Our food system is experiencing significant challenges. Farm incomes are variable and negative for most sectors, food bank use is at an all-time high, and poor diets are contributing to rising health care costs. The number of farmers is declining, the age of farmers is rising and fewer youth are growing food. Ontario only has 7,000 farmers under the age of 35. We are losing too much farm land to urban sprawl. It’s time to make strengthening our food system a priority so that Ontario can feed itself and others.
Food connects us all. Green MPPs will advocate for a comprehensive Ontario Food and Farming Strategy that provides access to healthy food from Ontario’s farms. This begins with ensuring that our farmers and food processors have a stable, reliable income. It’s time to make healthy local food a priority.
Your Green MPPs will:
1. Provide access to healthy food for Ontarians.
a. Coordinate a comprehensive healthy school food program
b. Invest in community food programs that promote access to healthy food, community gardens, cooking and nutrition classes; provide tax credits for farmers and processors who donate to food security organizations
c. Set measurable Ontario food purchasing targets for all public institutions.
a. Establish an Ontario Food and Farming Policy Council to coordinate planning across ministries and consult diverse stakeholders on programs, regulations and legislation
b. Reward farmers for stewardship practices that provide environmental and community benefits such as clean water, habitat preservation and carbon storage
c. Invest in rural infrastructure, research and innovation, plant-based manufacturing products, distribution hubs, farmer co-ops, organic and specialty crops to support farm incomes.
a. End one-size-fits-all regulations for family farms and local food processors; implement smart regulations that recognize differences in the size of operations
b. Eliminate tax penalties and reduce zoning restrictions to facilitate local, on-farm food enterprises and innovative sources of farm income
c. Improve income stabilization programs so they are more accessible for family farms, cover a wider range of products and don’t penalize farmers who experience bad years.
Yeah, thats a great idea, lets change our agricultural policy to fit different sized farms. It realistically is the only way we could preserve small farms, and the idea of gearing it at different levels makes total sense. Naturally, it would result in less consolidation, less efficiency and less total agricultural output, but it would be a positive reform that would accomplish its goals.
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