Webinar with UN Right to Food brings Canadian food advocates together
Posted: March 8, 2013
Categories: Food in the News / Food in the News / News from Sustain Ontario
By Alison Schneider
Image Credit: Food Secure Canada.
On March 4, 2013, 50 communities across Canada joined a live Food Secure Canada webinar to engage with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter on his country report on Canada. Although released December 24th, the report was presented to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council on March 4th and received official reaction from the Government of Canada. The social media presence and coverage by media outlets such as CBC, The Star, and a debate on the CBC program Power and Politics has publicised the food movement and De Schutter’s report.
The webcast allowed communities to speak directly to De Schutter in Geneva, asking him how to improve the food security of their communities. Participating in this conversation made local food groups a part of the greater food movement in Canada, as all provinces and territories were represented at the webinar. The questions coming from across Canada focused on strategies to keep food local, support agricultural communities and indigenous traditional foods, as well as make nutritious food accessible to the poorest in Canada. De Schutter repeatedly emphasized that a national food policy, created by the people and brought with a groundswell of support to the Government, would pressure the Government to ensure that food is a fundamental human right to all communities in Canada.
De Schutter visited Canada from May 6 to 16, 2012 at the invitation of the Government, meeting with indigenous and food action groups throughout the country.