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Companion guide for our Food System Breakdown. On this page, you will find external resources on each topic, so you can dig even deeper into the many components of our food system. If you haven’t seen the Breakdown yet, click the button below!
Food System
Listen to this extremely important overview of the food system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHNlel72eQc
Watch this short introduction to the food system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Yx2Mh3mSE
Read this definition of a food system: https://www.futureoffood.ox.ac.uk/what-food-system
Read this short report breaking down What is a Food System?: https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/471599/7643_Brief-2_What-is-the-food-system-A-food-policy-perspective_WEB_SP.pdf
Read an overview of the problems of our global food system: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/hungry-change-global-food-system
Industrial Agriculture
Watch this animated explanation of industrial agriculture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cajeNeQ5p64
Read this opinion on industrial farming in Canada: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2017/beware-the-glitz-of-neo-industrial-agriculture/
Read 10 Things You Should Know About Industrial Agriculture: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/10-things-you-should-know-about-industrial-farming
Hidden Costs of Food
Read the FAO’s most recent report on food security. Hint, check out section 2.2, The Hidden Health and Environmental Costs of What We Eat: http://www.fao.org/3/ca9692en/ca9692en.pdf
Explore the Sustainable Food Trust’s work on True Cost Accounting: https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/key-issues/true-cost-accounting/
Watch this Ted Talk on the True Cost of Food: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovWdmy7Af-I
Food Corporations
Read this op-ed on the impact of food corporations in America: https://civileats.com/2021/02/26/op-ed-we-need-to-get-food-industry-dollars-out-of-politics-to-save-our-democracy/
Watch this video explaining the influence of food monopolies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmZw8YMuhpI
Browse this report on corporate food control: https://econexus.info/files/Agropoly_Econexus_BerneDeclaration.pdf
Global Food Trade
Watch this short overview of the global food trade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJx7MySikZI
Read about the problems of the global food trade and the new opportunities Covid presents: https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-another-chance-to-transform-the-global-food-trade-136561
Read this proposal on a new way to measure global food trade: http://environment.umn.edu/discovery/gli/unraveling-the-complex-web-of-global-food-trade/
Food Insecurity/Security
Read the FAO’s most recent (2020) report on global food insecurity: http://www.fao.org/3/ca9692en/online/ca9692en.html#
Listen to this Ted Talk to understand the real culprit driving food insecurity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLJ3XnTMlRM&t=41s
Listen to this video made by PROOF, one of the leading organizations researching food insecurity in Canada: https://proof.utoronto.ca/whiteboard/
Explore Feeding Nunavut’s website to understand how this problem disproportionately affects northern Canadian regions: https://www.feedingnunavut.com/
Health and Nutrition
Read this overview of diet-related health problems for Canadians: https://foodpolicyforcanada.info.yorku.ca/backgrounder/problems/poor-diet/
Listen to this Ted Talk explaining the double burden of malnutrition (a bit of an institutional perspective but the beginning has a good explanation): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7AG-DvobHE
Watch this short review of political influence on Canada’s Food Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsigNV64LMg
Climate Change and Environmental Degradation
Read this report on how agriculture changes our climate: http://www.environmentreports.com/how-does-agriculture-change/
Understand how the climate crisis impacts First Nations’ right to food: https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/10/21/my-fear-losing-everything/climate-crisis-and-first-nations-right-food-canada
Read previous reports by IPCC, one of the most recognized research bodies on climate science, and keep your eye on the 2022 update: https://www.ipcc.ch/ Hint, check out this special report from the IPCC on food security: https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/chapter-5/
Explore Project Drawdown’s proposed climate solutions to the agriculture sector: https://drawdown.org/sectors/food-agriculture-land-use
Watch this video on the connection between climate and diet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUnJQWO4YJY
Food Waste
Read this report by Second Harvest, one of Canada’s leading organizations studying food waste: https://secondharvest.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Avoidable-Crisis-of-Food-Waste-The-Roadmap-by-Second-Harvest-and-VCMI.pdf
Explore the Love Food Hate Waste campaign for inspiration on how to lower your food waste: https://lovefoodhatewaste.ca/
Watch this video explaining some of the facets of the food waste problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MpfEeSem_4&t=10s
Important facts about food wastage: https://www.deliveryrank.com/blog/food-waste-statistics
Animal Welfare
Browse this overview of some of the worst farm animal welfare practices: https://foodprint.org/issues/farm-animal-welfare/
Read this perspective on how Indigenous hunting practices protect animals: https://theconversation.com/indigenous-hunters-are-protecting-animals-land-and-waterways-118652
Learn about some different practices for raising animals in Canada: https://spca.bc.ca/programs-services/farm-animal-programs/farm-animal-production/
Watch this CBC Marketplace exposé on turkey production in Canada (warning: graphic content): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQnMO1DUWxc
Labour Exploitation
Learn about the challenges faced by migrant food workers in Canada during Covid: https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/bitter-harvest-migrant-workers-pandemic
Read about the failure to protect workers from Covid-19 at the Cargill meat-packing plant in Alberta: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/union-group-says-documents-show-alberta-government-prioritized-cargill-plant-operation-over-worker-safety-1.5968428
Read this account of food labourers in the US: https://foodprint.org/issues/labor-workers-in-the-food-system/
Explore the Food Empowerment Project’s resources explaining slavery and food labour intersections: https://foodispower.org/human-labor-slavery/
Food Deserts
Read this report explaining the difference between food deserts, swamps and mirages: https://www.ncceh.ca/sites/default/files/Food_Deserts_Food_Swamps_Primer_Oct_2017.pdf
Watch this short video about an exciting food desert solution in Winnipeg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfzxwWYMGPY
Check out this assessment of food mirages in Canada: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/jino-distasio/food-insecurity-canada_b_11198586.html
Environmental Racism
Read this account of environmental racism in Canada from the perspective of an Anishnaabe land and water protector: https://ecojustice.ca/environmental-racism-in-canada/
Watch this short explanation of environmental racism and justice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itRiNmo3hq8
Listen to this Ted Talk on environmental justice in Mi'kmaq & African Nova Scotian Communities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itRiNmo3hq8
Reflect on these intersections of environmental racism and the food system: https://mashable.com/article/how-to-combat-environmental-racism-food/
Food Justice
Read this article to learn more about racism in our food systems: https://www.mic.com/p/our-food-system-is-broken-racist-meet-the-farmers-trying-to-change-the-way-we-eat-34837057
Check out the resource pages of two incredible farms bringing food justice to life - Sundance Harvest: https://www.sundanceharvestfarm.com/learning-resources and Soul Fire Farm: https://www.soulfirefarm.org/resources/
Explore New Grocery Movement’s Recentering Sustainability and Food directory: https://www.newgrocerymovement.com/recentering-sustainability-and-food
Food Sovereignty
Watch this Ted Talk explaining food sovereignty from the perspective of a Muckleshoot Tribe member: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGkWI7c74oo
Learn more about La Via Campesina and explore the resources on their website: https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/food-sovereignty-and-trade/
Read about the 7 pillars of food sovereignty: https://foodsecurecanada.org/who-we-are/what-food-sovereignty
Indigenous Food Systems
Browse these resources from the Indigenous Food Systems Network: https://www.indigenousfoodsystems.org/content/resources
Listen to this Ted Talk (or literally anything!) by Robin Wall Kimmerer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz1vgfZ3etE
Check out this docu series on Indigenous cuisine: https://redchefrevival.com/
Read this article to learn how colonialism impacted Indigenous food systems in Canada: https://thewalrus.ca/the-history-of-food-in-canada-is-the-history-of-colonialism/
Sustainable Agriculture
Watch this short introduction to sustainable farming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iloAQmroRK0
Listen to this overview of regenerative agriculture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuRpEA1sFow
Check out Regeneration Canada, an organization working to promote regenerative farming across the country: https://regenerationcanada.org/en/why-soil/
Read this overview of regenerative farming: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/what-regenerative-agriculture
Learn about the Indigenous origins of regenerative practices: https://nfu.org/2020/10/12/the-indigenous-origins-of-regenerative-agriculture/
Urban and Civic Agriculture
Read this brief description of civic agriculture: https://farmvalues.net/about/what-is-civic-agriculture/
Watch this video on an urban agriculture initiative in Toronto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1XRXGPSNBw
Learn how systems thinking informs community-based agriculture in this Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0QsgSjXICc
Peruse New Grocery Movement’s Directories to find urban and civic agriculture initiatives near you: https://www.newgrocerymovement.com/directories
Zero Waste
Since most zero waste stores are local businesses, they all look different. Check out this example of a zero waste grocery store: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7ikhWfHQc8
Explore one of the leading organizations for a zero waste future in Canada: https://zerowastecanada.ca/
Read about the difference between zero waste and the circular economy: https://www.zerowaste.com/blog/zero-waste-vs-circular-economy-a-guide/
Circular Economy
Watch this video for a short introduction to the Circular Economy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI&t=22s
Check out the website of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, one of the leading organizations on the Circular Economy globally: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/ and specifically, their resources on food: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore/food-cities-the-circular-economy
Meet our friends at Impact Zero, an organization leading the Circular Economy transition in Canada: https://impactzero.ca/