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!

Nov 11, 2007

In Flanders Fields the cannons boom,

And fitful flashes light the gloom;

While up above, like eagles, fly

The fierce destroyers of the sky;

With stains the earth wherein you lie

Is redder than the poppy bloom,

In Flanders Fields.

Sleep on, ye brave! The shrieking shell,

The quaking trench, the startling yell,

The fury of the battle hell

Shall wake you not, for all is well;

Sleep peacefully, for all is well.

Your flaming torch aloft we bear,

With burning heart and oath we swear

To keep the faith, to fight it through,

To crush the foe, or sleep with you,

In Flanders Fields.

~~By J.A. Armstrong.~~

Follow this link for a look at last year's Rememberance Day Tribute.

A Watershed Moment??

On CTV National news last night a segment of W-5's season opener: "Safe to Eat?", was aired as 'news'. Hot diggity.. maybe now the government will pay attention.

So, just for fun I visited our friendly neighbourhood CTV W-5 sites and CBC Marketplace to see what has been happening since both these shows aired.

Certainly the CBC site has more to offer in visible feedback from the consumers who viewed the show. Comments on the site are growing by leaps and bounds. Most consumers are shocked. Many seem to view to current state of affairs on "Made in Canada" as a government betrayal of a public trust!! Hmmmm. This sounds promising.

The comments do cover a wide range of thoughts on the issue, from alternate strategies to protect themselves to complaints about the choice of food retailers and processors. All of them are wonderfully illuminating.

Taken together, they point to the massive disconnect the public has with the source of their food. This is not their fault. The struggles farmers have had with WTO policies and the results, processors and their bottom lines and a lot of other stuff, just isn't 'out there'. If it does hit the media, few make the connection to themselves and their futures or their food. They just don't have enough information to do that.

Agriculture must help them understand what the risks are, what is going on out there and what we might need to do to 'fix' this current state of affairs. But if they come up with something, it must get media exposure. Somehow, it is to be hoped that their messages are heard.

CBC's Marketplace, Too?!

While the buzz about the up-coming show for W-5 has been spinning out there in Internet land, this came back in!

CBC's Marketplace did a show this week too! Aired on Wednesday evening they deal with the Made in Canada label and consumer's feelings both before and after their investigation. The headline reads: It says "Product of Canada" on the package, but the food is really from China. Or New Zealand. Or...

CBC also has extensive written information on how to ensure you really get domestic food AND a comments section that is quite revealing. If you have Facebook connections DO pass this around. As consumers we need to know and be educated about this farce in labelling.

Two networks on the same topic on investigative shows in ONE week. WOW!!!!

Watch CTV's W-5!!!

This Saturday evening, CTV's W5 has it's season opener. They have been advertising it all week. The topic should have every farmer in the country glued to the set. 'Safe to Eat?' should wake up and help to educate consumers. From talking to many of them I know that the average shopper still doesn't understand how little protection they have or how exposed they are by the inadequacies of the "Made in Canada" label.

The missing backbone in the "Made in Canada" legislation has also exposed many of our domestic farmers to ruin as processors take advantage of the "holes" in the labelling guidelines that allow them to import vast quantities of cheap food, simply to re-package it. The poor consumer thinks they are being protected by our pitiful "Made in Canada" label.

I can hardly believe that someone has finally picked up this issue. So far, mainstream media has skated around the edges of this one.

Farmers are being handed a prime time springboard and they better be prepared to leap!

On the Public Radar-Not Yet!

In the past few months, as environmental issues take over the public imagination, the term "Local Food", has become widely used. But our governments' and indeed many of the farm organizations in this country, have paid little heed or have been ignoring the immediacy of this issue.

There have been 'baby steps'. Ontario has pumped millions of dollars into it's Foodland Ontario program to help Ontario residents identify and look for Ontario grown produce and fruit. It has had some impact in that retailers were paying attention and put those products front and centre with the logo. So far it falls short of the mark I believe it needs to hit.

Consumers need more than that during the winter months when imports are rampant.

Quebec farmers have taken another road to raise the profile of the concept of 'food sovereignty', which ultimately should be any governments bottom line. A declaration has been signed on the issue by more than 40 Quebec organizations. The GO5 ( Coalition for a Fair Farming Model)intend to raise the profile with the Quebec government and other farm organizations in Canada.

Ontario supply managed farmers have a program as well. Not as well supported as it could be, never the less, it is supportive of the Quebec concept. Known as the FarmGate 5 , it has the attention of the Ontario Liberal Government caucus. Many individual MPP's have signed it too.

Dairy Farmers of Canada has started to talk about and discuss food sovereignty too.

Unfortunately, none of these groups have come to the realization that their consumers must howl, to really get some government attention. They have taken the slow road. A many pronged approach with big bucks is imperative. Consumers must go to their grocery stores and be angry they cannot get or identify, clearly marked, real Canadian food products. They need to understand the incredible danger current global food policies have exposed them to.

They need to be reminded that our border was closed in the not too distant past (BSE). It can and will happen again. It is only a matter of 'when'. They need to know that their food supply in this country is at risk because many food processors have moved (along with everyone else) to greener pastures off-shore. They need to know that this has not happened with supply managed food because of it's domestic focus.

This is a large undertaking and several levels of advertising support will be needed. It is the only way to empower consumers, who need to understand their own food system much, much better than they do now.

With environmental issues so high on the radar screen, there is a good news story to tell and an urgent warning to all Canadians. The land has to be preserved. The farms must survive. Domestic food processing is an imperative. We ignore these issues at our peril. Farmers must find a way to educate their base support, Canadians who care. They DO, in much larger numbers than anyone realizes. -CG

Cheesed Off!!!!

I was very surprised last evening to see an extensive report on the CTV National news about the new cheese regulations. CTV covered the story but to me the most important part of the issue for the public was either missed or ignored by the media.

They had quotes from several organizations, none who are happy about the new regs. All were referring to the old saw about increased consumer prices. Their new twist is this is bad for consumers because the additon of milk will make it harder to provide 'low-fat' cheeses!!! Back to the 'fat attacks'!!!!

There was a brief clip of the Chair of Dairy Farmers of Canada talking about this 'consistency' being good for consumers.

The real issue and message seemed to disappear in all the hyperbole. This is of course the fact that many ingredients in use now can be from Canada but are not necessarily from Canada. Expediency, amounts available and of course price, all impact the country used as the source of the stuff.

In my consumer mind the only thing I want to know is that the stuff IS from Canada. Period.

Not China, the USA or Europe or Asia or India ....... Canada. Until cheese manufacturers can answer that question, they need to get off the pot. Label the stuff so I don't have to guess. Lots of others do. The public wants decent labelling and 'made in Canada' laws that give us real information.