Waterloo Hen Association Promoting small-scale urban henkeeping in the City of Waterloo
Yasaman Munro all are born from, live on, and return to, food (upanishads)
The Canadian Coalition For Green Health Care Promotes environmentally friendly and sustainable health care
WRFoodNews July 29, 2011
Please find the latest Waterloo Region Food News below. WRFoodNews archives can be viewed at http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/wrfoodnews, and you can receive timelier updates by subscribing to the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable’s blog at http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=blog.RSS.
1. Hospitals Introduce Local Food
Select Ontario hospitals and long-term care facilities are trying to overcome their reputation for awful food by introducing local food to their menus. Roundtable member Brendan Wylie-Toal wants hospitals to increase their use of locally produced food to 25 per cent, and he and other local food activists plan to push the issue during the provincial election. For details, see Roundtable blog.
2. Professor Advocates Closing Food Banks
Queens University Professor Elaine Power says food banks give the inaccurate impression that we're alleviating hunger. Read her full column and link to many reader comments on the Roundtable blog.
3. Toronto Reaffirms Local Food Policy
Toronto City Council voted almost unanimously to update its Local Food Procurement Policy on July 12th, reaffirming its commitment to purchase food for City operations in a way that increases the percentage of food that is grown locally "when all factors, including costs, quality and availability are equal." For details, see Roundtable blog.
4. Voluntary guidelines to allow for labelling of world’s genetically modified foods
The Codex Food Labelling Committee voted to allow nations to label genetically-modified (GM) foods, but it will not be mandatory. The Canadian government says it will not change its policy of not labelling GM foods, but the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network promised to step up its campaign to convince it to do so. For details, see first comment on Roundtable blog post.
5. Food Experts Unite in Opposition to Quarry
Leaders of three food policy organizations – Food Secure Canada, Sustain Ontario, and the Toronto Food Policy Council – have come together to voice their opposition to a proposed 2,300-plus acre mega quarry in North Dufferin County. For link to their statement, see Roundtable Discussion Forum post.
6. Food Action Plan for Ottawa
Just Food and the University of Ottawa released a Food Action Plan for Ottawa on June 21st which proposes numerous measures to build a food secure community in Ottawa. For full story, see Roundtable blog.
7. MPP Calls for Gravel Pits Review
MPP Leeanna Pendergast called for a provincial review of the Aggregate Resources Act at a news conference on June 21st. Pendergast’s Kitchener-Conestoga riding includes the covered Kissing Bridge in West Montrose, where Guelph-based Capital Paving proposes to construct a gravel pit just 180 metres from the bridge. For full story, see Roundtable blog.
8. Upcoming Food Events
Not many local Foodie events in the next month: are we all taking time off, or are people just not posting them to the Roundtable’s website?! Post your own Foodie events on our Events page and view details on these and other upcoming events.
National Student Food Summit – August 5-7, University of Toronto
Preston Market Taste-Off – August 22, Preston
Meander and Munch: A Forest Lunch – September 3, Kitchener
Local Food, the $2.4 billion Prospect – September 27, KPL Forest Heights Branch, Kitchener
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