Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Another book critical of Canada's agri-food system


The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement,
By Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis,
Random House, 320 pages, $29.95 hardcover.

The Stop started as a food bank on Davenport Avenue west of the heart of downtown Toronto and in 1998, when Nick Saul arrived as a young and novice general manager, it was in a state of constant crisis.

He took the goal of food banks seriously – that they are intended to be only short-term relief on the way to long-term and sustainable solutions.

It hasn’t worked out that way, but not for lack of trying at The Stop where Saul was bold and disciplined about limiting handouts and seeking alternatives to address poverty, which is the root issue.

The book tells, step by step, how The Stop emerged as far more than a food bank and is now spreading its approach across Canada, starting at Perth and Stratford, Ont.

Growing food, preparing nutritious meals and pressing politicians for change are all part of the ambitious agenda.

I have no quarrel with the goals, but I do object to the constant criticism of North America’s agriculture and food industries. They do an outstanding job of delivering an abundance of wholesome food at reasonable prices, far better than the agriculture and food industries of many other nations.

I think Saul is unfair to blame farmers and food companies for the epidemic of obesity and diabetes. Much more responsibility rests with consumers.

I think he is particularly unfair when he says society pays tremendous costs for our food industry, things that economists call “externalities” such as pollution.

He says nothing about the “externalities” of the model developed at The Stop.

It is a registered charity and sucks on society via tax breaks for donors. I doubt Canadians want a farming and food industry that depends on tax-break charitable donations.

However, I agree entirely with Saul’s main point that Canadians need to wake up to the dire straits endured by impoverished Canadians. It is a national tragedy and disgrace.