OTTAWA -- This
year’s World Food Day, on October 16th, has a theme of ‘Food Prices—From Crisis
to Stability’ which highlights the need for food security, especially for those
in poverty. “Lack of stability in food
prices makes life very difficult for farmers and this has a ripple effect that
particularly hits hard for the poor.
World Food Day reminds us that the whole picture must be addressed,”
said Green Leader Elizabeth May. “My own
riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands is an incredibly productive agricultural region
and as Member of Parliament, I am continually working for more support of our
farmers.”
The World
Bank reports that in this past year, almost 70 million people have been pushed
into extreme poverty due to rising food costs.
“In Canada, we can best address food security
by continuing to support family farms, local farmers’ markets, and organic
agriculture.
Creating communities that are connected to
their food is part of creating a healthy, resilient society, especially needed
with the climate crisis” said May.
Over the
last fifty years, federal policies and subsidies have tended to promote giant
agribusinesses. This shift has given multinational corporations control over
our food supply. Meanwhile, farmers increasingly rely on off-farm income to
survive and young farmers find it difficult to get started. The Green Party calls for the restructuring
of our agricultural markets to sustain farming and provide farm families with a
fair share of the consumer food dollar.
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Contact Information:
Rebecca Harrison
media@greenparty.ca
c: 905.999.5479