Category Archives: International Lessons

Alternatives and solutions to problems or barriers to sustainable local food systems that have relevance in Ontario.

Urban food policies : markets, catering, urban/rural connexions

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International meeting between urban governments, researchers and development stakeholders

An international meeting dedicated to sharing knowledge and practices among local governments of cities and urban regions from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, along with research and development actors…

Beyond urban agriculture… the conference will explore three strategic levers that city and urban region governments can mobilize : markets infrastructure and logistics (wholesale, retail, transportation, etc. ); catering services (school, popular restaurants, street food, etc.); the new forms of connexions between urban and rural areas (twinning, urban investment in agriculture, etc.)…

This conference is organized by the UNESCO Chair on world food systems and the French research center CIRAD  together with the French Agency for Development – AFD, the FAO – Food for the cities program, the RUAF Foundation, the Regions United Organisation (ORU- Fogar),  the Mercadis, Agropolis Fondation and the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind (FPH).

Read more…

Food, Unincorporated.

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Sometimes the best way to fix the system is to start a new one…

Here’s how it works.

  1. Search our diverse, independent shops for seasonal local food. Search by neighbourhood and food category, or whether you prefer delivery or pickup.
  2. Transform your transactions with affordable local food from diverse producers and hubs. Know the stories behind your food and the people who make it!
  3. Hang on for your delivery, or visit your producer or hub for a more personal connection with your food. Food shopping as diverse as nature intended it.

The Australian Open Food Network is the first Open Food Network!  […] Co-founded by Kirsten Larsen and Serenity Hill the Open Food Network started as a little experiment with a van, some farmers and some friends. But right from the start they had systemic change in mind.  Instead of building for one hub, they could see the power of a network.  Instead of designing for one specific distribution model, they designed for diversity and flexibility.  Rather than centralised accreditation, they enabled transparency. Read more…

 

Urban food policies: Markets, catering services, urban/rural connections

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International meeting / Rencontre internationale
Politiques alimentaires urbaines: Marchés, Restauration collective, connexions urbain/rural

16-18 November 2015, Montpellier (France)

The UNESCO Chair on world food systems and CIRAD, gathered together within the Surfood (Sustainable Urban Food Systems) programme, in collaboration with many partners, are organizing an international meeting dedicated to the sharing of knowledge and practices among local governments of cities and urban areas, along with research and development actors. The objective is to contribute through dialogue to a better knowledge and understanding of urban food policies in the world, their construction, modes of action and impacts.
This meeting will provide an opportunity to show that, in addition to national policies and international agreements, cities can also make a vital contribution to food security and sustainable food systems. Read more…

TTIP – Increased Trade for Better Living?

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European policy conference bringing together Civil Society organisations, negotiators and decision makers

Date: 15-16 June 2015
Place: Brussels

The planned free trade agreements between the EU and the US and Canada, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), have stirred heated debates among civil society organisations, which question whether these agreements can achieve their stated aims whilst protecting health. TTIP supporters and negotiators continue to reassure civil society that TTIP would not affect the member states’ sovereign right to regulate and would not lower European public health, agricultural or food safety standards. However, there are legitimate concerns about risks for standard setting and maintenance in the fields of sustainable food, agriculture, health systems, safe labour and animal welfare. Mistrust prevails towards the final outcome of the agreements, since negotiations have taken place behind closed doors and only with civil society pressure have small positive steps towards more transparency been made. Proposed instruments such as regulatory cooperation or the Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) threaten to undermine the right to regulate and the democratic development of legislation.

For conference details and to register…

For the draft agenda…

Measuring Impacts of Community-based Food Initiatives

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The latest ‘Metrics from the Field‘ by Ken Meter, openly available to all at the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development, speaks of ‘Two New Tools for Measuring Economic Impacts‘:

Two new publications are appearing this year that should help shed new light on the ongoing discussion of how we measure the economic impacts of community-based foods initiatives. One offers critical insight, while the second is a very practical guide to compiling an economic case for local foods work. I’ve helped write both.

The critical analysis is an outgrowth of a column I wrote for this journal in January 2011 (Meter, 2011) in which I discussed economic multipliers. I argued that economic impact analyses often are not as useful as they are perceived to be, because the data used in calculating impacts is not as precise as users think it is. Moreover, I found that many local foods initiatives do not lend themselves to analysis through the industry standard software, IMPLAN, because local foods activity is relatively small in comparison with the scale of the databases that the software relies upon. While IMPLAN can be a powerful tool when used in the right manner, I argued that in their early stages for many community foods efforts, measuring the multiplier is not the best use of one’s money. Rather, building new social and commercial linkages, and deepening established ones, within the community will help build the multiplier—which after all is one of the ultimate goals of community-based food activity. This might be a higher priority than generating a multiplier measurement. Read more…

Food Policy and Regional Food Systems

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Opportunities for Networking across Jurisdictions

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

1:00 – 2:15 PM EST

REGISTER for the Webinar

Where does your local food policy council fit within the regional food system? Would you like to play a stronger role in both your locality and at a regional level but not sure how? Functioning with limited resources and volunteer members, it can often be easiest for a food policy council to concentrate locally. By understanding the role of local food policy councils within the context of a regional food system, groups can network across geographies to maximize impact and effectiveness of policy changes.

During this webinar, expert panelists will address a number of big picture questions local food policy councils have about regional food systems, including:

  • The role of local food policy councils within a regional network
  • When is it beneficial to connect across a region
  • How to determine your “region” and what to do when definitions vary
  • Best practices and challenges to organizing and building regional networks, including resources and infrastructure needed

These issues will be addressed to show participants how networking across jurisdictions can positively influence food system change. The webinar will also include time for participant Q&A.

Suggested participants: Food policy council coordinators and members, policy-makers, members of the local and regional food system and food system advocates.
This event is sponsored by the Institute for Public Health Innovation and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
Register here…

FAO presents plan for eradicating hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean

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FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva presented a new regional Plan for Food Security, Nutrition and Hunger Eradication by 2025 during a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)…

The plan… is based on four broad pillars: strategy coordination at the national and regional levels, with a special focus on gender issues; sustainably ensuring access to safe and nutritious foods; widening school feeding programmes with a priority on addressing all forms of malnutrition, from undernutrition to obesity, and; tackling the challenges posed to food security by climate change. Read more…

Mapping the Food Environment project

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Researchers Map City Residents’ Access to Food

(from Columbus Monthly) — Coordinated by Ohio State faculty members, students and community partners—including the Columbus Public Health Department, Franklinton Gardens, Learn4Life Columbus, Local Matters and the Mid-Ohio Foodbank—and funded by the university’s Food Innovation Center, the project combines existing secondary data with the nearly 700 survey responses to examine food security (whether people have consistent access to sufficient and safe food), production and affordability in neighborhoods in the High Street corridor with varying income levels. Read more…

Visit Mapping the Food Environment website.

 

Ile-de-France – A regional strategy for sustainable and local agriculture

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In a region that comprises of 49% agricultural land, the regional government of Ile-de-France (where France’s capital city Paris is located) has recently developed a strategy to better protect this land and connect it with local producers and consumers. The Ile-de-France regional strategy for sustainable and local agriculture recognises that in order to have green cities, there must also be access to local and organic agricultural products. In order to achieve this, the strategy consists of three central pillars:

  • Protect farmlands and make them more accessible to agricultural project leaders

  • Encourage the agro-ecological transformation of existing farmlands

  • Develop and promote local industries

Read more…

Food Hub News from Michigan

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The Center for Regional Food Systems at MSU has recently produced some very useful resources on food hub and food systems development — and the latest is no exception. The Michigan Food Hub Network is a learning community that helps Michigan food hubs to meet their business goals by working cooperatively with public and private partners. The Michigan Food Hub Network: A Case Study in Building Effective Networks for Food System Change (pdf) provides an overview of the network’s creation, implementation, short-term outcomes, and lessons learned in the first 30 months of operation. Download the pdf…