Growing Green

Sustainable Food Systems Law & Policy Reform

Project Partners:

FarmFolk/CityFolkWest Coast Environmental Law

Liu Institute for Global Issues (UBC)

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Mar 12 2004: Wrap & Launch!

• Interactive progress report• Highlight voluntary sector

partners’ projects• Provide policy tools & techniques• Strengthen networks• Celebrate successes• Discuss strategic directions

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Thanks to our Funders

• Tides Canada &• Government of Canada’s

Voluntary Sector Initiative• through Agriculture & Agri-Food

Canada

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Project Team• West Coast Environmental Law

(Lawrence Alexander), (Mark Haddock), Chris Rolfe

• FarmFolk/CityFolkHerb Barbolet, Kathleen Gibson

• Liu Institute for Global IssuesEvan Fraser, Kristina Bouris

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Greetings from the UK

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What is Growing Green?

• Two-year law & policy reform project on sustainable food systems

• Focused on Southwestern BC: exurban Vancouver & Victoria

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Project Objectives

• Develop in strategic areas, practical law & policy models & reform proposals

• Strengthen capacity of voluntary organizations to contribute to law & policy

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Case for Growing Green

• Food system produces environmental services• Food system needs to produce more

environmental services to be sustainable• Wide spectrum of solutions proposed, including:

– Help sustainable farmers by removing regulatory barriers

– Prepare ‘Plan B’ to current reliance on cheap fuel– Overhaul system; build a local food economy

• Growing Green: reforms that offer meaningful progress towards all three

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• Over 50 potential projects identified in collaboration with farm, food, & voluntary organizations

• Priorities shaped & determined with advice from Reference Group, based on:– Requested by voluntary sector group?– Can Growing Green can add value?– Practical, useful, & doable?

Strategic Law/Policy Reform

Determining policy priorities

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Policy PrioritiesMaking sustainable food systems

work

• Community-based food councils in GVRD & CRD

• Model OCPs & Bylaws• Junk food in schools

(with Environmental Law Centre)• Public health

legislation• Small-scale food

processors

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Policy PrioritiesMaking sustainable food systems

pay• Co-farming/multi-family

housing• Short-term farmland

leases• Farmland trusts &

conservation covenants• Organics & regulated

marketing• Ecological services:

incentives & rewards

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Voluntary Sector Capacity

• Contacted ~ 40 organizations• Identified ~10 strategic partners• “Sharing the Benefits” program• Tools• Roles• Links

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Voluntary Sector CapacityKey strategic partners

• Lower Mainland Food Coalition: re-convened coalition, assisted input to local/regional govt

• CR-FAIR: helped expand coalition, assisted input to local/regional govt

• SSFPA: assisted with strategy & positioning re: provincial govt

• COABC: helped link to FIRB review• The Land Conservancy: proposed &

helped facilitate farmland trust pilot

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Voluntary Sector Capacity“Sharing the Benefits” program

Policy dialogues with/for:• BC Food Systems Network• COABC• CR-FAIR• Salt Spring Farmers’ Institute• Land Trust Alliance• POLIS Project• Small-Scale Food

Processors Association• Your Local Farmers’

Market Society

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Voluntary Sector CapacityTools

• Advisory memos: policy strategy & tactics

• Blueprints: policy options• Workshop: Local Government 101• Key reference: state of the art

community-based food councils• Seminar: How to Enhance Your Policy

Input• Mind map: of sustainable food systems

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Voluntary Sector CapacityRoles & Links

• “Honest broker” roles between voluntary sector & government agencies

• New policy links & partnerships between voluntary sector, legal & academic communities

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Project Promotion• www.ffcf.bc.ca/GrowingGreen.html• Collaboration with ~40 voluntary

sector organizations• Contact with 22 regulators: federal,

provincial, regional, local• ~30 special

presentations in BC, Ottawa, U.K., U.S.A., Italy

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Policy PrioritiesKey results 1/2

• LMFC: Vancouver Food Policy Council

• CR-FAIR: CRD Food Policy Reference Group

• SSFPA: organizational & project development

• Islands farmers & processors: meat inspection regulation intervention

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Policy PrioritiesKey results 2/2

• TLC, Salt Spring Farmers’ Institute: farmland trust pilot project

• COABC: policy options for regulated marketing of organics

• Policy incentives & rewards re: farms’ ecological services

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Project Summary

• Policy recommendations & tools summary in development

• Full report, all materials posted on Web site:www.ffcf.bc.ca/GrowingGreen.html

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Ancillary Projects

• “Think piece” on BC agri-food

• Case studies

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Ancillary Projects“Think piece” on BC agri-food

• Farm & food businesses, other aspects of food systems that are off government radar or fall between cracks

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Ancillary ProjectsCase studies

• Engeler Farm• Noble Food & Education Centre• Local sourcing for school food

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Project made possible by:

• Funders• Voluntary sector partners• Reference Group• Project Team• Consultants & volunteers

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Reference Group 1/2

• Bruce Bakker, horticulture producer• Marion Best, World Council of Churches• Larry Bomford, BC Institute of Agrologists• Oliver Brandes, POLIS Project• Ben Bradshaw, Geography, SFU• Linda Geggie, GroundWorks• Charan Gill, PICS• Cathleen Kneen, BC Food Systems

Network• (Don Knoerr, rancher)

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Reference Group 2/2

• Lorna Medd, Northern Health Authority• Bob McCoubrey, organic farmer• Heather Pritchard, FarmFolk/CityFolk• Moura Quayle, Agricultural Sciences,

UBC• Wayne Roberts, Toronto Food Policy

Council• Daphne Sidaway-Wolf, MAFF• Ramesh Singal, PICS• Shelley Wells, Quest Outreach Society

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Special thanks today . . .

• Presenters• Unitarian Church of Vancouver• Cook Studio Café• Volunteers• Cheney Cawkwell, event logistics• Kristina Bouris, event coordinator