The People's Food Commission: Ontario.
Organization profile published 1980
Year Published: 1980
Resource Type: Organization
Cx Number: CX1054
Abstract:
This regional tabloid is based on the Ontario hearing of the People's Food Commission (PFC). It includes impressions of the process highlights from the hearings, examples of follow-up action, a book review, and a current up-date on food issues as they surfaced in the press over the summer of '79.
There were about 200 organizers working to make the PFC a reality in Ontario. Over 320 submissions were made and over 1600 attended the hearings. A sampling of highlights from several Local Working Groups follows below.
In Toronto, many of the briefs echoed themes brought up at other hearings across Canada. Junk food and the impact of the food-industry technology on nutritions were common concerns, as were skyrocketing food prices, the disappearance of farm lands, and the manipulation of consumers by food advertising. It became clear that food production is dominated by the economic power of agribusiness. Profit, not people's needs, is the organizing principle.
In Kingston it was noted that unless we make self-sufficiency a priority we will find ourselves in a position of dependence on products and prices outside our country and control; self-sufficiency helps our local economy, provides fresher and more nutritious food and makes us less vulnerable to supply problems.
In Sudbury, action rising out of the hearing included the investigation of food at local nursing home and the creation of a food committee by the group, Women Helping Women.
The London Group is following up the hearings with a number of "food fairs" that will include displays of local produce, methods of preserving, natural food cooking and tips on finding your way through a modern supermarket. A main theme of this effort will be directed buying from local producers.
This abstract was published in the Connexions Digest in 1980.
See also CX429, CX799.
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