Press Releases and Media Advisories

October 2009

A Craving for Real Food

Ottawa, October 13, 2009 – If you are concerned about food, you’re not alone. A large majority of Canadians feel the same way, according to a national opinion poll released by Nanos Research and USC Canada today.

The poll, released for World Food Day (October 16), found that seven out of ten Canadians want farmers to have more influence on the food system. The same number of Canadians also said they trust the experience and knowledge of farmers over that of large agricultural corporations.

According to Nik Nanos, President of Nanos Research, Canadians have real concerns related to food production and how it impacts the environment and local economies. “Canadians are aware that their food choices have far reaching impacts. They want to know where their food comes from, who grew it, and under what circumstances.”

Many of today’s global challenges are connected to the way our food system operates, said Susan Walsh, Executive Director of USC Canada, who commissioned the Nanos poll. “More and more Canadians are calling for a better way of organizing the food system. People feel they’ve lost their vital connection to what they eat. There is a real sense of urgency. Canadians feel that this can’t continue, and we have to do something about it.”

“We need a food system that puts people, farmers, and the planet first. More than a billion small scale farmers around the world have sophisticated farming systems that are built on farmer knowledge and ecological diversity, and feed communities. We should be turning to them for solutions,” said Walsh.

“Canadians are demonstrating that they are willing to make food choices that can change the food system,” said Walsh. “A system that is fair, healthy, and produces real food – food they can trust.”

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The survey of 1001 Canadians was conducted in April 2009. The margin of accuracy for a random survey of 1,001 individuals is 3.1 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20. It is being released by USC Canada for their World Food Day events (October 16), and prior to the November World Food Summit in Rome.

For more information, contact Faris Ahmed in Ottawa 1-800-565-6872 x223 or by email at FAhmed@usc-canada.org.