FSC Newsletter - 2012-11
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GENERAL NEWSLETTER 27 November 2012
FSC Activities 1. Finance Committee School Nutrition Program 2. Sharing our Stories - Feeding My Family with Eric Joamie and Leesee Papatsie FSC 2012 Assembly Wrap Up! 3. Assembly Records and Surveys 4. Kathryn Gwun-Yeen Lennon's Poem 5. AGM & 2012-2013 Steering Committee 6. FSC Youth Caucus 7. FSC Networks 8. Power Up! in the Media 9. Statement Regarding the National Beef System Food Security in the News 10. Conference Board Food Security "Cartel" 11. Proposition of New Federeal Bill to Reduce Acceptable Canadian Sodium Levels 12. New Report: The Economic Cost of Food Monopolies 13. Report on Wild Salmon in Fraser Lake Published: 75 Recommandations on the Table 14. Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Commit to Moving Forward on Poverty Reduction Upcoming Events 15. Online, November 19-30: Ten Experts, Ten Essays, One Topic: Making the Food System Work for Women 16. Live webcast, November 27: “The Right to Food: A Weapon Against Global Hunger” 17. Ottawa, November 29: Experts Debate Value of Local Food Systems 18. Ottawa, December 11: Poverty-Free Canada Dignity for All Summit 19. Webinar, December 13: Breadlines, Sweet Charity and Beyond: a Conversation with Jan Poppendieck & Nick Saul
1. Standing Committee on Finance: Pre-Budget Hearings Did you know that the first year of a federal national student nutrition program (eg. a mid-morning snack for all elementary and secondary school students) could be completely financed by a .05 tax on sugar-sweetened beverages? Diana Bronson represented Food Secure Canada at the pre-budget hearings of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance on November 20. As mandated by our Assembly, we highlighted the People’s Food Policy and more specifically a national school nutrition program. Read our brief and watch the live presentation. Thanks to FoodShare Toronto, the Quebec Weight Coalition everyone else who helped us crunch the numbers. Stay tuned for more budget input via the CCPA’s Alternative Federal Budget process which for the first time will have a chapter on food! 2. Sharing our Stories - Feeding My Family: a Story of Grassroots Organizing in Northern Canada with Eric Joamie and Leesee Papatsie Teleconference, December 4, 1pm EST The Feeding My Family Facebook Group has been working hard to bring awareness to the fact that the HIGH COST OF FOOD is preventing many Northerners from living healthy, happy and productive lives. From Northern Labrador in the east, to Northern Alaska in the west, we are using this group as a forum where Northerners can come together to work toward positive change, despite the distance that separates our communities. In the spring and summer of 2012 Nunavut saw protests across the territory denouncing the high cost of food and the federal government's denial of the food security problem faced by 70% of Inuit homes. Join Eric Joamie, one of the co-founders of Feeding My Family, to hear the story of this group and what they hope to do in the future. Register here. The Northern or Remote Food Network will be meeting immediately after this presentation to discuss how we might support Feeding my Family and work together for change.
We are all powered up from an amazing gathering of people and ideas from across the country! Thanks to all who made this assembly so rich, especially our local partners Growing Food Security in Alberta and the wonderful team at NAIT. There were 4 plenaries, 40 workshops and many formal and informal meetings of FSC networks -- around the federal budget, the new farmers’ initiatives, the launch of a campaign for a national student nutrition program, a dialogue with MPs and food movement policy experts, not to mention great food, poetry, music and renewal of old friendships. Former Steering Committee members Cathleen Kneen and Wayne Roberts were honoured for their outstanding contributions to food movement and the Cathleen Kneen Award for “vision, leadership and a demonstrated commitment to grassroots activism” was inaugurated. 3. Assembly Records and Surveys Soon, thanks to the amazing technical team at NAIT, our four plenaries will be available on our website. There will be lots more in the coming weeks, as we share summaries of our workshops and eventually, an assembly report. For those of you who took pictures and filmed segments of the Assembly, don’t forget to send them to Nydia at nydia@foodsecurecanada.org. If you haven’t filled out your Assembly Evaluation Form, it’s not too late to send it in. You can send your completed form by mail at: Food Secure Canada/Sécurité alimentaire Canada 3720 du Parc, suite 201 Montreal, QC H2X 2J1 So far, well over 90% of participants rated our Assembly good or very good. We are also collecting additional information from attendees who came on behalf of an organization. Please complete this short survey to help us assess the direct and indirect impacts of our Assembly. 4. Hunger is Inherited - a Poem by Kathryn Gwun-Yeen Lennon Kathryn performed her magnificent poem Hunger is Inherited during the closing plenary of the assembly and brought many of us to tears. Listen here. 5. AGM and 2012-2013 Steering Committee Meet our new Steering Committee. Please visit our website to read the Steering Committee members’ bios and AGM documents. Note in particular the report from the Governance Sub-Committee. All federally incorporated non-profits need to update their bylaws by October 2014 and we have a committee hard at work, keeping FSC strong, accountable to its members, and ready to build for the future. Your involvement in this process is welcome -- contact Diana at director@foodsecurecanada.org to know more. 6. Youth Caucus at FSC Assembly Young people from across Canada are passionate about food issues. Building on community and campus work and the energy generated at PowerShift Canada, youth at the National Assembly in Edmonton organized an impromptu meeting. On Saturday evening, a group of 15 youth discussed the role that FSC could play in bringing together young people from across the country and supporting their work. We decided to set up an FSC Youth Caucus in order to help: · Provide mentorship for youth with food movement leaders; · Build skills and leadership · Get youth issues on the FSC agenda; · Share challenges, successes, and lessons learned; and · Strategize and mobilize youth around national issues. The next meeting will be on November 30th at 1pm EST. Contact Nydia if you would like to participate at nydia@foodsecurecanada.org! 7. Working Together - FSC Network Meetings at the Assembly FSC has several new networks that work year round to address some of the priorities of the Resetting the Table: A People’s Food Policy for Canada. They allow members to share information and experience about different successes and challenges faced across the country. The network meetings that took place at the Assembly created great momentum and gave us some rough plans for the coming year. Read a sample of what we decided on at the meetings and visit our Get Involved page and sign up to receive more information about the work of these networks. 8. Powering Up! Food for the Future in the News! See media coverage of the Assembly here. 9. Statement Regarding the National Beef System The recent XL Foods recall, the largest in Canadian history, shows the kinds of problems that come up when there is over-concentration in the food industry. Three hundred participants at Food Secure Canada’s National Assembly in Edmonton (1-4 November) adopted this statement of concern and recommendations on what steps should be taken to fix a broken system. Read more.
10. Conference Board Tests the Waters What does the Canadian food industry think a national food strategy should contain? That is the question the Conference Board has endeavoured to answer a process led by “investors” Loblaws, Maple Leaf Foods, Heinz, Nestlé, Parmalat (amongst others) and various government departments -- each of which needed to invest tens of thousands of dollars just to sit at the table! Not surprisingly, civil society voices are few and far between -- mostly foundations who have the resources to participate. Read more. 11. Federal Bill Proposes to Implement Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada A new federal bill has been proposed to tighten sodium content regulations in Canada. Read the Press Release from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. 12. The Economic Cost of Food Monopolies A recent report from Food & Water Watch explores the ever increasing concentration of economic power present in the agriculture and agrifood industries of the USA. But in economic terms, what are the costs associated with such practices on farmers and consumers? This report answers this question through the examination of five case-studies of agribusiness concentration. Read more. 13. Report on Sockeye Salmon in Fraser River is out: 75 Recommendations on the Table to Protect Wild Salmon
The Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River is out. The David Suzuki Foundation says the results are “blueprint for an integrated salmon rebuilding plan for Canada”. Read more.
14. Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Commit to Moving Forward on Poverty Reduction Last month, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. to collaborate on implementation of the Makimaniq poverty reduction plan. Read more.
15. Oxfam: Ten Experts, Ten Essays, One Topic: Making the Food System Work for Women From November 19 to November 30. Online. Tuesday, November 27, 3:00 - 4:00 pm EST. Live Webcast available. 17. Institute for Social and Economic Analysis: Experts Debate Value of Local Food Systems Thursday, November 29, from 7:00-9:00pm. Carleton University, Robertson Hall, Room 608. 18. Webinar: Breadlines, Sweet Charity and Beyond: a Conversation with Jan Poppendieck and Nick Saul Thursday, December 13 , 12:00-1:00pm EST 19. Dignity for All Campaign for a Poverty-Free Canada’s Food Security Policy Summit Ottawa, December 11, 8:30am – 4:30pm. Register by December 1st. Dominion Chalmers United Church, 355 Cooper St., Ottawa Representatives of major policy organizations working on poverty issues are invited. To participate, please contact Brad Wassink (brad@cpj.ca) by December 1st.
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