Governance (Food Systems Literacy)

Do you most often think of food as a commodity, as a public good, or as a human right? Do you acknowledge how food is a gift from the Earth? Thinking here of “The Gift of Strawberries” passage from Potawatomi botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer and the many Indigenous worldviews that teach respectful harvesting and reciprocity with the land!

The big picture questions we are thinking about in this Food Systems Literacy series relate to how our governments and economic systems manage food production and consumption. They also relate to our worldviews and assumptions about how food can be produced, purchased, grown, and shared.

Many governments have a piece-meal set of laws and policies related to food production and consumption. Together, these laws direct how food systems affect people and the environment! 

Another policy approach is to set a vision for the kind of food systems we want as a society and make a holistic policy plan.

For example, Scotland developed a 2022 Good Food Nation law that means government Ministers across departments need to plan for a food system that addresses:

• the nation’s social and economic wellbeing 

• the environment 

• people’s health and physical and mental wellbeing 

• economic development 

• animal welfare 

• education 

• child poverty

Could we do this in Canada, or in provinces like BC and Alberta?

Governance also means considering more community-based ways of growing food. The food commons, for example, is a model of shared gardening land where people come together around food production and create their own sustainable and affordable food solutions.

A great BC food commons initiative is the Revelstoke Food Commons. https://www.revelstokelocalfood.com/food-commons

In this collaborative project led by Local Food Initiative and Indigenous Friendship Society of Revelstoke, they’re combining community gardening plots with knowledge sharing and upholding local Indigenous perspectives. Their Vision is “an educational and community farm that honors Indigenous foodways and supports food security for present and future generations.”

Food Systems Governance means grounding into what food means to us and then going into the thorny issues of law and policy. It also means enjoying the flourishing of community when we collaborate and the fruits of strong knowledge exchange with policy shifts. Okay, no more gardening metaphors… thanks for getting into the weeds with me!

Stay tuned for the next one in the series… Back to basics! What are food systems activities?