Grub

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Grub

• Discussing Food with a Hunger for Social Justice

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There are a LOT of questions to ask about food.
What INGREDIENTS are in this?
WHO grew this?

• Does it TASTE good?

WHERE was it grown?
How much does it COST?
Were CHEMICALS used on it?
Is it HEALTHY for me?
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Our food USED to be simple
to market
From farm
to our table.
We often used to know where it came from, what
was in it, and how it was grown or made.
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but these days it is much more complicated.
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To try to understand our food, lets start with
GLOBALIZATION

• According to the World Bank, globalization is
• the growing integration of economies and
  societies around the world.

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• Nowadays, the most prevalent type of
  globalization is called ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION.
• This means that people, businesses and
  governments are buying and selling more and more
  across borders.
• So what does this have to do with our food?...

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The Globalization of FOOD

• Just like anything else we buy in stores, our
  food can be considered a commodity.
• With the rise of industrial agriculture in the
  middle of the 1900s, farms grew from regular
  down-the-road small-scale family farms to very
  big industrial farms.

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Bigger and bigger, further and further

• As cross-continent shipping became easier, food
  got shipped around the world just like sneakers
  or radios in order to satisfy peoples different
  tastes.
• It also became more of a business, with food
  corporations wanting to grow their food in the
  cheapest way possible.

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Chemical Input

• Industrial agriculture usually requires high
  input of things like pesticides, herbicides,
  insecticides and fertilizers.

This is because of MONOCROPPING.
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Unfair Labour

• Industrial farms in poorer countries often have
  unfit working conditions for their employees.
• Not only that, but many children as young as
  five years old work closely with chemicals in
  agriculture!

A young boy carries a load of sugar cane
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Genetic Engineering

• Genetic Engineering is the alteration of a
  plants make-up at the genetic level. That means
  changing parts of a plants DNA in order to give
  it certain characteristics.

It can be risky business!
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??? GE/GMO ???

• Unknown effects on nearby plants
• Potential loss of genetic diversity
• Unknown effects on insects or other animals
• Unknown effects on humans

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Transportation

• Statistics show us that the average meal travels
  2,500 km to our plate.
• Thats a lot of fossil fuels!

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So what now?

• What if we dont WANT to support some of these
  things?
• Chemical Input
• Unfair Labour
• Genetic Engineering
• Transportation and Pollution

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Taking Action!

• We can choose to make some of our meals from
  local ingredients only no long-distance
  transportation.
• We can decide to buy some of our food as
  certified organic no pesticides or chemical
  fertilizers.

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Taking Action!

• We can look for some of our favourite foreign
  foods (sugar, coffee, tea, chocolate) that are
  certified under a fair trade label no unfair
  labour practices or extremely low wages.
• We can try to buy foods at a local market or
  farmers stand and support our local farmers!

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What can YOU do?

• Youth can make a BIG difference.
• Ask your local retailer to stock locally
  produced, certified organic, or fair trade foods
• Make trips to the Farmers Market with your
  friends to see what is available
• Start a small garden in your backyard
• Join or support a community garden

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What can YOU do?

• Tell your parents youd like to try eating a
  little less of your favourite imported foods
  make them a treat for only a few times a week!
• Write a letter to your local politicians tell
  them that youd like to see certified organic
  food become cheaper, both for farmers and
  consumers
• Talk to someone at your school to see if the
  cafeteria would be interested in providing more
  locally-sourced foods

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What can YOU do?

• Talk about where your food comes from and the
  stories behind it. Some people may never have
  thought about it!
• Make this simple presentation to a class or other
  group and get people talking!

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Have Your Say!

• Think of the money you spend as your vote for
  what kind of food system you would like to see in
  our world.

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Grub

• This delicious presentation was made possible by
  the Falls Brook Centre

And by the Government of Canada through CIDA