FOOD AND FOOD SECURITY
Building on the success of previous projects, our federation is announcing its fourth Common Threads theme: FOOD and FOOD SECURITY. It is a vital topic so rarely thought about by many of us.
The United Nations defines food security as a condition in which all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
We want to explore a number of questions leading to the development of new classroom material for our schools. What would it take for everyone to have adequate access to affordable and healthy food? Does the development and proliferation of biofuels lead to a reduction in the amount of food being produced? Can we find a balance between fighting hunger, energy security and protecting the environment? How is it possible that we are seeing an increase in both hunger and obesity in our Canadian schools? Food banks are now increasingly seen as permanent fixtures in our communities. Are these food banks a sustainable way of addressing poverty and hunger? Are school based nutrition programs part of the solution? What are the factors leading to the soaring global food prices? What changes need to be made in the way we view food?
These are some of the critical questions our team will explore.
Working with FOODSHARE and the Centre for Studies in Food Security at Ryerson University in Toronto, our team will travel to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, during the first two weeks of August, 2008. Our team will speak to members of government, education, labour and business about these critical questions. Within this community lies a unique local government program created in 1993, which introduces some innovative bases for food security policy. Belo Horizonte is the fourth largest city in Brazil, with a population of over 2.5 million people.
Its child poverty level is slightly higher than that of Ontario. It is believed that the BH program is addressing some of the most significant challenges associated with hunger and malnutrition, and that it could serve as a model for other developing countries, and even a country such as Canada. Brazilian policy makers have been to Canada to examine our Food Bank network and many Canadian researchers are actively engaged in the innovative projects found in Brazil.