A food policy for Canada must support the next generation, promoting a diversity of farming practices, production, and accessibility to healthy food. The national food policy should include and support the development of organic agriculture as a model of sustainable production, which favours resilience of local populations, especially young people and women, to face climate change and food insecurity. As public trust in organics is at an all-time high, 44% of Canadians trust that the Canadian organic standards deliver on their promises.
New farmer entrants—millennials and women in particular—and entrepreneurs are attracted to organic production at a time when we are seeing major labour shortages on conventional farms and in the manufacturing agrifood industry. This is due not only to the higher premiums associated with selling organics, but also to the demand for organics and organic methods often being in line with their ethics. Twenty-nine per cent of Canada's organic farmers make over $500,000 in farm income, according to 2016 census data, offering a viable method to address rural poverty and bring the potential of new organic value-added manufacturing to rural landscapes.
Increasing access to and growing more affordable high-quality food must include organic food. A recent lpsos study demonstrated that Canadians across all income levels are purchasing organics weekly, dispelling the common misperception that organic products are only available to those with higher incomes. Sixty-four per cent of consumers with less than $40,000 in income buy organics weekly, compared to 70% of those with over $100,000 in income. Across all regions of Canada, at least 60% of grocery shoppers are buying organic products weekly, yet organics are still not accessible to all, whether because of production method or unavailability for purchase in their region. Canada needs to adopt policies that ensure that consumers, despite their location or income level, have the option to access organic food.
In order to achieve all of the goals we have set forth today, we are joining our partners in calling for the establishment of a national food policy council to ensure that appropriate approaches and successful implementation of the national food policy occurs. The proposed national food policy council would be a para-governmental agency, where diverse stakeholders from across the food system can work together to oversee the implementation and ongoing evaluation of a food policy for Canada. Working in—