Food for Thought?

With all the discussion about 100 Mile Diets and NOT "Made in Canada" labelling....... someone out there needs to stitch this all together for the Canadian public. What does the continued importation of of our food needs really mean for Canadians? What possible connection can the World Trade Organization (WTO) have to the public when it comes to our food?

It doesn't take long for those in the industry to make a mental leap forward. Of course many in Agriculture know this is about the sustainability of agriculture in general.

Recent high profile shows like Marketplace and W5 have sent the public a jolt but I don't think they (the public) have put the picture together.

I spent over an hour and a half looking for sites within agriculture that would give the consumer what they need to propel their outrage about "Made in Canada" into the next step. I failed to find one site that would help them. I found long term solutions ie) the Green Label concept from the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the GO5 and Farmgate 5, among others. All of these are focused on the Government or specific to the WTO.

If you Google 'domestic food supply' or 'sustainable food', you see a collection of results that talk about the feeding world's poor, organic food production and other broad, dry material, perhaps suitable for governments and intellectuals but not for the public.

Worse, often the answer appears to be Organic food production. This totally discounts the enormous gains made by traditional ariculture. Local food shows up as well. Most of the public think of this as the Farmers Market or the guy down the road who supplies local restaurants or stores.

Not one thing that would help the public understand the immediate and long term danger for ourselves , our food supply, our country or what they can do about it. Not one thing about our food system in this country, what we should keep and celebrate and what they need to ask our governments. Nothing about local or regional foods like dairy products that are here AND in their stores fresh everyday.

The question the industry needs to ask itself is this: "If you have a government that has failed to demonstrate any concrete, positive action for the industry (dairy or others) just what will it take to make them pay attention?"

All the organizations I checked agree that the real power is in the hands of the consumer (public).

It is time someone sat down and put together something for them!!

There are many, many ways to get that to them but if it is NOT in a form they understand and can relate to, the message will be lost.

Supply management and agriculture in this country have struggled for years to mobilize their public. Most of the time it is the WTO and pushing the government of the day, that is the focus.

The industry's biggest challenge to do this would be to agree on the message. If it is the Green Label for "Grown in Canada", all the presentations in the world will not lead to success if the public is not educated about it and brought on board in a big way.

So how about it guys..... let's get going!