1. Menu 2020
Ten Good Food Ideas
for Ontario
Alivya Wineberg
Katarina Zlatanovic

2. The Good Food Gap
- Global phenomenon
- Policy space separating the farm income
crisis from health crisis
- Farmers find it difficult to make a living
and consumers find it difficult to make
good food choices

3. The Farming Crisis
● Average market net income for farmers has been below that of
1930s levels.
● Most of the money consumers are spending on
food is going to the middle men (distributors, and processors)
rather than the original food producer
● Ontario’s agricultural policy is skewed towards exporting
o exports have grown 28% while imports have grown 32% in the
last decade
Main problems in the sector include:
-Farmers are aging without others to replace them
-Ontario lost 15% of its farms between 1996 and 2006.
-People are moving out of Ontario Countryside

4. The Health Crisis
Food Desert: neighbourhoods in which people are unable to
purchase good food locally- public transit to supermarkets are not
frequency or lacking completely
-Unhealthy food environments lead to unhealthy people
Obesity statistics:
-26% of children, 28% of teens ,61% of adults
-Exponential growth in the startling coexistence of
malnutrition and obesity
- Canada's immigrant population have a growing demand for
culturally appropriate foods
- Canada's immigrant population demands for appropriate foods
- 3 consequences of the health crisis
-

5. Foundations of a Good Food Gap
The good food gap lies between the farm
income crisis and the health crisis.
● Canada’s Agricultural Policy is based on the
recognition that agriculture provides a number of
public goods to society, but requires support from the
government to do so.
● Canada’s Health Policy is based on the assumption that
access to health care should be universal
The reality however..

6. ● The current Healthcare system can’t control health
care expenditures, hasn’t lowered the rate of sickness
and disease, and has not cultivated a culture of health
and wellness
● The current “state support system structures” for
agriculture are not designed to support farm viability,
strong rural economies, environmentally sound
production practices, food safety or the protection of
biodiversity
The good food gap has arisen because the
approaches to agriculture on one side, and
health care on the other, have failed.

7. The Bridge
Policy frameworks offer a new way to think
about farming, food and production.
● The concept of multifunctionality was put forward,
recognizing agriculture as a multi-output activity
which produces agricultural products, and non-food
products
Agricultural Products Non-Food Products
Food, Feed Environmental services
Agrofuels Landscape Amenities
Medicinal Products Cultural Heritage

8. Multifunctionality can be strengthened by
health promotion perspectives.
This framework focused what was necessary for
maintaining and improving Canadian’s Health:
- Food, Shelter, Income, Social Equality, Economic
Stability, Sustainable Resources
Menu 2020 includes multifunctionality and is a
policy that aligns food system policies with
public health policies to promote economic
viability and health.

9. Bridging the Gap
To overcome the good food gap we must
create structures and incentives that foster
and connect health, sustainability, and
economic viability in the food system.

10. Idea 1:
Support Producers of Locally Consumed
Fruit, Vegetables, and Meats
Where Is the Gap?
- Reduced portions of food dollar that farmers receive
- Consolidation of the retail sector
- Low global commodity prices
- rising energy and input costs
The Bridge
- Prices are linked to costs, therefore the sectors are protected
- Example: The grain and oilseed sector has a federal-provincial cost
shared risk management program that ensures the sectors cost of
production is covered if the price were to drop
Bridging the Gap
- Current programs do not provide adequate support to farmers, and
they underwrite unsustainable farming practices
- Farmers need to be ensured a floor price for product

11. Idea 2:
Harvest the Whole Value of Ecological
Service from Agriculture
Gap:
● Lack of incentives and a market system that
doesn’t reward farmers for providing ecosystem
services such as carbon offset initiatives to help
their inclusion in carbon trading.
Bridge:
● Programs exist that could close the gap by
compensating farmers for ecological services.
Bridging the Gap:
● Implementing province-wide ecological goods and
services program in Ontario would close the gap
between farmers and their role as environmental
stewards.

12. Idea 3:
Plant Urban Ontario
Gap:
● The availability of land that could be cultivated in urban areas is not an
insurmountable barrier to urban agriculture
● No established supply chains linking urban growers and urban eaters
● The outdated idea that farming is what happens in the country, an idea
reflected in government structures and taxation systems
Bridge:
● Provincial urban agriculture working groups should form to share
resources and tools to support urban agriculture across the province
Bridging the Gap: (Scaling up Urban Agriculture)
● Spreading simple growing approaches through cities, involving more
people in more places
● Enhancing the sophistication and productivity of urban agricultural
practices, that is, the development of commercial-scale agriculture
capable of becoming part of the mainstream food-supply system
● ex. Toronto Urban Growers network

13. Idea 4:
Expand Public Procurement of Local,
Sustainably Produced FoodWhere Is the Gap?
-Two trades agreement that affect Ontario procurement
-Prohibits granting preferences to suppliers based on a variety of factors,
including geographic location
The Bridge
Local Food Plus
-Non-profit organization
-Standards for production, labour
-LFP helps institutional food service providers
Bridging the Gap
-Procurement policy suited to Ontario’s context would be shaped
by international and interprovincial trade regulations
-Would need strong leadership, clear definition of what
constitutes local, sustainably grown food

14. Idea 5:
Link Good Food with Good Health
Gap:
● Ontario’s Food System is designed to support productivity and economic
efficiency
● It is not designed around the principle of ensuring that people, especially
those living on low-incomes, women, children, and members of
aboriginal communities, have access to a nutritious diet that would
improve their health
Bridge:
● Health Public Policy (HPP) is any policy that creates and encourages a
context for health
● This Includes food, shelter, income, social inequality, economic stability,
and resource sustainability
Bridging the Gap:
● Identifying the contributing factors and points of intervention; defining
the range of opportunities for action; evaluating potential interventions;
and selecting a portfolio of policies, programs, and actions

15. Advancing Ontario’s Good Food Ideas
Prioritize Local Food Economy
- Prioritizing local food economy means shifting focus of farm and
food policies and programs away from capturing export markets
and towards strengthening regional Ontario markets
Establish Community Food Centers
- Neighbourhood and community food centres combat food
insecurity by ensuring healthy food is available
- Community and food centres, school food programs can link local
farming and food directly to public health
- These activities are essential to creating healthy food
environments and addressing rising rates of chronic disease

16. Cont’
Reform Farm Programs:
● Taxation, local food procurement policies, and
favourable legislation are needed
● Farm programs must ensure viability of local farms,
and provide incentives for sustainable farming systems
● Possible Ontario Farm, Food, and Health Act to
provide new policy that links local food to health
Improve Food System Governance:
● Have a provincial food policy council that will be
cross-sectional and include decision makers from
provincial and municipal governments
● Would have a clear mandate on food-systems issues
and advise on their implementation

17. Conclusion
- Article contributes to a broader discussion across the
provinces about broken food systems
- Offers innovative solutions which are being considered by
farmers and food leaders
- Farm income crisis and health crises are caused by policy
gap whereby two crises are addressed separately
- Bridging the gap requires policies and programs that
reflect integrated thinking about health, sustainability,
and economic vitality in food system

18. Comments and Questions
When advancing Ontario’s Good Food Ideas,
which one do you believe takes precedence?
Out of the five idea’s we gave you which idea
do you think would have the greatest positive
effect on Ontario?