Where in the World Does Your Food Come From?
What is the purpose of an entire resource kit dedicated to the issues of food? And why should my students care? In Canada, many of us take food for granted; it is not an "issue" many people think about. Our supermarkets appear to be full of food and prices are largely affordable. Canadians spend only 14.2% of their income on food, the 2nd lowest in the world.
Yet, food insecurity remains a reality for many people. Over a million Canadians, half of whom are children, go hungry every day. Few communities have more than 3-4 days worth of food stockpiled for emergency situations,3 and much of the food available in supermarkets is unnatural and unhealthy. People have lost their knowledge of nutrition and the ability to grow their own food. We are incredible dependent on a system that we have little control over. The average piece of food travels 2000km to reach us, spending days, even weeks, between harvest and consumption, losing taste and nutritional value along the way.
There are ecological and economic problems with this kind of food system. It relies on a network of production, processing and distribution that for the most part is energy intensive and environmentally harmful. Ownership of the inputs for production, means of production, processing, transportation, wholesale and retail of food is concentrated in the hands of a few large-scale agribusinesses. In fact, only six companies control 70% of global agricultural trade. This concentration leaves little room for social accountability in decision-making. Workers in developing countries are exploited with low wages and unhealthy working conditions, while growing food for our markets. Small Canadian farmers are squeezed out of business by high operating costs and unfair competition from big businesses.
In Canada, farmers, consumers, community developers, environmentalists and social justice workers have come together to re-evaluate the process of food production and distribution. Taking inspiration from places such as Cuba, where the food system has been turned around from being almost entirely dependent on imports to being almost entirely self-sufficient, these people have facilitated the re-emergence of local food systems in Canada. Their work has resulted in a flourishing of community ventures such as farmers' markets, urban gardens and Community Shared Agriculture across the country. Collectively, these projects mark the re-emergence of local food systems and symbolize powerful examples of alternatives to the global food system.
In this resource kit, you will find a number of activities and resources to assist you in guiding students through the web of the global food system. You will take them on a journey from the realities of a global import-based food system to the positive alternatives found at a local level. Students will explore where their food comes from, "travel" to Cuba to learn about the revolution in food production there, and use their insight to envision a sustainable food system in their own hometown.
Your students may never see food the same way again!