BC Food Systems Network
New! Gathering Call for Proposals. It's time once again to start thinking about the B.C. Food Systems Network Gathering that will take place on September 24, 25 & 26, 2009 in Chehalis. While our Gathering Co-ordinator will ensure that all the pieces come together for the event, it is the Network Membership that creates the Gathering each year. Please visit our What's New page and read the Call for Proposals to help identify the ways in which we can each contribute. To review what took place at last year's Gathering, visit our Network Notes page and download the 2008 Gathering Report.
New! Thanks to a financial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Network was able to undertake a project to upgrade our communications. This website has been re-coded and updated to meet the web standards of the World Wide Web Consortium and is now fully accessible for those with a range of visual impairments, from colour blindness to cataracts to loss of sight. We are very pleased that our information is now available to a wider portion of our communities.
What is A food system?
A food system is the deliberate organization of the production, processing, distribution, selection and consumption of food. The dominant food system in North America is industrial: that is, it emphasizes mechanical over organic and a capital-intensive rather than labour-intensive production, processing and distribution methods. It is oriented toward global trade rather than the satisfaction of local needs, and is controlled by a handful of large transnational corporations.
The BC Food Systems Network
The Network was formed in September, 1999, to link people all over the province involved in community-level action related to food. In keeping with the holistic perspective of the local food security and food policy organizations, the Network emphasizes the way in which food issues cross cultures, sectors, and age groups. Through an email network and annual meetings, we share insights, initiatives, strategies and critical analysis of events in the food system and our own work.
The BC Food Systems Network became a registered B.C. Society in October, 2004. Membership (and access to our electronic list serve) is open to anyone who supports our mission and democratic, inclusive process. Download the Membership Form or, if you wish to join our listserve without becoming a Member, simply submit your request through our contact page.
We have held an Annual Gathering in September of each year since 1999, during which the Network's Annual General Meetings are held.
What is Wrong With Our Food System?
We are outraged at the level of hunger and malnutrition in a society where food is plentiful. In a wealthy society, social welfare payments which do not assure personal food security are unacceptable. We cannot rely on overburdened and understocked food banks; nor can we continue to implement support programs which leave out critical constituencies (eg. babies between 6 months and 5 years old).
The contamination of breast milk is an appalling symbol of one of the major problems in a system which can be described as "abuse of the planet". Genetic engineering of food and seeds must be stopped.
The high level of corporate and external control of our food system, coupled with "free trade" agreements, is undermining local agriculture and food production. It also leaves us highly vulnerable to an emergency since we do not have control of our own food resources.
We are losing the essential arts of farming, gardening, foraging, identifying edible and medicinal plants, cooking, preserving and storing foods, and the cultures and community sharing that have accompanied them. The connection of food and food security to every sector and level of society is ignored as governments and ministries contradict or undermine one another's actions, and community groups are given no voice in policy-making. This must change!
We need an agri-food policy which crosses jurisdictions to provide the framework within which it is easier for individuals to make good choices. The motto should be partnership among Ministries, various levels of government, and the civil society organizations which are taking leadership in food security work.
