Food Policy In Vancouver- Yona Sipos discussion in L’Express du Pacifique, vol. XI, 26
Submitted by vfpc on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 14:21
The food crisis is still lurking, even in Vancouver. I sat down with Yona Sipos, member of the Vancouver Food Policy Council (VFCP) for an update on the group’s initiatives.
‘Bees’, ‘chicken’ and ‘Vancouver’, three words put together in the same sentence. Is that possible? For Yona Sipos, it’s straightforward: “Bees are legal under certain guidelines. Chickens are on the table for discussion in Vancouver”. Yona Sipos is one of twenty members of a special council that, since 2004, tackles important food initiatives in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland: the Vancouver Food Policy Council (VFPC).
Volunteer researchers, nutritionists, ecologists, farmers meet once a month to look at our food system under the magnifying glass: food production, processing, distribution, access, consumption and waste management. “We don’t make policy” insists Yona. The VFPC makes recommendations to City Hall on policies that answer particular community needs in order to create a “just and sustainable food system”.
The council’s initiatives aim to improve food education, public and environmental health: urban bee keeping, community gardens and farmers markets are a few examples of successful projects. The policy revision on backyard chickens in Vancouver was put forward to City Council. A vote will soon take place on the issue.
Food policy councils have been trendy in the past ten years and follow Toronto’s pioneer trail. There is a council in Kamloops and even Seattle. Nowadays, it is difficult to make a direct connection between the farmer and the consumer. Thanks to the integrated approach of its members, the VFPC draws a better picture of our food system to better address its gaps.
Solving the problem of food security
Food security goes further than bacterial contaminations such as those detected at Maple Leaf Foods or Peanut Corporation of America. The definition comes from the World Food summit of 1996: “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.
“We are not food secure”, smiles Yona. Regarding food access, several scenarios can be imagined. For economic reasons a family under the poverty line will lack food security. Food access could also become an issue when depending on imports from suppliers in far away countries. No delivery, no food.
The report on Vancouver’s food security status issued last December defines the food gap “as the difference between local food production capability and total food consumption needs”. In 2006, this gap represented 843,000 tons and is expected to reach 1.3 million tons in 2020.
Relocalization and Reconnection
“One of the explicit ways to be food secure is through processes of relocalizing food systems where possible”, explains Yona, “without excluding international or provincial trade. We produce enough apples in BC to feed everyone all year, hands down” she adds “but we can’t produce coffee”. That will have to be imported.
To catalyze local and urban food production, the VFPC organizes workshops on community gardens (we are expecting 2010 additional community gardens for 2010). The policy revision on backyard chickens will also be a step in the right direction; not only for food security, but also to reconnect people with food and nature. “Food policies guide people to reconnect with their food” explains Yona, “Something really incredible happens when people participate in the production of their own food“.
The big challenge for the VFPC is managing all this food information, because “in two generations a lot of information has been lost”. The food system is so complex that reforming it will take time and continuous community input. Despite how strange urban agriculture may sound to city folks, public responses on the council’s initiatives have been positive. The 150 seats of the last public forum of the VFPC filled up in 72 hours!
Spring is just around the corner and gardeners are anxious to get their hands dirty once again. Despite her background in botany, every year, when Yona sees her first sprouts of pees or beets, she can’t help thinking that “it’s magic!”
Thanks to Mike for translating and posting on Mike’s Blog- The GRS Blog of Michael Lathuilliere Translated from L’Express du Pacifique, vol. XI, 26 http://blogs.landfood.ubc.ca/mjlath/
‘Bees’, ‘chicken’ and ‘Vancouver’, three words put together in the same sentence. Is that possible? For Yona Sipos, it’s straightforward: “Bees are legal under certain guidelines. Chickens are on the table for discussion in Vancouver”. Yona Sipos is one of twenty members of a special council that, since 2004, tackles important food initiatives in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland: the Vancouver Food Policy Council (VFPC).
Volunteer researchers, nutritionists, ecologists, farmers meet once a month to look at our food system under the magnifying glass: food production, processing, distribution, access, consumption and waste management. “We don’t make policy” insists Yona. The VFPC makes recommendations to City Hall on policies that answer particular community needs in order to create a “just and sustainable food system”.
The council’s initiatives aim to improve food education, public and environmental health: urban bee keeping, community gardens and farmers markets are a few examples of successful projects. The policy revision on backyard chickens in Vancouver was put forward to City Council. A vote will soon take place on the issue.
Food policy councils have been trendy in the past ten years and follow Toronto’s pioneer trail. There is a council in Kamloops and even Seattle. Nowadays, it is difficult to make a direct connection between the farmer and the consumer. Thanks to the integrated approach of its members, the VFPC draws a better picture of our food system to better address its gaps.
Solving the problem of food security
Food security goes further than bacterial contaminations such as those detected at Maple Leaf Foods or Peanut Corporation of America. The definition comes from the World Food summit of 1996: “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.
“We are not food secure”, smiles Yona. Regarding food access, several scenarios can be imagined. For economic reasons a family under the poverty line will lack food security. Food access could also become an issue when depending on imports from suppliers in far away countries. No delivery, no food.
The report on Vancouver’s food security status issued last December defines the food gap “as the difference between local food production capability and total food consumption needs”. In 2006, this gap represented 843,000 tons and is expected to reach 1.3 million tons in 2020.
Relocalization and Reconnection
“One of the explicit ways to be food secure is through processes of relocalizing food systems where possible”, explains Yona, “without excluding international or provincial trade. We produce enough apples in BC to feed everyone all year, hands down” she adds “but we can’t produce coffee”. That will have to be imported.
To catalyze local and urban food production, the VFPC organizes workshops on community gardens (we are expecting 2010 additional community gardens for 2010). The policy revision on backyard chickens will also be a step in the right direction; not only for food security, but also to reconnect people with food and nature. “Food policies guide people to reconnect with their food” explains Yona, “Something really incredible happens when people participate in the production of their own food“.
The big challenge for the VFPC is managing all this food information, because “in two generations a lot of information has been lost”. The food system is so complex that reforming it will take time and continuous community input. Despite how strange urban agriculture may sound to city folks, public responses on the council’s initiatives have been positive. The 150 seats of the last public forum of the VFPC filled up in 72 hours!
Spring is just around the corner and gardeners are anxious to get their hands dirty once again. Despite her background in botany, every year, when Yona sees her first sprouts of pees or beets, she can’t help thinking that “it’s magic!”
Thanks to Mike for translating and posting on Mike’s Blog- The GRS Blog of Michael Lathuilliere Translated from L’Express du Pacifique, vol. XI, 26 http://blogs.landfood.ubc.ca/mjlath/
