Agriculture Committee on Oct. 5th, 2017

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

That's an interesting challenge because as a principal for 25 years, I kept everybody out of the door so teachers could implement the curriculum they had in front of them, and food literacy wasn't a part of it.

[Jack Froese]

I know.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

That's another challenge in a sense of how to get into that curriculum cycle.

[Jack Froese]

Very much so.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

I do like getting people to the farm gate.

[Jack Froese]

That is critical. We were at the USDA conference in February, and a fellow from 40 miles outside Washington was taking people to the farm. That's all he was doing. He was running a conventional farm with biotechnology using genetic modification, and his neighbour was an organic farmer. They lived side by side doing a really good job in bringing people to the farms and showing them what they were doing and how they were complementing each other—how things all worked out. That goes back to what we were hearing before. We can't decide that one system is better than the other. We have to let the farmers decide where they want to produce their crops.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Right. It's similar with dairy; the innovation that's occurred there is phenomenal. I milked cows by hand as a child, and that was the newest thing compared to what you have now, getting people out to see where the dairy products come from. Is your organization promoting it? Can you give me examples?

[Pierre Lampron]

We're doing many things.

We're part of the UPA, in Quebec. We participate in the fall open houses, which have been running for about 15 years. This type of event is organized in each region, and the public is invited to visit the farmers. I know that other provinces in Canada also do this.

We try to promote our work in various ways. We have farms ready to open as soon as any visit requests are made. We also have programs in schools, in particular in Mr. Poissant's region. Some farmers have video presentations that explain to children what they call the milk route. The video shows the path followed by milk, from the cow to the grocery store, by way of the truck and the factory.

We also sponsor television programs. This type of promotion doesn't provide an in-depth perspective. However, it helps show people from the city the work done by farmers. They understand that we work so they can put food on the table.

We're always looking for new ideas.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

What is your view of the relationship between Canada's food guide and Canadian food policy? We have one out there that has existed over the decades with variations. Now we're talking about the Canada food policy. How do you see those two pieces working together?

[Yves Leduc, Director, Policy and Trade, Dairy Farmers of Canada]

I think it's one element of a broader food policy. Look at the four pillars of the food policy being developed under the leadership of Minister MacAulay: to increase the production of affordable food; to increase the safety, quality, and the health aspect of the food we're producing here in Canada; to preserve the quality of soil, water, and air; and also to produce a higher volume or a greater quantity of quality food products.

I think that shows it's a very broad undertaking. The food policy that took place in June shows that it is a major—

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Mr. Leduc, you may have the chance to finish responding when another member asks questions.

Thank you, Mr. Shields.

Ms. Nassif, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Eva Nassif, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the witnesses for their presentations.

I'm a new member of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. I'm also a member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. As such and as a woman, I'm pleased to see a young woman, Ms. Fenton, leading the National Farmers Union.

Ms. Fenton, I want to congratulate you for all that you're doing.

What motivated you to work in this field?

[Ayla Fenton]

I am pretty much the average new farmer of today. Our research is showing that about 60% of young people entering agriculture today are young women. What made me enter agriculture was learning about agriculture from an environmental perspective and the environmental externalities created by the industrial agriculture model when I did my undergraduate degree in biology. I also studied food security at Ryerson after that. For me it was partly a desire not to work in an office for the rest of my life, but also because I view farming as a way to change the world, change the way things are done, and contribute to improving social justice and environmental issues and the health issues industry.

[Eva Nassif, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

That's excellent.

How can we encourage other young people, other entrepreneurs, and especially women to work in this field?

[Ayla Fenton]

A very important part of that is education at the primary and secondary levels as core curriculum in food and agriculture in our schools in Canada. Personally, I got into farming when I was in my early twenties, but it was never presented to me as a career option when I was going through school. If you're smart, it's as if you go to university to become a doctor, a teacher, a lawyer, or an engineer, and those are about the only career options that are ever talked about. It's not just farming—they never talk about anything in the food system.

I overheard your comments in the last session about the need for more butchers and other tradespeople in the food system. We need to encourage young people even just to be aware that these careers exist. If I had known at a young age that I could spend my whole life outdoors, working with animals and plants and being a steward of the environment, I would have taken a very different path after high school.

[Eva Nassif, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Ms. Fenton, I have one last question.

What barriers did you need to overcome as a woman in this male-dominated field?

[Ayla Fenton]

Yes, that's true. I am an organic farmer and I practise direct marketing, so I sell directly into farmers' markets in Kingston. That is a little different, because there are more women in that sector of agriculture than in other sectors, but there is still quite a bit of stigma. If a delivery person comes to the farm, they say, “Where is your husband?” I have to say, “No, it's me.” Mostly it's just minor things like that.

I also work in a organization, the National Farmers Union, that has always valued gender equity, including at all levels of leadership in the organization. That is not the case in most farm groups, general farm organizations, or commodity groups. There is a major lack of women on boards and in leadership positions in those organizations.

[Eva Nassif, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Thank you.

Mr. Lampron, I want to ask you a question.

Many experts agree that good nutrition contributes to health. They believe that healthy eating habits come from education.

You mentioned earlier that Health Canada sometimes bombards you with publications indicating that dairy products aren't very advisable.

What strategies would you recommend to promote nutritional literacy, in particular with regard to dairy products, and to incorporate it into our future food policy?

[Pierre Lampron]

It's a project concerning the next food guide, which must really be based on scientific facts. We don't want to go against scientifically proven facts.

We're dairy farmers. Our milk is healthy, but processed. Maybe sugar or salt has been added, but it's mainly for preservation purposes.

The decisions must really be based on scientific facts, and not just on philosophies. As we know, there's pressure from people who oppose farms. The people who oppose farms oppose our products, but our food products are healthy. That's what matters.

[Eva Nassif, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Aren't Health Canada's publications or the different versions of the food guide always based on scientific facts?

[Pierre Lampron]

I hope so.

[Eva Nassif, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Also, some realities are difficult to reconcile, such as the improvement of access to affordable food and the production of high-quality food.

The next question is for everyone.

We're often told that more affordable food isn't the healthiest or the best. For example, the Dietitians of Canada representative appeared before the committee last week. She said that, in some cases, the value-added products, such as canned tomatoes with added salt, are more expensive than the products that don't have anything added.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Ms. Nassif, your speaking time has ended, unfortunately.

[Eva Nassif, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Maybe someone else can answer your question later.

Ms. Brosseau, you have the floor for six minutes.