Food Secure Canada/Sécurité Alimentaire Canada

NEWS

The Coastal Learning Communities Network's working group on Subsistence Fisheries has published a working paper which is available at their website.

The Food Security Policy Group has sent a letter urging the G-8 leaders meeting in Japan in early July, to finally implement some long-term initiatives needed to stem the tide of the food crisis. For the press release in English click here. French version click here.

Food Secure Canada /Sécurité alimentaire Canada and the Food Security Policy Group have issued a statement on the current food crisis: The Food Crisis and How to Beat It. French version click here.

Beyond Factory Farming has launched a counter campaign to the Manitoba Hog industry's attack on Bill 17 which will soon be in Second Reading in the MB legislature. Bill 17 is the law that will make the current partial moratorium on new factory hog farms permanent. BFF and grassroots groups in Manitoba want to get Bill 17 amended so that the moratorium would cover the whole province.

Please check out the new website at http://www.friendlymanitoba.org/

GRAIN has published an article on the ways in which food safety is becoming an important lever to further restructure the rules of international agricultural trade: "Food safety: rigging the game", Seedling, July 2008

The final report of the Commission sur l’avenir de l’agriculture et de l’agroalimentaire Québécois (The Pronovost Commission) is now available, click here. A shorter version is also available in English, click here.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

"Confronting the Global Food Challenge: finding new approaches to trade and investment that support the right to food", November 24-26, 2008, Ecumenical Center, Geneva, Switzerland. Organized by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy with aconsortium of international NGOs including the Canadian Food SecurityPolicy Group.

Conference Papers:
World Agricultural Trade and Human Rights: case studies on violations of the right to food of small farmers - Armin Paasch, FIAN
www.tradeobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=104457
Bridging the Divide: a human rights vision for global food trade - Carin Smaller and Sophia Murphy, IATP
www.tradeobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=104458
An Overview of Human Rights Instruments to Raise Concerns About Trade and Investment Policies - Elvira Domínguez Redondo and Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona
www.tradeobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=104459

Global Gathering on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights! December 1, 2008 - December 4, 2008, Nairobi, Kenya Organized by: ESCR-Net in partnership with the Kenyan ESCR Coalition Contact email for more info: kenya2008@escr-net.org, Website: www.escr-net.org

Food Today Tomorrow Together - Ensuring healthy local food for all Albertans, January 29-31, 2009, Edmonton. Keynote speakers: Thomas Pawlick, Elbert Van Donkersgoed, Carol Off, Herb Barbolet. For information www.foodalberta.org

PAST EVENTS:

The National Assembly 2008 and AGM was held in Ottawa, November 7-10th, 2008, in collaboration with FoodNet Ontario. The conference theme was "Reclaiming Our Food System: A Call to Action".

Food Secure Canada /Sécurité alimentaire Canada: The 2007 Annual General Meeting was held electronically on December 18, 2007. The election of the new Steering Committee also took place electronically. For a list of the new Steering Committee, click here.

Crops, Cars & Climate Crisis: The Global Impacts of Growing Biofuels on Food, Farmers, and Human Rights. A six-city tour with speakers from Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Mali, Mexico, Paraguay, the UK, the US, and the Philippines, took place in Charlottetown, Halifax, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Montreal and Ottawa from April 28 to May 1st, 2008. Hundreds of people attended and there were lively and challenging discussions in each city. For more information, click here.
Presented by: Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, ETC Group, Inter Pares, National Farmers Union, Partnership Africa Canada, The Ram's Horn, USC Canada, Beyond Factory Farming, Union Paysanne, Food Action Committee - Ecology Action Centre Halifax, and P.E.I. Coalition for a GMO-Free Province.

Beyond Factory Farming held a conference on Safe Food. Healthy Communities: Building a Food System That Works for People, Animals and The Environment on February 29 and March 1 in Guelph ON.

The Annual General Meeting of the Food Security Network of Newfoundland and Labrador and the public release of the 'Call to Action' Report from the Food Security Assembly was held on March 1 in St. John's.

The Manitoba Food Charter presented Growing Local, Getting Vocal: Cultivating a Food Secure Future for Manitobans to a sold-out crowd from all over the province at the University of Winnipeg, March 7-8, 2008

Food Secure Saskatchewan annual conference was held April 21-22, with a broad attendance of members and guests from all over the province. The conference, entitled How Does Your Garden Grow? was held at the Senator Allan Bird Memorial Centre, Opawakoscikan Reserve, 851-23rd Street West, Prince Albert.

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BC Food Systems Network Sorrento Gathering, September 14-16, 2007, see www.fooddemocracy.org

Food Secure Saskatchewan, October 17-18, 2007, see Conference Agenda Poster

Food Security Network of Newfoundland and Labrador, October 18-20, 2007, see www.foodsecuritynews.com/

"Bridging Borders Toward Food Security” Vancouver, BC, Canada. October 7-11, 2006
Statement (English); Déclaration (français) from the Fourth Annual Conference of Food Secure Canada in conjunction with the Community Food Security Coalition

Assembly Proceedings and Presentations - 3rd National Food Security Assembly, Waterloo

Third National Food Security Assembly - Waterloo, Ontario - September 30 to October 2, 2005

From our first meeting back in 2001 - WorkingTogether.pdf