Online Food Panel to Discuss Rising Cost of Food and the Role Local Food Plays – February 10th
February 9th, 2016 (Halifax, NS) – Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia (FMNS), a not-for-profit organization that works with many of the farmers’ markets within the province, is organizing an online panel to discuss rising food costs and the role of local food.
The panel will be held on February 10, 2016 at 8 PM AST and will include farmers and local food experts.
To watch live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inqNGK9ZbXo
With a weak dollar, and environmental changes affecting crops in some countries traditionally imported into Canada, food cost is rising. Radical price jumps in cauliflower and celery have taken centre stage, but across the board food costs in Canada are rising at an alarming rate.
A research team from The University of Guelph Food Institute predicts food inflation rates will be 2% – 4% this year. That’s in addition to the 4.1% that the average Canadian food bill increased last year due to rising costs of meat, vegetables, fruit and nuts.
Is local food part of the answer?
This hour-long panel aims to offer a nuanced discussion of the rising cost of food with a specific focus on local food and the value of a local food system. It will be led by Keltie Butler, Executive Director of Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia.
“Amid concern and even fear around the rising cost of food, we hope to excite a conversation about localizing our food system, invigorating our agricultural sector and investing in Nova Scotia,” Butler says.
This online event will be available to view through the Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia YouTube channel using the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inqNGK9ZbXo
A recording of the panel discussion will be available online following the live event.
For more information about the confirmed panel participants, please visit the Farmer’s Market of Nova Scotia website.