Because we believe in fair, environmentally sustainable, livable,
and economically profitable rural and urban communities:
1)we support connecting people to our local food system
by enhancing knowledge about, and engagement in, the food in
our communities. This includes:
- empowering people to participate in the local food system
- improving our skills for growing, preserving, and preparing food
- educating ourselves and others about the food system
- encouraging respect for food and the ecosystems to which it is bound
- supporting the expansion of food grown or raised in urban and rural areas
2)… we support community economic development
by building the processing and distribution infrastructure required
to make local foods available for local residents and global trade.
This includes:
- prioritizing local processing, distribution, and retailing opportunities for
small- and medium-sized businesses - encouraging public institutions to buy local and environmentally
sustainable food - by encouraging policies and other initiatives which enable profitable
livelihoods for local farmers for generations to come.
4) we support ecological health
-by promoting and supporting food production and processing methods that
reduce greenhouse gas emissions; use less fossil-fuel energy; sustain or
enhance wildlife habitats, watersheds, biological and seed diversity, and soil
health; and that optimize or reduce the use of local natural resources to
ensure long-term ecological sustainability
-by ensuring access to a safe and sustainable water supply for all residents of
Waterloo Region
-by encouraging the reduction of food waste and excessive food packaging,
and supporting initiatives that strive to reduce or reuse food waste, such as
composting
5)we support integrated food policies at all levels of
government
-by encouraging joined-up policies across local, provincial, and federal levels
of government that aim to ensure that healthy, environmentally sustainable
food is available to everyone
-by recognizing the importance of comprehensive food strategies and policies
that promote a profitable, viable and ecologically sustainable food system