Alison  Blay-­‐Palmer  Wilfrid  Laurier  University  Nourishing  Communi<es  

Centre  for  Sustainable  Food  Systems  

Why Sustainable?

•  Sustainability  is  about  taking  care  of  things  now  so  present  and  future  genera<ons  are  secure  •  Process  of  moving  towards  a  des<na<on  that  includes:    •  Economic  viability    •  Ecological  resilience  and  health  •  Social  jus<ce    

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JUST,  FAIR  SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  

Social  •  Social  jus<ce:  

• Everyone  has  access  to  healthy  food  at  affordable  prices  and  farm  families  and  other  businesses  along  the  food  chain  can  earn  a  living  wage  from  their  work    

   

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Sustainable  Food  Systems  DEMOCRATIC,  PARTICIPATORY  

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  JUST,  FAIR,  BUILD  NETWORKS,  SOLIDARITY,  CREATE  KNOLWEDGE  FLOWS  

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  SOCIAL  JUSTICE  

REGENERATION,  FLOWS  SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  

Ecological

•  Ecological  resilience  and  health:  • Produce  high  quality,  safe  food  without  compromising  the  land,  seed  and  biodiversity  resources  • E.g.  Pollinators  and  their  habitat  

   

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SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  ECOLOGICALLY  REGENERATIVE  

Photo  by  Erin  Nelson  

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  CLOSED  LOOP  

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  CLOSED  LOOP  

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  SHARING  KNOWLEDGE  

ECONOMIC  VIABILITY  SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  

Economic •  Economic  viability  for  rural  communi<es  and  farm  families,  with  an  emphasis  on  local  where  feasible  

• Provides  communi<es  with  more  resources  making  them  more  vibrant  (Williams  et  al.  2013  –  Func<onal  economy)  • e.g.  mul<plier  effect  =  1.4  for  large  farms  and  2.6  where  small  scale  farms  predominate  (Meter  2008)  • Sustain,  Avalon,  2012  

     

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SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  DIVERSE,  MULTIFUNCTIONAL  

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  ECONOMICALLY  DIVERSE  AND  RESILIENT  

INTERNATIONAL  CONTEXT  Why  sustainability?  

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SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  USDA  FOOD  HUB  STUDY,  2013,  NUMBER  OF  YEARS  IN  OPERATION  62%  IN  OPERATION  FOR  LESS  THAN  5  YEARS    

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  USDA  FOOD  HUB  STUDY,  2013,  OPERATIONAL  STRUCTURE  47%  NON-­‐PROFIT  OR  CO-­‐OP    

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  USDA  FOOD  HUB  STUDY,  2013,  PERCETN  OF  FARMS  THAT  ARE  SMALL  OR  MID-­‐SIZED  76%  ALL  OR  MOST  

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  USDA  FOOD  HUB  STUDY,  2013,    PRODUCER  PRACTICES  Antibiotic-free, 49 % “prefer”, 43 % “require” Free-range / Pasture-raised, 60 % “prefer”, 35 % “require”  

SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  USDA  FOOD  HUB  STUDY,  2013,    CHANGES  IN  PRODUCER  PRACTICES  

Interna<onal  bodies  •  World  Commihee  on  Food  Security:  –  Emphasis  on  small  shareholder  –  Poverty  allevia<on  – Ac<on  orienta<on  

•  East  Asian  Summit:  – Ahen<on  to  both  food  and  energy  security:  

•  “Promote  responsible  agricultural  investment  that  respects  rights,  livelihoods  and  resources”  

•  “Sustainable  food  security  is  an  important  element  in  EAS's  long-­‐  term  sustainable  future,  and  has  a  direct  impact  on  the  people  of  the  region,  the  leaders  agreed,  while  no<ng  that  it  also  overlaps  with  many  key  areas  of  the  EAS,  such  as  the  environment,  energy,  global  health  and  connec<vity.”  

EU  Consulta<on  on  Food  System  Sustainability  •  Exploring  type  and  scale  of  ac<on  for:  •  Technical  knowledge  on  environmental  impact  of  food  •  S<mulate  sustainable  food  produc<on  and  consump<on  •  Reducing  food  waste  and  loss  •  Improving  policy  coherence  

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Australia – National Food Plan $1.5  million  AU  Build  and  diversify  agriculture  

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Na<onal  Food  Plan  (2012:3)  

•  “Our  food  system  isn’t  just  about  high  yield  agriculture  and  exports,  it  is  also  about  local  communi<es  growing,  preparing  and  sharing  food.  We  are  commihed  to  suppor<ng  the  growing  numbers  of  farmers’  markets,  food  sharing  networks  and  community  gardens  around  the  country.  We  will  also  work  to  embed  food  and  agriculture  within  the  na<onal  curriculum  so  that  our  kids  know  where  food  comes  from  and  value  the  hard  working  Australians  who  produce  it.”  (Minister  of  Agriculture)  

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UNCTAD  Trade  and  Environment  Review  (2013)  

 •  “…the  need  for  a  two-­‐track  

approach  that  dras<cally  reduces  the  environmental  impact  of  conven<onal  agriculture,  on  the  one  hand,  and  broadens  the  scope  for  agro-­‐ecological  produc<on  methods  on  the  other.”  

hhp://unctad.org/en/Publica<onsLibrary/ditcted2012d3_en.pdf  

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SUSTAINABLE  FOOD  SYSTEMS  PLACE-­‐BASED  –  KEEP  VALUE  IN  LOCAL  ECONOMY  –  FAIR,  JUST,  INCLUSIVE  –  BUILD  REGIONAL  SOCIAL,  KNOWLEDGE  AND  PHYSICAL  CAPACITY  –  ECOLOGICALLY  REGENERATIVE  

Thank  you    

alison.blaypalmer@gmail.com    

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