FSC Newsletter - 2012-03
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GENERAL NEWSLETTER 2 March 2012
Meet Our New Team! Diana Bronson - Executive Director
Diana's research, policy and advocacy work has centered on supporting social movements around the world, critiquing international and regional trade and investment agreements, Canadian mining companies, and assessing the social and environmental impacts of emerging technologies. She has participated in many international negotiations on human rights, climate change, technology and sustainable development over the past two decades. She also worked on Parliament Hill from 2006-2008. She lives in Montreal with her family. Amanda Sheedy - Coordinator
In her new role as Coordinator for Food Secure Canada she hopes to build on the momentum of the People’s Food Policy, creating space for all of us to have a say in future food policies. Eric Chaurette - Chair Eric is a co-manager at Inter Pares, an international social justice organization based in Ottawa. Inter Pares, which means "among equals" in Eric is also a co-founder of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, where he was Chair from 2006 to 2011, and of the People’s Food Policy Project. Before joining Inter Pares, Eric worked in environmental education and community-based conservation in remote communities of Quebec and Labrador, and in Latin America. Eric lives in Gatineau, Quebec with his family. Lauren Baker - Vice-Chair
Lauren is the Coordinator of the Toronto Food Policy Council and works with the Food Strategy Team at Toronto Public Health. From 2008-2010, Lauren was the founding Director of Sustain Ontario: The Alliance for Healthy Food and Farming. In 2011 she was named a Tides Canada Visionary for her work bringing farmers, food activists, businesses, food service providers and government together to find solutions to complex food issues. Lauren has a PhD from York University. She is a lecturer at the University of Toronto and a Research Associate with the Centre for Studies in Food Security at Ryerson University. Lauren also likes to get her hands dirty —she was a co-founder of Toronto’s first certified organic urban farm and heritage seed company, started the Toronto Urban Beekeeping Cooperative, and worked with FoodShare as the Urban Agriculture Coordinator for over five years.
Food Secure Canada on Parliament Hill FSC's Senior Policy Advisor, Anna Paskal, recently made a presentation to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in the context of the Growing Forward policy renewal process. Anna's presentation drew on the People's Food Policy and the work of our members across the country to make a case for a Sustainable Local Food Strategy component to the next phase of Growing Forward. To read her statement, please click here. To read notes on what concrete elements of such a strategy may include, please click here. We will post the transcript from the session when it becomes available. A FORK IN THE ROAD: Crossroads for Food Studies
The draft schedule will soon be available (at www.foodstudies.ca), but highlights are sure to include an opening plenary (Food Research in the Age of “Sustainability”), a Graduate student 'social', an international panel on Food Studies and Interdisciplinarity, and a Keynote Address from Terry Marsden (Cardiff University). With fantastic food, farm trips and a full slate of presenters, this will be a CAFS conference to remember! Canadian Wheat Board Lawsuit
The Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) has announced that the law firm of Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP (SGM), working with FCWB counsel, Anders Bruun, has launched a court action in the Federal Court of Canada. The action would restore the Canadian Wheat Board and recover damages farmers have suffered as a result of Ottawa’s tampering with western grain marketing. This news comes as a Manitoban judge rejected the request to suspend a federal law that ends the Canadian Wheat Board's marketing monopoly. More information about the class action can be found at www.cwbclassaction.ca. More Voices Needed on a National Food Strategy Who’s setting the table for the food that Canadians are eating? And who should be involved in establishing a national food strategy for this country? These questions are answered by Steffanie Scott, director of the local economic development program at the University of Waterloo and CAFS Vice President, in an op ed about the Canadian Food Summit, held by the Conference Board of Canada in Toronto earlier this month, and about Food Secure Canada's role in national food policy. Farm to Cafeteria Conferences The Public Health Association of British Columbia presents Farm to Cafeteria: Redesigning the Systems that Feed Us - One Tray at a Time, March 10th at Richmond City Hall. The provincial conference is designed to strengthen and sustain British Columbia’s Farm to Cafeteria movement - a movement that aims to close the distance between farm and fork bringing local, healthy, safe and sustainably produced foods into our schools, universities and hospitals.
The sixth national Farm to Cafeteria Conference, hosted by the National Farm to School Network is being held in Burlington, Vermont from August 2-5, 2012. The organizers have put out a call for workshop and poster proposals - see the submission guidelines here and the proposal submission link here. The deadline for proposals is March 7. The Future of Canadian Food Policy SPECTRUM is proud to introduce its 2012 conference on The Future of Canadian Food Policy, the
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Diana is thrilled to join Food Secure Canada as of late March 2012. Diana is trained as a political scientist and sociologist and has a professional background in journalism and international human rights. In this capacity, she was one of the people bringing forward early work on global economic policy and the right to food. Most recently, she worked with the international technology watchdog ETC Group, known globally for its work supporting food sovereignty and biodiversity. At ETC Group, Diana researched and campaigned against climate-engineering technologies.
Amanda Sheedy loves food, good conversation and any process that deepens our democratic culture. Until recently, Amanda coordinated the People’s Food Policy Project, supporting a citizen-led process that drew on conversations with 3500 Canadians about the food system they want. 
Latin, supports people's struggles for peace, justice, and equality overseas and here in Canada. Since 2005, when he joined the organization, Eric has worked to build greater linkages among social movements for systemic change. This includes active involvement and support for the International Ban Terminator campaign; coordinating public forums to raise critical awareness regarding science, technology and development policies, and their impacts on food sovereignty in Canada and in the Global South.
Lauren Baker is Vice-Chair and Director of Healthy and Safe Food of FSC. She played an active role on the Management Team of the People's Food Policy Project.
fourth annual conference organized by graduate students in Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA). This conference will take place at Carleton University’s River Building on Sunday March 25th, 2012.
