Essay: Letter to the Government about food insecurity

My name is Bxxxxxxx Hxxx and I am a first year student at Queens University writing to you from Kingston, Ontario about the concerns I have regarding food insecurity. Nutrition is important for obtaining a healthy lifestyle, and many people unfortunately are still hungry around the world even though there is vast production of food. A main factor to why individuals still go hungry in today’s world is because of unhealthy food production as nowadays healthy food is getting more expensive in comparison to unhealthy food. Thus, we see many more obese people due to the fact of higher intake of cholesterol and higher fat containing food. Poor individuals are practically forced to eat unhealthy food, while rich people can afford to eat healthy food and absolutely anything they please. Food insecurity is caused by people not having the ability to provide their families with healthy food usually due to having a low income.
There can also be consideration for the idea of nationally closing food banks as the majority of donated food contains preservatives and canned goods. An abundance of research shows that even the people who use food banks for the most part still go hungry. According to Elaine Power, food banks can only supply food that has been donated. Therefore, there is a restricted supply of food as there is an immense demand for their services. Due to the overwhelming demand, food banks measure how much they give out, which usually averages to around one hamper of food per household, once a month. Food banks are also unable to do what they want, which is to “end hunger,” as they are only able to help 25% of individuals in need. The ultimate goal of ending hunger will not arise from food banks, as they have had the past 25 years to “end hunger” but the demand just continues to grow, and they’re not finding a viable permanent solution. Therefore, it would be best to find a new solution that would help end hunger for more people.
There are five things that I believe can in fact help the food system within Canada. One being the issue regarding our government having the legal duty to guarantee its citizens the right to adequate food. Yet four million Canadians, with 1.15 million being children, have difficulty putting food on the table. This problem is also intensified in northern and remote areas, such as Nunavut where two thirds of children there are food insecure. What I think the government can do to help this issue is to improve social programs and work to guarantee that there is an income floor which no individual falls below, so that every Canadian has the ability to afford adequate, nutritious food. Secondly, we need to improve affordability and access to food while strengthening and supporting northern regional food systems, which includes public support for programs enhancing access to traditional foods. It would also be important that investment agreements and international trade do not weaken public programs that improve respect towards sustainable livelihoods, human rights, and/or food sovereignty. Thirdly, the government has made a great first step as they announced a healthy eating strategy, but there is still more help needed for Canadians to make these healthy food choices. The way Canadians eat can affect their health tremendously, therefore, it is important that we address these unhealthy diets to ultimately reduce the increasing rates of diet-related diseases that will continue to overwhelm our healthcare system unless changes are made. What I think the government should do is integrate sustainability within Canada’s Food Guide, to create a strong policy connection between sustainable food production and healthy eating. As well as, create a national school program that involves healthy food to ensure that all children in school will learn basic necessities regarding proper nutrition. The government could also set targets for sustainable healthy food obtained by public institutions to guarantee public spaces are also healthy spaces. Fourthly, unsustainable fishing practices and farming put a large strain on our land, oceans and waterways, this threatens the feasibility of our food-production systems. Another determinant according to Laura Anderson is to consider that Canadians waste 40% of the food that we produce, this costs us roughly $31 billion yearly. Anderson also states that this can become a problem as half of Canadian farmers are 55 years or older with only one in twelve having someone to replace them when they retire, which has led to a vast decline in the number of farms nationally. What I think the government can accomplish to fix this is through the next agricultural policy outline, reward and incentivize the best practices of environmental sustainability along with climate resiliency and provide support for new farmers. Taking leadership and work with municipal, provincial and territorial governments to guarantee that less food is being wasted from farm to fork. Lastly, food was frequently a tool of colonization, but it is also used as a tool for reconciliation and healing. Indigenous food systems are intensely connected to Indigenous cultures, health, wellbeing and economies. What I believe the government can do is work alongside Indigenous people to guarantee that they have more authority over the food that they consume and ensure access to traditional land-based foods, including fishing and hunting rights. As well as, supporting Indigenous leadership to work on the epidemic of diseases related to diet and food insecurity among Indigenous populations.