WRFoodNews May 19, 2011

Please find the latest Waterloo Region Food News below. WRFoodNews archives can be viewed at http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/wrfoodnews, and you can subscribe to the blog of the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable at http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/index.php?p=blog.RSS.

1. Kitchener Urban Chicken crackdown
The City of Waterloo has attracted a lot of attention in the past couple of years for its public debates at Council on keeping hens in the city, but a recent incident revealed that the City of Kitchener has a by-law prohibiting the keeping of hens, too. Kitchener resident Kourtney Short was recently told by a By-law enforcement officer to get rid of his hens after a neighbour complained to the City. See the details on the Roundtable’s Discussion Forum.

2. Local & Organic Food study released
The Perth-Waterloo-Wellington chapter of Canadian Organic Growers has released a study of organic growers, retailers, and consumers in its jurisdiction. The report reveals a puzzling mismatch of keen consumers willing to go to great lengths to source organic food for their family and growers who are being forced to reduce production because of a shortage of markets for their products. See details in Roundtable blog post.

3. Help advocate for Local Food in Public Institutions
Participants in the recent Waterloo Region Food Summit are beginning to take action to get started on key projects identified at the Summit to make our food system healthier. Brendan Wylie-Toal is looking for people to join him in organizing advocacy efforts to convince local public institutions (e.g. hospitals, schools, universities, municipalities) to buy more local food. To find out more and join the effort, see his Foodie Project description.

4. Help advocate to save small abattoirs
Wellesley holistic nutritionist Margo McIntosh is seeking to recruit volunteers to help her organize to address the dwindling number of small abattoirs in Ontario. “We are spending all kinds of time preaching to the public about buying locally and not doing enough to make sure our farmers can make enough money to stay in business and have the infrastructure to support their farming practices,” she says. To learn more about how you can help, read her Foodie Project description.

5. Local Food, Imported Workers
The next event in the Roundtable's Healthy Food System series is next Tuesday, May 24^th, at 7pm at the Forest Heights branch of the Kitchener Public Library. Dr Janet McLaughlin, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Wilfrid Laurier University's International Migration Research Centre, will speak about the over 30,000 temporary foreign workers from countries such as Mexico, Jamaica, Guatemala and Thailand who come to work annually in Canadian agriculture. Dr McLaughlin will discuss the lives and circumstances of migrant farm workers in Canada, as well as the long-term impacts of migration for both migrant workers and Canadian communities. For details, see Roundtable Events page.

6. International Labeling standards?
The Codex Food Labeling Committee, an international body set up by the United Nations and recognized by the WTO, is considering developing international nutrition labeling standards, but a consumer advocate fears they may not go far enough. Nutritionist Pat Vanderkooy shares details in her Roundtable blog post.

7. Roundtable to co-sponsor new food documentary at the Princess
The Roundtable is co-sponsoring a documentary film showing at The Princess Theatre in Waterloo in mid-June called Forks Over Knives. The film explores the possibility that so-called "diseases of affluence" such as heart disease can be reversed by simply adjusting our diets to include less processed and animal-based foods. See links to trailer, show times and more on the Roundtable's Events page.

8. Upcoming Food Events
You can now post your own Foodie events on our website! Go to our new and improved Events page on the Roundtable's website to view details on these and other upcoming events, or to post your own.

Food School Chicken Dinner Fundraiser – Thursday, May 19, 6:30pm, Elora
Seedling Sale – Saturday, May 21, 9am-noon, Little City Farm, Kitchener
Local Food, Imported Workers – Tuesday, May 24, 7-9pm, KPL Forest Heights branch, Kitchener
Waterloo Chicken Coop Tour – Saturday, May 28, 11am-3pm, various locations, Waterloo
Tomato Seedling Sale – Saturday, May 28, Waterloo
Buy Local! Buy Fresh! Map launch event – Saturday, May 28, 10am-noon, St Jacobs Farmers’ Market
Queen of the Sun – May 31-June 5, various times, Princess Cinema, Waterloo

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