Food for Thought – and action – in Edmonton

November 1, 2012

For immediate release

EDMONTON  -- The biggest recall of meat in history, a report which calls for action on the depletion of salmon in BC, ongoing debates on food safety and childhood obesity and widespread hunger in Canada's north will be among the topics that hundreds of people will be debating at the 7th National Assembly of Food Secure Canada (FSC).  Powering up! Food for the Future, will be held at NAIT (the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) from November 1-4, 2012 and is being organized in collaboration with the provincial network, Growing Food Security in Alberta (GFSA).

Over 300 activists, academics, farmers, community workers, youth, Indigenous and Northern peoples will gather to share, learn, and strengthen their commitment to Food Secure Canada’s core goals:  zero hunger, healthy and safe food, ecological agriculture. Some of the program highlights:

Friday 2 November is an action packed day that begins with the Opening of the Conference at 8:45, followed by a plenary session dealing with local food dilemmas: "Local and Just or Just Local" where an expert panel including farmers, academics and community workers will debate the elitism that could characterize a new trendy focus on local food.  That will be followed by a much-awaited session to debate the City of Edmonton's new Food and Ag Strategy -- something that has attracted hundreds of Edmontonians to hearings at City Council – some of which will be going on at the same time!

Friday night features a stunning panel of leading thinkers on questions related to Energy, Resilience and the Future of Food, to be moderated by Edmonton businessman/writer Jim Hole. How do the Indigenous peoples affected by the oil sands, African organizations resisting climate change, the cooperative movement and technology watchdogs characterize the food-climate connection and what should be done about it?  Join us at the Expo Centre at 7 pm to find out.

Saturday morning will begin with a bang as 5 leaders of the food movement quiz federal MPs about poverty, student nutrition, food in remote communities, the federal agricultural policy framework and adequacy of beef safety regulations. NDP MP Malcolm Allen and Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett have confirmed their participation and an invitation has been sent to every Conservative MP in the country. Other sessions cover issues like seeds, GM crops, young farmers, commodity prices, permaculture, migrant workers, land grabs, human rights, children and gardening. We shall finish the day with a celebratory feast:  Taste and Sounds of Alberta featuring local fare at the Common Market Area of NAIT.  Tickets available for $30 at NAIT at the registration table.

Sunday will feature a movement building plenary with an inter-generational dialogue on how to achieve the kind of change we want to see, as well as a session on “charity chill” and how new rules on non-profits are scaring some people away from being critical of the government!

Registration is now open to the public and full program information is available at www.foodsecurecanada.org.

Food Secure Canada and GFSA gratefully acknowledge the support of our sponsors.

-30-

For more information:

Diana Bronson, FSC, Tel: : 514 629 9236 (Diana@foodsecurecanada.org)

Or Nydia Daupin, FSC : 819-598-4416 (nydia@foodsecurecanada.org)

Susan Roberts, GFSA  Cell: 780-445-4788