer: Yogurt. I first heard Balzer make this assessment on National Public Radio recently. So I decided to give him a call to learn more. “We started off with about 17% of all Americans eating yogurt in 2000, and we end the decade with something like 28% consuming yogurt on a regular basis,” he said. “No other category has seen that kind of increase in the absolute number of people using the product.” Jeff Wells blog on REFRESH, a whole health blog and companion to Penton Media’s Supermarket News.

Get Canucked: Canadian Cuisine from LA to London

What is Canadian Cuisine? Think about a melting pot of British, American, German, Ukrainian, etc. cuisines with a healthy dose of the locavore movement and a love for all things hot and filling. Best eaten on days when the weather outside is frightful, Canadian Cuisine is, like Canadians themselves, hearty, comforting, and underestimated. Here are some examples of Canadian dishes, and where you can find them around the world: poutine, Kraft Dinner, tourtiere pie, nanaimo bars and elk burgers. Tips from the T-List from NileGuide Travel Blog.

NSFA hears Buy Local is working, provincial beef kill line coming

Agriculture Minister John MacDonell believes “Buying Local” will extract more returns from the value chain for Nova Scotia farmers. MacDonell told the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture’s annual, after chairing a recent meeting with major retailers to secure more shelf space for local products, he felt they are feeling more pressure to buy local. “They really listen to their customers and their customers are telling them they want to see more high value local food in their establishments.” The minister hoped to continue meeting with retailers—Sobeys, Loblaws and Co-op Atlantic—to keep the lines of communication open to them. He also saw a need to build capacity for the beef industry and wants to increase access to a federally-inspected kill line for provincial beef. There will be a feasibility study to determine where it might be located and its initial capacity. Atlantic Farm Focus story.

Urban Barns grows green revolution

Mr. Fitzpatrick and his friend, an adept student of hydroponics science, began conducting some edible experiments which, after some time and nourishment, yielded a gold mine of an answer. “Anything that doesn’t grow inside the ground, we can probably grow it. We worked with some strawberries and these strawberries turned out to be the best-tasting, juiciest strawberries I’ve ever eaten in my life,” Mr. Fitzpatrick said. “We tried basil. It was like a weed. It was phenomenal. You couldn’t keep up with it.” In the mind of Mr. Fitzpatrick, a dogged pitchman whose professional life includes stints hawking TV remote controls door-to-door, anti-theft global positioning systems and estate-planning products, the concept for Urban Barns was born. Globe and Mail story.

Study looks at agriculture’s job creation and economic activity

Agricultural production gives government and taxpayers the biggest bang for their buck, suggests a new study on the economic impacts of public spending across Quebec.”The evidence is clear,” says Maurice Doyon, an agro-economics professor at Laval University and co-author of the study, funded by the province’s agriculture producers’ organization. “In terms of job creation and economic activity, farming is the best sector.  Even better, that activity occurs in rural regions that need it most.” Mark Cardwell writing for Farm Credit Canada Express.

Americans light years ahead of us on ‘local first’ economics

In their zeal against so-called “protectionism”, business leaders who have been pushing Stephen Harper to reach a new free trade agreement on local procurement, as a response to “Buy American” laws in the U.S., have missed the point. They don’t realize that municipal authority over local procurement policy actually works because it increases a community’s wealth. Nor do they seem to have noticed that our neighbours to the south have long been setting the bar when it comes to local procurement. In fact, the U.S. has had so-called “Buy America” federal laws in some form since 1933. But after 76 years with nary a complaint from Canada, Mr. Harper and his supporters suddenly see it as a problem. B.C. Cupe commentary.

The other side of Vancouver Island

The Island’s oft-neglected east coast offers locavore cooking, calm winter fishing and close encounters with sea life. Visitors roaring off the boat for a fast look at Victoria and a $60 cuppa tea at the Fairmont Empress have missed the boat. The pauses include a modest aquarium that delivers immodest results, Canada’s most dedicated locavore restaurant, the casual acquisition of 80-million-year-old souvenirs and a magnificent and calm archipelago for winter fishing. Globe and Mail story.

Food council setting its groundwork

Volunteers helping with the formation of a food policy council are asking interested Nova Scotians to get involved. Linda Best of the Friends of N.S. Agriculture says they are seeking nominations before Feb. 22 for interim members of a Nova Scotia Food Policy Council. “Many of the solutions have been identified yet, at the Food Summit, we heard over and over that ‘new alliances’ were needed across the food spectrum to increase awareness and inspire action,” she says. The interim council is expected to come together at the end of March and will start working on a structure, based on information about existing councils. Nova News Now story.

N.S. backs agribusiness incubator centre

A new centre aimed at developing businesses in Atlantic Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sectors has picked up phased-in funding from the Nova Scotia and federal governments. The planned Atlantic Centre for Agricultural Innovation will get $500,000 from the province and $2 million from Ottawa toward the first two phases of its 20,000-square-foot facility. The province on Sunday also pledged $4.5 million for the third phase of the project, being developed at AgriTech Park at Bible Hill, near Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) at Truro. Country Guide story.

Economic Action Plan to Help Quebec Livestock Sector

While in Terrebonne, the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of State (Agriculture), was pleased to announce that as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada will be investing in Canada’s red meat sector through a loan of up to $2.7 million to assist Écolait, a Quebec firm specialized in the slaughter and processing of milk-fed veal calves. The federal support will help Écolait improve its storage capacity and upgrade its slaughterhouse plant technology. Écolait processes more than 100,000 head of veal in its facilities annually, raised by over 150 of its producer partners. With 50 per cent of its products exported, the company plays a major role in expanding market access for Canada’s producers. This federal investment will help the company achieve major savings which will help to increase the profitability of its plant and that of its partners. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada news release.

Top 10 stories to chew on from the food world

Our week-long recap of stories from 2009: From locavore myth-busting to backyard chicken boosting, food politics arrived on the national table. Globe and Mail story.

Models and Best Practices for Building Effective Local Food Systems in Ontario

To eat is to participate in a global system, but few of us understand how this system works and our role within it. On the one hand, we have witnessed the rise of a streamlined, vertically-integrated system. On the other hand, alternative food systems have surfaced that emphasize local production, distribution and consumption. The local food movement carries with it the potential to build and foster more sustainable food systems. A local food system minimizes the distance from field to fork, with opportunities to foster long-term local economic resilience, environmental stewardship, quality food access and community and cultural integrity through a food-educated public. Summary of research by student team at the University of Guelph.

New farmers’ market launches at CBC

Toronto is getting a new winter’s farmers’ market. The Regional ‘n’ Artisanal Food Market launches Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will run monthly until April in the Barbara Frum Atrium at CBC (250 Front St. W. ). It’s the brainchild of Gurth Pretty, owner of Cheese of Canada. “In a city the size of Toronto, I do not understand why there are so few indoor regional food markets,” Pretty wrote in a news release. “During the summer months, my staff and I participate at six farmers’ markets each week in the GTA, selling Canadian artisanal cheese. Once Thanksgiving passes by, (we) and many other vendors are homeless. We have product to sell but there are so few indoor winter-market venues.” Toronto Star story.

December Icewine festival event suffers a ‘high-class headache’

The ruins of the massive sculpture on Main Street in Jordan was as clear a sign as any that something was different with this year’s Niagara Icewine Festival event. The ice sculpture — a stylized snowflake — cracked and crumbled when someone leaned on it for a photograph. The warm weather had so weakened the sculpture that it just fell apart with a little bit of pressure. “The ice pillars are holding up OK, but you can see even they are melting,” said Dori Andrews, events manager for the Twenty Valley Tourism Association, which organized the weekend event on Main Street. “But that’s OK. The weather is great and the turnout is fantastic.” St. Catharines Standard story.

Changes in the works for Cellared in Canada wine

The people have spoken, and the Ontario wine industry appears to have listened. After months of debate over labels used for Canadian-made wines containing a blend of domestic and foreign grapes, a committee has recommended turfing the contentious Cellared in Canada term that many believe misleads consumers. Being proposed by the group of wineries and Liquor Board of Ontario executives is changing labels to say ‘Blended from International and Canadian Wines’ on the front of bottles. St. Catharines Standard story.

Food association grows out of Pickering

It’s time to buy local when it comes to food, says a new group stemming out of Pickering. The Durham Culinary Association, a social networking organization to build awareness of local food and to support Durham food producers, culinary professionals and artisan food manufacturers, recently started up, and has quickly gathered interest from local restaurants, schools and politicians. Culinary Association co-founder Philippe Trepanier, a certified Chef Du Cuisine, a consultant with various hospitality venues, and Pickering resident, has long been thinking of a way for local chefs to interact and share knowledge about who’s growing what in the region. News DurhamRegion.com story.

Perth Beef Producers Told They Need Red Meat Coalition

Over 80 beef industry stakeholders gathered in Sebringville last night for the annual meeting of the Perth County Cattlemen’s Association.  The topics included the impact of government regulations on local abattoirs, the “One Voice” lobbying effort, and the need for a “cost of production risk management program”. Bill Jeffrey has served as President for three years, but announced intentions to step down. He says changes at the farm level are desperately needed. Jeffrey says there needs to be a marketing strategy for all red meat because currently retailers have the control. He says the farm organizations have to join together to form a “red meat coalition.” He says it’s now time for producers to get an honest share of the consumer dollar.CKNX Wingham Radio story.

Locally Lambton map being revised for 2010

The Lambton Federation of Agriculture (LFA) and several local partners will launch a third printing of the Locally Lambton Food and Fun Map in May. The map, first printed in 2006 and again in 2008, helps people locate businesses in Lambton at which they can buy locally produced items. The map will also be online. Today’s Farmer story.

Durham Food Charter can move ahead

A Pickering councillor and advocate of local agriculture was thrilled to learn of funding for a new initiative in Durham. The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation announced Jan. 22 it was providing $35,000 to the Community Development Council Durham to get the ball rolling on the Durham Region Food Charter. News DurhamRegion.com story.

Revisit the Simcoe plan

Queen’s Park is obliged to pay close attention when one of its own top planners warns that a provincial strategy meant to reduce urban sprawl and protect the environment will, in fact, do the opposite. That’s what’s in store for the Simcoe region, north of the GTA, if Ontario proceeds with its flawed intentions, according to Victor Doyle, manager of community planning at the ministry of municipal affairs. Tellingly, this senior civil servant made his views known as a “private citizen,” with a written response to the province’s call for public input on the strategic growth plan for Simcoe. The Simcoe growth plan is the responsibility of the ministry of infrastructure, not municipal affairs. One can only speculate on how far communications between these two branches of government have deteriorated when a veteran bureaucrat feels it necessary to go outside the system in order to be heard. Toronto Star editorial.

Greenbelt Council’s Progress Report 2009

Council has been very vocal about raising a variety of concerns this year and we have provided advice to you and your government on a variety of Greenbelt related issues that was often beyond the mandate of your ministry. Because of this, Council felt it needed to establish a protocol that would set out its expectations with respect to a reasonable timeframe by which your colleagues should respond to our letters of advice as they pertain to their particular mandates. I am pleased to report that our Greenbelt Council web pages are regularly updated to include new appointments, minutes from every Greenbelt Council meeting, all of our letters of advice as well as the respective responses from yourself and your colleagues. Greenbelt Council Progress Report posted on the website of the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

AND if You Have Time

‘Uncle Jello’ by Nouar

Currently on display at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, CA is “The Multiplane Group Show” which includes the piece “Uncle Jello” by the artist Nouar. She also posted some great behind-the-scenes shots on her blog revealing the process in making it. Photos of the process.

http://news.guelphmercury.com/Opinions/EditorialOpinion/article/590151

We can no longer ignore our bio-diversity crisis

Gord Miller January 26, 2010

Seven species that once lived in Ontario have become globally extinct in modern times.

Another 12 species that once lived in Ontario and are no longer found here.

We also have almost 200 species that are still here, but their survival is in jeopardy.

It is an alarming trend that these numbers increase year after year. And many of these species are found in the area around Guelph — species such as the monarch butterfly or the Jefferson salamander.

Human impacts on the natural world are responsible for this crisis. The most significant threats are habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, over-harvesting, and pollution. This unprecedented loss of species is the most visible part of what scientists call the biodiversity crisis.

Biodiversity is inextricably linked to the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the soils we depend upon for our food, and the lands upon which we depend for our natural resources. It’s about our rivers and lakes, our woodlots and forests, wetlands and prairies, and even the songbirds in our backyards.

January marks the start of the International Year of Biodiversity. The United Nations General Assembly chose the year 2010 to raise understanding globally, to assess what has been done by governments, and to chart a new way forward.

We can be proud that Canada was the first industrialized country to become a signatory of the international Convention on Biological Diversity after the Rio summit in 1992. Almost every country on Earth has formally pledged its support for this international effort.

These countries jointly set the goal for themselves “to achieve a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss” by 2010. Unfortunately, this goal will not be met by any country, according to the United Nations. A renewed effort is unequivocally needed.

Two important events in 2010 represent opportunities for the Ontario government to make biodiversity a priority. In June, our province host the G8 summit in Huntsville, and the loss of biodiversity has clear consequences for our global economy. Then in October, the world will meet in Nagoya, Japan, to set targets and detail the necessary steps to halt biodiversity loss.

We are not without our own successes. Species such as the peregrine falcon and the bald eagle have slowly rebounded in Ontario. However, such tangible accomplishments seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

The Ontario government started down the right path in 2005 by creating a five-year biodiversity strategy. Other advances have been made, including putting in place better laws for protecting our provincial parks and species at risk. These initiatives have the potential to make a difference but they must be matched by the political will to make conservation a priority.

A key barrier for the Ontario government has been the failure to make biodiversity conservation an explicit responsibility of all government ministries in all their activities that have an impact the natural environment, whether they oversee highway planning, municipal growth, mining or agriculture. Instead, concern for biodiversity often remains compartmentalized within the Ministry of Natural Resources. Simply put, it gets lost within the government bureaucracy.

Action on biodiversity must be integrated across the Ontario government as a whole. In a way, it’s not much different than the challenges of tackling climate change. Dealing with globally significant environmental issues must explicitly be seen by politicians and the public as a government-wide responsibility of the most serious urgency.

“Does this better or worsen biodiversity?” That’s the question that we all must ask from now on. It should be asked when debating a new law or even when figuring out if the location of a new subdivision is appropriate.

We have to ask this kind of question – and have it treated seriously – if we’re sincere about joining the international community to halt the loss of biodiversity in the years ahead. At a minimum, we should at least be making our own measured decisions about Ontario’s biodiversity with the best possible information.

At this stage, I would argue that results are what count. We need much more than promises or rhetoric. The consequences of failing to properly address the biodiversity crisis are clear.

Gord Miller is the environmental commissioner of Ontario, and serves as the province’s independent environmental watchdog.