Organic Food

BIOLOGICAL AGRI-FOOD NETWORK

Is there an alternative to the present agri-food system? This industrial complex includes supermarkets/healthfood stores, transportation and the chemical-based farms?

Who will build this different way to produce and distribute food?

I have been asking myself these questions for the last 40 years, since the food co-op days of the 70’s in Vancouver. Clear answers have only recently started to emerge. There are good examples of alternatives that work, from all over the world.

Can farmers and consumers and community partners work together to increase the supply of organic local food? The recent census for BC (2016) showed a powerful trend towards young urban farmers selling directly to consumers. What can be built on this already established trend?

The alternative to the Industrial Agri-Food Complex is a BIOLOGICAL AGRI-FOOD NETWORK based on bioregions. (checkout the ideas in the Organic 3.0 presentation in the Consumer Reading Room area of this web site).

Here is my list of key features for a BIOLOGICAL AGRI-FOOD NETWORK, an alternative to Industrial food

FARMERS ARE ON TOP
Consumer and Farmer Connections Are Developed
DIRECT TO CONSUMER SALES WITHIN THE REGION FOCUSED
Biological Materials Used in Food Production
PROFITS SHARED WITHIN THE COMMUNITY OF USERS
Nutrient dense foods & ecological benefits justify organic premiums to farmers
STRONG COMMUNITY SUPPORT

How do we get started? Where do we begin to build a biological food network?
We start by simply talking about food security. We need community-wide conversations about food security. Check out our Food Security page in the CONSUMERS area of this web site for some questions to help answer.

A community conversation about food security is the first step because this helps everyone get on the same page. Can we build food self-reliance in the Thompson – Okanagan based on a shared vision? Let’s start talking and see