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Sustainability_StaffDevDay2015_SeasonOfChange2 - Food
This document discusses a presentation given by Tyler Plante from Wilfrid Laurier University's Sustainability Office on local and sustainable food systems. The presentation covers the problems of climate change and the benefits of supporting local farmers and economies through buying local food. It provides information on initiatives at Laurier like the campus farm market and Young City Growers program. Recommendations are made for individuals to make informed choices and support local growers through markets and other resources in Waterloo Region.
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Sustainability_StaffDevDay2015_SeasonOfChange2 - Food
- 1. A Season of Change2: Buying local to improve your health and your ‘Food’print!
- 2. Agenda Who arewe? • A Brief Intro to the Sustainability Office What is the Problem? • Climate Change • Ontario & Waterloo Region • Laurier Context What is a Sustainable Food System? Why should you care? What can you do at Laurier? • Mino Kummik • WLU Farmers’ Market • Young City Growers • Food Services • Demo
- 3. Triple bottom-line Natural CapitalFinancial & Built Capital Human Capital
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- 5. Scope • Operations • Capitalprojects • Facilities & business operations • Education • Curriculum – new and improved courses, CSL • Programs – educational offerings • Outreach – prof. development, training, marketing, media • Community Partnerships • Internal - student groups, departments, etc. • External – community groups and orgs Context
- 6. Action Planning Strengths Coordination, Planning& Governance (100%) • Sustainability Coordination • Governance & planning: policies, plans, procedures Campus Engagement (73%) • Student educators programs, ie. Sustainability Council, EcoHawks, Net Impact, etc Buildings (67%) • Laurier’s own standards state that all newly constructed buildings must follow LEED Silver guidelines • Design standard for centralized waste & elkay water stations
- 7. Action Planning Opportunities Investment (0%) •Committee on Investor Responsibility • Sustainable Investment • Sustainable investment policy • Investment Disclosure Curriculum (45%) • Leaning outcomes, courses, incentives, literacy assessments Public Engagement (45%) • Community service, continuing ed. Dining Services (48%) • Purchasing & low-impact dining Procurement (50%) • Internal purchasing standards • External purchasing standards
- 8. Action Planning Reporting Sustainable WaterlooRegion Pledging Partner: Reduce GHGs by 25% over 10 yrs • Emission reductions equal 10% in 2012 and 14% in 2013 • Scope 1, 2, & 3 emissions: Electricity, natural gas, fuel, water, waste, business air travel
- 9. Action Plan Goals/Indicators Operations • GenerateResources • Project Funding • Business Operations • Manage Resources • Planning, design & construction • Facilities Operations • Procurement • Monitoring & Development Education • Improve literacy: expand programs, engagement and outreach initiatives • Improve scope: increase learning opportunities, services • Improve engagement: provide positions, groups, resources, active learning, communication strategy Community • Engage Community: include in Laurier events, participate externally • Promote leadership: offer programs/volunteering, expand Community Service Learning & partnerships
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- 11. The BIG Issue Howoften do you read the labels for where your food comes from? Always Sometimes Never
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- 14. The BIG Issue GlobalCarbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil-fuels 1900-2008 CLIMATE CHANGE
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- 16. The BIG Issue GlobalGreenhouse Gas Emissions by Source
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- 19. The BIG Issue Howcan we do that while improving environmental quality to preserve a livable planet?
- 20. The (big) Problem •Addressing our global food challenges demands that all of us become more thoughtful about the food we put on our plates. We need to make connections between our food and the farmers who grow it, and between our food and the land, watersheds, and climate that sustain us. The BIG Issue
- 21. Canada • IF CANADA’Spopulation were spread evenly across our country, each Canadian would enjoy almost two football fields of farmland. • Ontario GHG Emissions target • Ontario Local Food Act, 2013 • 1st week of June Local Food Week The BIG Issue
- 22. The (big) Problem WaterlooRegion The BIG Issue
- 23. • 100 miles(170km) • Direct from farm to place of sale • No political & geographic boundaries • Supports local economy • 1 in every 9 jobs in Ontario is agri-food What is Local Food?
- 24. Why Should YouCare? • Freshness and taste • Support for Rural Communities • Confidence in Our Food • A Healthier Environment
- 25. Why Should YouCare? • Fresh, healthy food is just the beginning: growing food on public property can also promote civic participation, public safety, food literacy, job skills, and urban greening – in short, healthier, more vibrant places.
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- 27. Urban farming remindsyou that food has a face and a name. It makes food real.
- 28. Young City Growers •Providing urban youth with summer employment opportunities • Providing youth entrepreneurial and leadership training skills • Increasing participants’ knowledge and skills of organic farming, environmental stewardship, local food systems, and entrepreneurial skills in operating a CSA micro-urban farm • Building community capacity to address local food security and environmental issues • Increasing the availability of culturally relevant locally grown food
- 29. Local Farmers`Markets: • WLUFarmers` Market: www.wlusu.com/wlu-farmers-market/ • Kitchener Market www.kitchenermarket.ca/ • Wellesley Market http://wellesleymarket.com/ • Cambridge Market www.cambridge.ca/market • St. Jacobs Market www.stjacobs.com/farmers-market Other Resources: • Laurier Campus Green Guide: www.wlu.ca/sustainability • FoodLink Waterloo Region www.foodlink.ca • ClimateActionWR www.climateactionwr.ca • The Lexicon of Sustainability www.lexiconofsustainability.com • Project SOIL • Foodland Ontario Calendar • Taste Local! Taste Fresh! 2015 Event: https://kitchenerwaterloo.snapd.com/#/events/view/813838 • Guelph-Wellington Local Food Fest: www.tastereal.ca • Wellington Centre for Sustainable Agriculture: wellingtoncsa.com/ • Center for Ecoliteracy www.ecoliteracy.org/ • Meatless Monday www.meatlessmonday.org
- 34. Tyler Plante Outreach &Program Coordinator, Sustainability Office Physical Resources Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo, Ontario tplante@wlu.ca Reach out!
Editor's Notes
- #4 At Laurier, the scope of sustainability involves education, operations, and community relations. Laurier will be better equipped to respond to emerging trends and opportunities by effectively managing sustainability in the short, medium, and long term. Ecosystems, EH&S, geography - Land use, habitat management, air quality, food health, invasive species Supply-chains, resource management, policy, development - Local economies, material flows, continuous improvement, life-cycle management Env justice, poverty & human rights, diversity & equity, governance, community - Monopoly on resources, access to resources, community partnerships, fair trade, child labour & poverty
- #5 Slide 6 Impact: The scope and impact of the Sustainability Office has grown significantly in the last several years to include areas such as project management for capital, facilities and academic program development projects, major reporting, and presenting at local, national, and international lectures and conferences. Many of these initiatives have resulted in cost-savings, ongoing revenue generation, and significant reputational advancement. EMS, Machouse water harvesting – flooding, pipes, Expositor security, community garden erosion Reporting – AASHE, COU, Deloitte/audits, SWR, Green Energy Act, WLU, WLUSU, WLUGSA - multicampus Open Space – Courtyard, Medicinal garden Water systems – water harvesting (cistern & garden) Waste – MOLOKS, indoor, e-waste, Engagement – energy comp, student vote project Presenting, Lecturing, Mentoring – site visits from Universities, harley-davidson, conestoga mall, presenting at energy forums (schneiders), AASHE, universities, OAPPA – lucid dashboard Slide 7 Sustainability Action Plan: International reporting (Australia) Overall capital and ops – water fill, central waste, MOLOKS, racks Slide 10 Opportunities: International reporting (Australia) Overall capital and ops – water fill, central waste, MOLOKS, racks Resiliency – efficient, compliance, reputation Services - HR link for new employees, sustainability map, guide. Motivation – custodial staff, Leader - ie. Climateactionplan, reurbanization
- #8 Summary – the plan expands on the initiatives that will get us to this point
- #10 Slide 6 Impact: The scope and impact of the Sustainability Office has grown significantly in the last several years to include areas such as project management for capital, facilities and academic program development projects, major reporting, and presenting at local, national, and international lectures and conferences. Many of these initiatives have resulted in cost-savings, ongoing revenue generation, and significant reputational advancement. EMS, Machouse water harvesting – flooding, pipes, Expositor security, community garden erosion Reporting – AASHE, COU, Deloitte/audits, SWR, Green Energy Act, WLU, WLUSU, WLUGSA - multicampus Open Space – Courtyard, Medicinal garden Water systems – water harvesting (cistern & garden) Waste – MOLOKS, indoor, e-waste, Engagement – energy comp, student vote project Presenting, Lecturing, Mentoring – site visits from Universities, harley-davidson, conestoga mall, presenting at energy forums (schneiders), AASHE, universities, OAPPA – lucid dashboard Slide 7 Sustainability Action Plan: International reporting (Australia) Overall capital and ops – water fill, central waste, MOLOKS, racks Slide 10 Opportunities: International reporting (Australia) Overall capital and ops – water fill, central waste, MOLOKS, racks Resiliency – efficient, compliance, reputation Services - HR link for new employees, sustainability map, guide. Motivation – custodial staff, Leader - ie. Climateactionplan, reurbanization
- #11 We`re here to talk about local food. And yes, it`s strawberry season in Waterloo Region. It`s also asparagus season, and rhubarb season
- #12 We`re here to talk about local food. And yes, it`s strawberry season in Waterloo Region. It`s also asparagus season, and rhubarb season
- #15 Source: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html Source of data: Boden, T.A., G. Marland, and R.J. Andres (2010). Global, Regional, and National Fossil-Fuel CO2 Emissions. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A. doi 10.3334/CDIAC/00001_V2010.
- #16 Pipeline https://www.neteon.net/applications/oil-gas/oil_pipeline.jpg Smokestack http://www.gpb.org/sites/www.gpb.org/files/news/images/body/power_plant_smoke_stack_nick_humphries_flickr_o_5.jpg “When we think about threats to the environment, we tend to picture cars and smokestacks, not dinner. But the truth is, our need for food poses one of the biggest dangers to the planet.” Agriculture is among the greatest contributors to global warming, emitting more greenhouse gases than all our cars, trucks, trains, and airplanes combined—largely from methane released by cattle and rice farms, nitrous oxide from fertilized fields, and carbon dioxide from the cutting of rain forests to grow crops or raise livestock. Farming is the thirstiest user of our precious water supplies and a major polluter, as runoff from fertilizers and manure disrupts fragile lakes, rivers, and coastal ecosystems across the globe. Agriculture also accelerates the loss of biodiversity. As we’ve cleared areas of grassland and forest for farms, we’ve lost crucial habitat, making agriculture a major driver of wildlife extinction. The environmental challenges posed by agriculture are huge, and they’ll only become more pressing as we try to meet the growing need for food worldwide. We’ll likely have two billion more mouths to feed by mid-century—more than nine billion people. But sheer population growth isn’t the only reason we’ll need more food. The spread of prosperity across the world, especially in China and India, is driving an increased demand for meat, eggs, and dairy, boosting pressure to grow more corn and soybeans to feed more cattle, pigs, and chickens. If these trends continue, the double whammy of population growth and richer diets will require us to roughly double the amount of crops we grow by 2050.
- #17 Source: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html Source: IPCC (2007); based on global emissions from 2004. Details about the sources included in these estimates can be found in the Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change .
- #18 Today only 55 percent of the world’s crop calories feed people directly; the rest are fed to livestock (about 36 percent) or turned into biofuels and industrial products (roughly 9 percent). Though many of us consume meat, dairy, and eggs from animals raised on feedlots, only a fraction of the calories in feed given to livestock make their way into the meat and milk that we consume. For every 100 calories of grain we feed animals, we get only about 40 new calories of milk, 22 calories of eggs, 12 of chicken, 10 of pork, or 3 of beef. Finding more efficient ways to grow meat and shifting to less meat-intensive diets—even just switching from grain-fed beef to meats like chicken, pork, or pasture-raised beef—could free up substantial amounts of food across the world (Foley, 2015). The average meal travels 1,500 miles from the farm to the supermarket (Center for Ecoliteracy, 2009).
- #19 Jonathan Foley, 2015. National Geographic Magazine: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/feeding-9-billion/ By 2050 we’ll need to feed two billion more people. The environmental challenges posed by agriculture are huge, and they’ll only become more pressing as we try to meet the growing need for food worldwide. We’ll likely have two billion more mouths to feed by mid-century—more than nine billion people. But sheer population growth isn’t the only reason we’ll need more food. The spread of prosperity across the world, especially in China and India, is driving an increased demand for meat, eggs, and dairy, boosting pressure to grow more corn and soybeans to feed more cattle, pigs, and chickens. If these trends continue, the double whammy of population growth and richer diets will require us to roughly double the amount of crops we grow by 2050.
- #20 By 2050 we’ll need to feed two billion more people.
- #22 Ironically, our focus on agricultural production also threatens the economic viability of our agriculture sector. While the economic value of food production increases each year, the proportion of that income that stays with farmers has plummeted. This declining portion is directly responsible for increasing farm size and farm consolidation. In 2014, grain farmers required about twice as much land to make the same income as in 1990. This is a disturbing trend since history teaches us that highly specialized, industrial-scale farming can lead to dramatic economic collapse (Entz, 2015. http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/science-and-solutions/fixing-canadas-food-system). Ontario already has a goal to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050. In order to help achieve its long-term targets, the province is committing to a new mid-term target to reduce emissions by 37 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030. In November 2013, Ontario passed Bill 36, the Local Food Act, 2013 to help foster successful and resilient local food economies and systems in Ontario, help increase awareness of local food in Ontario, including the diversity of local food, and develop new markets for local food. The Local Food Act - the first of its kind in Canada - is designed to help build Ontario's economy, create more jobs and expand the agri-food sector, by making more local food available in markets, schools, cafeterias, grocery stores and restaurants throughout the province.
- #23 In Waterloo .... Region and many other communities, there is a rapidly increasing .... interest in understanding where and how our food is produced, its .... quality, and what the associated impacts are to our environment, .... economy and health. Although the current methodology does not account for emissions from fuel used in agricultural equipment, crop and fertilizer emissions, or the energy costs associated with importing/exporting food over long distances, these activities do impact global sustainability. We can strengthen our local food security by optimizing the efficiency of local food production on the farmland available to us in Waterloo Region. When we reduce the environmental impact of the food choices we make, we will unlock economic opportunities associated with a robust local food production, processing and distribution system—from farms to forks.
- #24 Generally speaking, local food is grown no more than 100 miles or 170km from one’s home, has travelled directly from farm to place of sale, does not subscribe to political or geographical boundaries, and supports a sustainable, local economy.
- #25 Freshness and Taste Why eat a tomato that’s traveled for days on a truck? Fully ripened and bursting with flavour, your local tomato can be on your dinner plate the same day it was picked. Fresh food often contains fewer preservatives (essential for food traveling long distances), providing you with a more natural, wholesome product. Quality local food isn’t just about produce. There’s a wide variety of great tasting food including eggs, milk, cheese, meat, honey, preserves and poultry waiting for you to discover. Support for Rural Communities When we buy from local farmers, we are supporting local businesses and providing income for families in our community. In a time when many farmers are struggling to maintain their livelihood, we can do our part to support them while preserving our rural heritage. Let’s keep our food dollars where they belong—in our own community! Confidence in Our Food How much do you know about your food? Farmers on the Buy Local! Buy Fresh! Map take pride in high quality food that’s safe for you and your family. They will enthusiastically answer your questions because nobody can tell you more about your food than those who grow it! A Healthier Environment By reducing the distance food travels, we can reduce carbon emissions and leave a smaller ecological footprint. When we support local food systems, we ultimately make a positive impact on the environment—cleaner air and water, and farmland that’s preserved for future generations.
- #26 Freshness and Taste Why eat a tomato that’s traveled for days on a truck? Fully ripened and bursting with flavour, your local tomato can be on your dinner plate the same day it was picked. Fresh food often contains fewer preservatives (essential for food traveling long distances), providing you with a more natural, wholesome product. Quality local food isn’t just about produce. There’s a wide variety of great tasting food including eggs, milk, cheese, meat, honey, preserves and poultry waiting for you to discover. Support for Rural Communities When we buy from local farmers, we are supporting local businesses and providing income for families in our community. In a time when many farmers are struggling to maintain their livelihood, we can do our part to support them while preserving our rural heritage. Let’s keep our food dollars where they belong—in our own community! Confidence in Our Food How much do you know about your food? Farmers on the Buy Local! Buy Fresh! Map take pride in high quality food that’s safe for you and your family. They will enthusiastically answer your questions because nobody can tell you more about your food than those who grow it! A Healthier Environment By reducing the distance food travels, we can reduce carbon emissions and leave a smaller ecological footprint. When we support local food systems, we ultimately make a positive impact on the environment—cleaner air and water, and farmland that’s preserved for future generations.
- #27 Food miles are the distance that a unit of food travels from where it is produced to where it is consumed. Each piece of food that we eat travels some number of food miles, ranging from as little as 0.0057 miles for a backyard garden tomato to as much as the 9,000 miles for New Zealand lamb. We use food miles to assess the impacts of our food system on energy use, pollution, traffic congestion, and the economic well being of our local food-producing communities. Food miles become more than a number; they are a simplified metaphor to show the relative environmental and social costs of an increasingly global food
- #30 Lexicon – Free Will Chickens http://www.waterlooregioneats.com/farmers-try-to-embrace-free-will-chickens/
- #34 Because food is something people consume three times a day—every day— personal behaviors and choices can have an impact on the food system through a multiplicative effect.