Perspectives on good food and farming
March 29, 2010

FoodNYC: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer today released “FoodNYC: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System,” the most comprehensive effort to date to unify and reform New York City’s policies regarding the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of food. The report, a product of the NYC Food & Climate Summit held at NYU in December in partnership with the non-profit Just Food, outlines a package of proposals that will make our food system more sustainable by prioritizing products from New York State, increasing access to healthy food in underserved neighborhoods, and expanding the food economy. Report (1.3 MB PDF).

We must allocate more to agri-environmental measures

If we look even further at this more targeted approach to environment and climate change in the CAP, we can’t ignore Rural Development, currently the 2nd pillar of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). This is without doubt the major funding instrument for environmental integration in rural areas, with about 37 billion Euros going to agri-environmental measures between 2007 and 2013. Under this the CAP pays farmers and forest owners for their environmental services in support of biodiversity, water, soil, landscape and climate change. Many other Rural Development measures also help the environment, like farm investments in new technology that can save energy and limit water consumption. Despite this, funds for Rural Development represent only a small part of the CAP budget, and with all the environmental and climate challenges ahead of us, to my view, and speaking in the capacity of commissioner responsible for environment, a bigger share of Rural Development will be needed, and within this share, we must allocate more to agri-environmental measures. These measures support farmers who voluntarily engage in environmentally friendly farming practices and who go beyond what cross compliance demands of them. Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Environment speech 3rd Forum for the Future of Agriculture – The Economics and Politics of Food Security vs. Climate Change Brussels, 16 March 2010.

Council of Food Policy Advisors publishes second report to Government

The Council of Food Policy Advisors has published its second report to the Government, recommending that efforts to promote healthy diets and environmentally sustainable food production should focus on the power of consumer demand to bring about change. Food: a recipe for a healthy, sustainable, and successful future? also calls for a debate about land use in the United Kingdom in order to find the best way to balance the needs of agriculture with other demands such as housing, energy and infrastructure. In addition the Council highlighted the importance of the food sector in economic strategies, as well as the need for continued research and development across the entire food chain. News Release posted on AllBusiness.com UK. Report (1.5 MB PDF). Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs news release

The Big Apple, where honey talks

To the delight of bee enthusiasts, the city yesterday legalized beekeeping within its limits. The move reverses a long-standing ban under which honey bees were lumped together with wild animals – including venomous snakes – deemed dangerous to urban living. The prohibition had sent beekeepers underground, figuratively speaking. Despite the risk of fines, some went ahead and tended bees and harvested honey on rooftops and in private yards. Globe and Mail story.

Local food-makers find space among big boys

Nancy Monti Barcalow began making peanut brittle after getting let go from her corporate job last year and receiving training from the Economic and Community Development Institute. The sweet treat has scored points with consumers, and now she is joining a growing number of smaller local food makers whose products are showing up in mainstream grocery stores. Her Buckeye Brittle debuts this spring at the Lewis Center Kroger Marketplace. Columbus Business first story.

‘Taste of Cape Ann’ is newest step in our lifestyle spotlight

Do you like to cook? Do you like to be a little adventurous when it comes to eating — whether dining in or out? Do you wonder what wines go best with the dinners you’re preparing, or about to enjoy? Do you wonder what ingredients go into some of the specialties crafted by our local chefs, restaurateurs and brewmasters? You can find all of that and much more on our Taste of the Times page athttp://food.gloucestertimes.com. This past Wednesday marked the debut of our new, full-fledged “food” section, also headed “Taste of the Times.” And next Wednesday, all of this will come alive when we host “A Taste of Cape Ann,” a special event showcasing more than a dozen local food and beverage vendors from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Cruiseport Gloucester. Gloucester (UK) Daily Times story.

PepsiCo pilot program to reduce Tropicana’s carbon footprint

One year after PepsiCo and the Carbon Trust launched an innovative partnership that began with certifying the carbon footprint of Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice, Tropicana is announcing a pilot program that could drastically reduce its lifecycle carbon footprint and have a dramatic impact on the broader agricultural landscape for orange growers and producers of other agricultural products. When Tropicana measured the carbon footprint of its Pure Premium product’s lifecycle, it discovered that the largest single source of carbon emissions – approximately 35 percent – was fertilizer use and application for the growing process. Fast Casual story.

Libraries help fill city nutrition gaps

Residents of two Baltimore neighborhoods that lack supermarkets will soon be able to order their groceries through a free delivery system that operates with the click of a mouse from the library. The new Virtual Supermarket Project, city officials’ latest attempt to solve Baltimore’s long-standing history of neighborhoods with little access to healthful foods, offers laptops where residents can order groceries online from Santoni’s Super Market in Highlandtown and pick them up the next day at the Orleans Street or Washington Village library branches of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The libraries are in East and West Baltimore’s biggest “food deserts,” areas targeted by the Health Department for their scarcity of grocery stores and nutritious food options. The Baltimore Sun story.

Kennett: bad policy kills

Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett has blamed policy failure by both sides of politics for contributing to rural depression and suicide. The chair of the national depression initiative, beyondblue, this week said a lack of effective policies to stimulate agricultural development was contributing to mental illness in rural Australia. “The great missing ingredient in Australia in terms of agriculture – an ingredient not recognised by either side of politics – is an effective national water plan and a national plan for agriculture,” Mr Kennett said. He said a national water and food policy would increase activity in rural Australia, provide more employment opportunities and enable people to live more rewarding lives. Australia Weekly Times Now story.

Jamie Oliver in America: sneers and tears

Interesting that when Oliver went on David Letterman’s show this week, Letterman lectured Oliver about the futility of his mission – persuading Americans to eat fresh, not processed, food. Interesting too that during the first instalment of the series (Friday, ABC, A, 9 p.m.), Oliver is reduced to tears. Globe and Mail story.

AND if You Have Time

The World Wide Wiener: Hot Dogs Around the World

The whole world may turn a blind eye to what might be ground into a hot dog, but that doesn’t mean that everyone approaches presentation the same way. A run-down of how wieners make the world go ’round — with pictures. Matador Networks story.

The poll, released for World Food Day (October 16), found that seven out of ten Canadians want farmers to have more influence on the food system. The same number of Canadians also said they trust the experience and knowledge of farmers over that of large agricultural corporations.

According to Nik Nanos, President of Nanos Research, Canadians have real concerns related to food production and how it impacts the environment and local economies. “Canadians are aware that their food choices have far reaching impacts. They want to know where their food comes from, who grew it, andunder what circumstances.”

Many of today’s global challenges are connected to the way our food system operates, said Susan Walsh, Executive Director of USC Canada, who commissioned the Nanos poll. “More and more Canadians are calling for a better way of organizing the food system. People feel they’ve lost their vital connection to what they eat. There is a real sense of urgency. Canadians feel that this can’t continue, and we have to do something about it.”

“We need a food system that puts people, farmers and the planet first. More than a billion small scale farmers around the world have sophisticated farming systems that are built on farmer knowledge and ecological diversity, and feed communities. We should be turning to them for solutions,” said Walsh.

“Canadians are demonstrating that they are willing to make food choices that can change the food system,” said Walsh. “A system that is fair, healthy, and produces real food – food they can trust.”

The survey of 1001 Canadians was conducted in April 2009. The margin of accuracy for a random survey of 1,001 individuals is 3.1 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20. It is being released by USC Canada for their World Food Day events (October 16), and just prior to the November World Food Summit in Rome.

For more information:

Faris Ahmed, USC Canada 613-234-6827 ext.223; cell 613-263-5671

Nik Nanos, Nanos Research 613-234-4666 ext. 237

www.usc-canada.org

USC CANADA 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa K1P 5B1
Tel: (613) 234-6827 ext. 223 
Visit www.usc-canada.org for news and views on food justice, agriculture, and biodiversity.

A New Menu for Ontario’s Food Economy | Martin Prosperity Institute.