bitsandbytes

Seeds…
These tiny packets of life carry a priceless inheritance. Each seed holds infinite potential; deep wells of genetic variety and adaptation nurtured over time.

USC Canada’s short film, Banking Diversity, explains the critical role that seed saving and seed diversity play in ensuring a stable global food supply, now and into the future. They are the seeds of our survival.

See the discussion page below for more information:
http://usc-canada.org/UserFiles/File/USC_bankingdiversity.pdf

What’s happened to the quality of our food? Why is there so much food for some while more than a billion people in the world today don’t have enough to eat? The Story of Food will get you thinking about our broken food system and what’s gone wrong! The Story of Food

Feed a student, feed the future

The Globe & Mail, Oct 09, 2011 – A pilot program at Toronto’s C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute draws a link between nutrition and academic success

Jessica Leeder reported in the Globe & Mail:

Investeco Capital Corp., a Toronto-based private equity group that bills itself as Canada’s first environmental investment company, is launching a $40-million fund dedicated to growing small and medium-sized food companies that meet its tough criteria, including at least $2-million in annual revenue.

This study (nicknamed - "It Doesn't Feel Like Shopping", explores the local and organic food system in the Perth-Waterloo-Wellington area of Ontario. It describes the interactions, patterns and perspectives of a broad range of local food actors, including consumers, producers, alternative retail ventures, distributors, processors, restaurants and caterers. The report illustrates this system as an emerging economy and documents the characteristics and qualities that define a local and organic food system.

Health Nexus and 3M Canada are proud to announce the launch of the new 3M Health Leadership Award.

This annual award will recognize an outstanding community leader that has had an impact on the health of their community by addressing at least one of the social determinants of health such as; food security, inclusion, housing, education,etc... In its inaugural year, this award will celebrate those who have enhanced their community through dedicated contribution and inspiring change.

Pat Mooney of the ETC Group spoke at the UN General Assembly on June 2, 2011, about the current state of play regarding green economies.

Joan Kuyek, formerly of MiningWatch Canada, offers a summary of the potential effects of proposed coal mines on the Comox and Alberni Valleys of Vancouver Island.

More information about the project may be found at www.coalwatch.ca

A Taste of What's To Come: Food Sovereignty Declared in U.S. City

Sedgwick, Maine has done what no other town in the United States has done. The town unanimously passed an ordinance giving its citizens the right “to produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of their choosing.” This includes raw milk, locally slaughtered meats, and just about anything else you can imagine. It’s also a decided bucking of state and federal laws.