What's New
Urgent Action Alert!! New provincial meat inspection regulations threaten small-scale local meat production and consumer access to locally produced, farm-gate meat. As of September 30, 2007, we are no longer able to purchase meat or poultry from our local farmers unless it was processed in a provincially or federally licensed facility. Bringing currently operating unlicensed facilities up to the new standards for licensing is not feasible for most operators. They will not be able to upgrade their facilities, leaving very few, if any, licensed, facilities able to process custom meat, fixed or mobile. Many will be forced out of business, as will the farmers and ranchers that depend on them, the feed and farm equipment suppliers and value added processors that utilize their products. If this is of concern to you, we encourage you to take a few (or many!) minutes to learn more: read the BC Food Systems Network's Statement on the Regulation submitted to the Premier and all relevant Ministers; download our Action Toolkit; and read our Statement on the Regulation submitted to government in 2004. Please share this information as widely as you see fit.
New Resource: The Cost of Eating in BC - 2007 Report. Each year, dietitians throughout BC price a basket of food at a number of grocery stores using a standardized food costing tool called the National Nutritious Food Basket (NFB). The basket contains 66 basic foods that require preparation. The cost of the food basket is then compared to disposable income for a number of family scenarios. For those on income assistance, or with a low earned income, shelter and food costs consume an unreasonable proportion. The 2007 Report can be downloaded here but please note that it is a large file (530KB) for anyone on dial-up.
The following item is not new but continues to be of concern and relevance:
- Action Alert! Join the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism in their opposition to the National Geographic and IBM Genographic Project. This project, also known as the New Vampire Project, expects to collect 100,000 DNA samples from Indigenous peoples around the world. For more information, visit the website of the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism where you can also sign their petition opposing the project.