Locavore News – Ontario
Posted: April 29, 2010
Categories: News from Sustain Ontario
- Northerners eat only locally grown food for entire year
- Abattoir Group Getting the Ear Of Chief Vet
- Is the organic food craze losing health battle to ‘local’ labels?
- Local Food Key Ag Reference In Throne Speech
- Ontario Wineries Want Foodland Ontario Logo Use
- Halton Region first region in Canada to adopt local sustainable food procurement practices
- The importance of supporting local food
- Locavore by Sarah Elton
- Backyard chickens: Fair or fowl?
- Greenbelt Foundation Supporting Local Food
Perspectives on good food and farming by Elbert van Donkersgoed
April 29, 2010
Northerners eat only locally grown food for entire year
For one local family, the food on the dinner table is very close to home. Genevieve Sulatycky, along with her husband and daughter, has taken a page from a popular new book,The 100 Mile Diet. The 100 Mile Dietchronicles the journey of authors Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, as they attempt to eat nothing but locally grown food for one year. “People think that there’s no way you can do (the 100 mile diet) in Northern Ontario,” said Sulatycky. “At this time of year it’s hard, but in the summer we were able to get 80-90% of our diet from locally grown food.” Sault Star story.
Abattoir Group Getting the Ear Of Chief Vet
A survey suggests Ontario’s small, independent abattoir operators have some major concerns about the regulations they’re facing. Louis Rousch is part of a group representing those operators. He says the survey touched on 19 different questions – but the focus was on food safety. Rousch says he’s optimistic they’re getting a good hearing from Ontario’s Chief Veterinarian on the issue. Rousch says his group met with Chief Veterinarian Doctor Deb Stark last week and have set up another meeting with her on the issue for June. CKNX Radio 920AM Wingham story.
Is the organic food craze losing health battle to ‘local’ labels?
Consumers’ passion for organic food appears to be waning after several years of rapid growth, says a report by the Canadian unit of The Nielsen Company. Sales of organic fruit and produce are still climbing but at slower rates than in previous years, according to the report by Carman Allison, called Keeping it Fresh in the New Economy. The recession has been a factor as budget-conscious shoppers traded down to cheaper non-organic brands. Organic fruits and vegetables are on average 50 per cent more expensive than their conventional counterparts, the Nielsen study found. But certified organic processors also say they face increasing competition from uncertified labels, such as “locally grown†and “natural,†which many consumers believe to be just as beneficial as organic foods. Toronto Star local.
Local Food Key Ag Reference In Throne Speech
The one reference to agriculture in this week’s provincial throne speech talked about creating new opportunities to buy local food. Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell says the government sees it as an opportunity for the province’s farmers. Mitchell says in some countries the retailers share information with the agricultural community to help line up what’s being produced with what consumers are asking for. She says local processors can help match what farmers are producing with what consumers want to buy. Blackwell says they’ve also got a Vintage Machinery show set up for opening day. CKNX Radio 920AM Wingham story.
Ontario Wineries Want Foodland Ontario Logo Use
The group representing over 100 of the province’s wineries wants in on the Foodland Ontario program. The Ontario Viniculture Association says a number of Ontario-grown wines can’t get the Vintners Quality Alliance designation to help consumers identify them on store shelves. The O-V-A says by allowing wines to use the Foodland Ontario designation consumers would be able to find those wines made of 100 per cent Ontario grown grapes. CKNX Radio 920AM Wingham story.
Halton Region first region in Canada to adopt local sustainable food procurement practices
Halton Region has become the first region in Canada to adopt local sustainable food procurement practices for its municipal food services. An agreement with Local Food Plus (LFP) will bring fresh, local sustainable food to the cafeteria at Halton Regional Centre (1151 Bronte Road, view map ), and help support Ontario’s farm economy while reducing green house gas emissions. Milton News story.
The importance of supporting local food
Do you pay attention to where your food comes from? How many carbon emissions were released into the air to get that California apple to you? Have you ever thought about how your food purchases might affect your local economy, the environment or your health? Students and faculty have begun to recognize that local food is a key way to support sustainable initiatives on the University of Guelph campus. As the number one agricultural university in the world, and with its food science department being the largest in the university, the U of G has great resources to support local food initiatives on campus, including celebrating the work Hospitality Services has made in providing local food options on campus. The Ontarion story.
Locavore by Sarah Elton
Elton takes us through a bit of the history of the Toronto Food Terminal. Huge it may be, but it does seem that it is a place where some farmers can bring their produce and sell directly (if they have the time, inclination, resources). The scarier aspect of modern food distribution is the power of the two main grocery store chains (here in Canada, Loblaw and Metro); their buyers decide what products will be featured on stores shelves, thereby influencing what is manufactured and grown to be processed. Book Review on Saving the World in My Spare Time.
Backyard chickens: Fair or fowl?
How are you going to keep them down on the farm once they’ve seen Toronto? One woman, three years into flouting Toronto’s anti-chicken bylaw, wishes that was the biggest issue on her plate when it comes to the banned backyard birds. The Toronto Chicken — the alias she uses for her blog to avoid a raid by bylaw officers — told the Sun she hopes councillors won’t stay chicken forever about allowing the birds in Hogtown yards. “(Councillor) Joe Mihevc is onboard and I think Toronto Public Health is supportive and it actually fits in so perfectly with the new food policy they are working on,†the Toronto Chicken said Tuesday. Toronto Sun story.
Greenbelt Foundation Supporting Local Food
Three of the grants awarded by the friends of the Greenbelt Foundation are related to the local food movement. The foundation is giving the York Region Food Network 45 thousand dollars. That’s for a greenbelt-grown cultural food guide for York Region. The Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance is getting 10 thousand dollars to launch its Greenbeltfresh Online Marketplace. And the Conserver Society of Hamilton is going to use its 85 hundred dollar grant for its 2010 Eat Local Map. One of the Greenbelt Foundation’s major goals is to support a robust agricultural sector in the Greenbelt. CKNX Radio 920AM Wingham story.
AND IF YOU HAVE TIME
Filament Marketing Launches “Farm Fresh Photos”
Filament Marketing, LLC announces the launch of Farm Fresh Photos, a new agricultural stock photography website developed in partnership with Distillery Design Studio of Madison, WI. Online at www.FarmFreshPhotos.com, this innovative new image library represents a collection of photographs taken by individuals deeply involved in the agriculture industry. Farm Fresh Photos provides a source of high-quality, industry stock photo options that represent the essence, emotion and freshness of agriculture – at reasonable prices. All images at FarmFreshPhotos.com are offered on a royalty-free basis, and exclusive usage rights are available. Functioning on keyword search options, Farm Fresh Photos features a lightbox where users can organize their own collection for return reference, and all images are available for online purchase through PayPal and immediate download. Support images suitable for collateral material usage, and technical images for editorial-type use are available at a lower price. AgriMarketing story.