Reclaiming our Food Systems: Policy and Practice

The BC Food Systems Network is pleased to invite to attend the Network’s 14th Annual Gathering on Gambier Island, from July 5th through July 8th, 2012! The theme for this year’s Gathering is Reclaiming our Food Systems: Policy and Practice. At the Gathering we will showcase creative projects that reclaim elements of the system, and develop focused strategies for influencing the direction of food policy.

The Network supports grassroots food-security organizations and the exchange of best practices in community-based projects that build individual, community and family food security. The Network includes organic farmers, backyard growers, food activists, health promoters, Indigenous peoples, academics, researchers, food and agriculture policy-makers, educators and local and provincial decision-makers.
 
The Gathering will blend scheduled workshops, presentations and activities with unstructured time and space to encourage informal sharing, socializing or quiet contemplation. During the Gathering there will be opportunities to explore exciting initiatives and participate in discussions about the network’s policy priorities, including water rights and access, food labeling and GMOs, agricultural land use and urban agriculture, to name a few.  A call for proposals has been issued. If you would like to receive regular updates regarding the 2012 Gathering, please join our listserv or Facebook Events Page. We are very excited about the Gathering this year and hope to make it meaningful and memorable experience for everyone.

A food system is defined as the resources and processes that are required to feed a population. It includes producing, processing, shipping, storing, selling and consuming food, as well as the management of waste associated with all of these processes. Most of our current food policy supports the industrial food system. One of the goals of the Network is to develop and advocate policies to redesign food systems to alleviate hunger and promote sustainability - food policy that places community food security as the highest priority.

One of the goals of the Gathering is inclusiveness, meaning that finance should not create barriers to those who wish to come and share their unique experience. The BCFSN strives to work cross-culturally within an anti-oppression framework, supporting relationships between participants from a variety of backgrounds. If no one from your organization is able join us, please consider sponsoring a member of the community who would otherwise be unable to attend, or making a donation directly to the Network for that purpose.