D2-Farmers are from Mars; Urbanites are from Venus.

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Session Title: Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide

Led by: Brent Cameron

Participants: Lisa McLean, Kelly Daynard, Stacey Airhart, Mike Hendren, Shannon Courtney, Grant Robertson, Terry Shea, Carolyn Butts, Bryan Gilvesy, Andrea Hamilton, Jonathan VanderSteen, Shannon Courtney, Kathleen Rothermal, Mike Miner, Grant Robertson, Brian Tolls, Wendy Luella Perkins, Stacey Ferris, Dan Rickards, Bette Jean Crews (President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture), Pat Dawson (Desert Lake Gardens, http://www.dlgardens.com)

http://www.harvesthastings.ca/harvesthastings/producerprofile/murray-township-farms,

Notes:

Generations ago - vast majority of population had farm connections. Now the balance has shifted - majority have no direct, personal rural connection.
Consumers assume that there are cheap, large quantities of food.
A shift is starting to occur - the 100 mile diet and a growing awareness of the local food movement is helping draw attention to agriculture and the people who are producing it.
Who suffers most from the divide - farmers or urbanites?
You don't have to eat anything produced in Ontario - the variety is amazing.
Farmers feel that there is a lack of interest among the broader population in what they do.
Urbanites: appear to be more focused on their jobs and careers
Agriculture: about family, heritage, contributions to community - focused on lifestyle.
Public needs to appreciate a sustainable food source in their province - it's important to engage urbanites in this discussion.
All groceries in the GTA come through three chains - they want consumer to think that beef is beef and tomatoes are tomatoes. The consumer suffers with this attitude because they don't learn the benefits of Ontario beef vs. New Zealand beef or local tomatoes vs. California products.
Consumer needs to look for a different model - needs to be done in stages. Consumers are used to "ridiculously cheap" food. They need to drive it.
Tourists like to meet the farmers and hear their stories - learn about the broader creation of food.
Urbanites often only hear about government relief packages, but much of this money often never get down to the individual farmer.
Our food system is an hour glass - caught by the constriction in the middle.
People eating "Big Macs" are not the people going out to look for local sources of beef - they're the first to buy imports.
Food Freedom Day this year is February 12 - Canadians will have made enough money to buy all of their groceries for the year. This shows how cheap our food is.
Fair Trade - makes consumers feel good but it's still supporting a large corporate model.
Canadian/local product is some of the safest in the world - plus it's produced to our labour standards, our environmental models.
The only way to change corporations' outlook is if they get the message directly from consumers. Until consumers change their mindset, corporations won't.
Walmart is actually promoting buy local initiatives and green initiative in their U.S. and Canadian stores.
Farmers take a lot of pride in the products they raise. How do we determine the value of that product. Cabbage as an example - a lot of work goes into transplanting seedlings, raising plants but then they're sold for as low as $1/pound.
Food is an essential service.
Celebratory events bring urban and rural consumers together - developing relationships; Food Down the Road in Kingston - four sessions.
And you can't stop - there are always new people who need to be engaged.
Agriculture are often being hit with regulations that aren't science based because the majority of voters don't understand. Take Environmental Farm Plans - started in Ontario and used as a protocol across Canada. Regulatory burden - being driven by a mindset that doesn't understand what farmers are already doing.
Media tours for press taking them out to the farm; culinary college outreach.
Buying locally can be an effort - going out to those markets on Saturdays. Convenient to go to a grocery store. Grocery chains can be the enemy of the farmer.
There's a huge market of people who just want convenience - won't make the extra effort.
What is local? Kingston? Ontario? Canada? It can be subjective.
Many consumers want to do the right thing - confused though - at the produce counter can't differentiate where the products come from.
CSA movement started in downtown Tokyo. Women went out to countryside and contracted a farmer to grow their food for them.
www.fooddowntheroad.ca Lists where foods are available in the Kingston area.
www.buyfromthefarm.ca Canada-wide listing of local farm products. There will be a local farm product label. Working with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
Agriculture is agriculture - all need to work together: organic and conventional. We have consumers that want to buy the products - need to work together.
www.justfoodottawa.ca
www.localflavours.ca
www.ofa.on.ca
www.foodlandontario.com
Consumers that care are still a niche market. Need to work with the majority who just go shopping looking for the cheapest pound of beef.
http://www.harvesthastings.ca Find out about over 100 producers in Hastings County and what they grow