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8 THE RURAL VOICE
Jeffrey Carter
It's true, farmers do feed cities
Jeffrey
Carter is a
freelance
journalist
based in
Dresden,
Ontario.
When I was much younger. and
far more foolish. I didn't think much
about food security beyond having
enough money in my pocket between
pay cheques to meet my personal
needs.
That wasn't a problem, except for
one week in Grande Cache, Alberta. I
learned then that a bag of spuds. a
few onions, salt, pepper, and some
cooking oil can keep a belly full.
These days, food security has
become more involved for my family
and me.
We try to be partially self-
sufficient with a garden and by
preserving fresh produce. There's
also been an effort to establish direct
connections with farmers, people we
trust to deliver on quality.
That's a personal perspective. The
question of food security becomes far
more complex if you're looking to
feed a nation.
Toward that end, the federal
government, through Agriculture and
Agri -Food Canada, went as far as to
establish the Food Security Bureau.
The bureau still exists but doesn't
appear to be particularly active.
When I called the contact number
that was listed, the fellow that
answered seemed almost startled,
said he was busy, and did not call
back as he promised.
I imagined, in my mind's eye,
having disturbed a man sitting idly at
a desk in an otherwise empty room,
somewhere in Ottawa.
The communications person at
Canadian Federation of Agriculture
in Ottawa hadn't heard of the bureau,
but suggested it may have gone out of
vogue with the introduction of the
APF (Agricultural Policy
Framework). Cecilia Rocha,
director of Centre for Studies in Food
Security at Ryerson in Toronto had
heard of it but was not aware of any
recent activities.
The latest progress report on the
bureau's website was released three
years ago.
According to that website, the
bureau is developing a "Plan of
Action" — Canada's contribution to
reducing the number of malnourished
people in the world by half by 2015.
There are a variety of laudable
priorities, such as reducing poverty,
emphasizing food safety, encouraging
rural development, facilitating fair
trade and also recognizing the
importance of local food systems.
The Centre for Studies in Food
Security has also been involved food
security issues since its establish-
ment, a decade ago, but has largely
focussed on the issue from an urban
context. So too has an organization
created just last year, Food Secure
Canada, although the National
Farmers Union is represented in the
organization in an advisory capacity.
Still, some of the right noises,
from a farmer's perspective, are
being made. Food Secure Canada
lists among its goals that "people are
able to earn a living wage ... by
harvesting, growing, producing,
processing handling, retailing and
serving food."
This statement reflects the
production side of the food security
equation. While it's important that all
people have the economic means to
secure a healthy diet, those involved
in the delivery of that diet must have
fair return for their work and
investment.
That has not happened on a
consistent basis on Canadian farms
for many years and it seems that the
full extent of the crisis is only now
being recognized by a smattering of
urban Canadians. Go to a farm
meeting, anywhere in Canada, and
grey heads dominate the rooms.
In order for Canada to have a
secure food supply, the Canadians
involved with its production must be
fairly compensated in order to prod-
uce the full range of foods required
for human sustenance. Food security
is far too important to be left solely to
the whims of the marketplace.°