Dinners and a Movie

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An Invitation to All Eaters

The PEI Food Security Network, Inc. and the Food Counts project (including Institute of Island Studies)

Invite you to attend
A dinner-discussion on Local Food
and the state of Island Farming and Fishing

Including a launch of the film:
“Who will grow our food?
Island farmers’ voices on food security”

a pot-luck dinner and after-dinner-discussion with Island farmers exploring the state of farming and the rebuilding of PEI’s local food economy

Free! Enjoy fresh local food shared with friends and neighbours!

Film Launch Sunday Nov. 6
Main Building, UPEI, Room 201 (main floor, west end)

Pot-luck dinner at 5:30 p.m. Film screening at 6:30 p.m. Guest reflections from Island farmers 6:45 p.m. After-dinner discussion until 7:30 p.m.

Community Halls dinner-discussions

• Tuesday Nov. 8 at York Community Centre, 6:30 – 8:30 PM
• Thursday Nov.10 at Wheatley River Community Centre, 6:30 – 8:30 PM
• Wednesday Nov.16 at Cambridge Hall, Lower Montague/Murray Harbour North, 6:30 – 8:30 PM

Pot-luck dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. – bring a plate! followed by Film screening at 7:30 p.m. , reflections from Island farmers at 7:45 p.m. and after-dinner discussion until 8:30 p.m.

Genetically Modified Atlantic Salmon:

Another event that may be of interest to Food Security Network members…..

Genetically Modified Atlantic Salmon:
PEI is at the center of the global controversy

* Monday October 24, 2011, 7:00pm-9:00pm *

The Rodd Charlottetown Hotel, Georgian Ballroom, 75 Kent Street, Charlottetown, PEI

Will PEI be the world’s supplier of genetically modified (GM) Atlantic salmon eggs? The small US company AquaBounty wants to produce GM salmon eggs on PEI – the first-ever GM food animal – to grow-out in Panama and sell to US consumers. What are the risks for wild Atlantic salmon? What’s happening in Canada? Does PEI have a say?

*Speakers:*

• Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, Ottawa
• Eric Hoffman, Biotechnology Policy Campaigner, Friends of the Earth U.S., Washington DC
• Jaydee Hanson, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Food Safety, Washington DC
• Leo Broderick, Vice Chair, Council of Canadians, PEI

This event will be followed by public forums in Fredericton Oct 25, Halifax Oct 26, St. John’s Oct 27.
For more details:http://www.cban.ca/events

Presented by: The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, Center for Food Safety U.S., Conservation Council of New Brunswick, PEI and St. John’s Chapters of the Council of Canadians, EarthAction PEI, Ecology Action Centre Nova Scotia, Fundy Baykeeper, PEI Health Coalition, Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Network, Friends of the Earth U.S., Sierra Club Atlantic Canada.

For more information on genetically modified fish :http://www.cban.ca/fish

*Summary:*

The small US company AquaBounty is asking the U.S. to approve its genetically engineered (also called genetically modified or GM) Atlantic salmon for human consumption. The company claims its “AquAdvantage” salmon can grow to market-size twice as fast as other farmed salmon. The Atlantic salmon are engineered with a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon and genetic material from ocean pout (an eel-like creature).

The company is not asking for approval to grow the fish in the U.S. but plans to
produce all of its GM salmon eggs on PEI, ship the eggs to Panama for grow-out and processing, and then sell “table-ready” GM salmon to U.S. consumers.

AquaBounty does not yet have permission from Environment Canada to produce GM salmon eggs at it’s PEI facility but the department refuses to say if it is currently assessing a request from the company. Health Canada also refuses to say if AquaBounty has asked to have the GM salmon approved for human consumption in Canada. There are no public consultations.

Any risk of GM Atlantic salmon escaping into the wild is unacceptable, especially
when Atlantic salmon are already in danger of disappearing. Join us to discuss these and other important questions – Come out to hear who is making the decisions, what is happening in the U.S., and how PEI is at the center of the global controversy over GM fish.

For more information on genetically modified fish :http://www.cban.ca/fish

Please note that this is not a PEI Food Security Network initiative. For more information on this event, please contact the coordinators directly. Thanks!

First Annual George McRobie Lecture

Something of interest to PEI Food Security Network Members……

First Annual George McRobie Lecture, at the Macphail Homestead

The First Annual George McRobie Lecture will be presented by Patrick
Holden, CBE, at the Macphail Homestead on Monday, October 24th ,
beginning at 7:00 p.m., with a reception and cash-bar at 6:00. The title
of Mr. Holden’s talk will be “Sustainable Food Systems for the 21st
Century: The Challenge for Prince Edward Island.”

This special lecture series is named in honour of Dr. George McRobie,
Patron for The Homestead Farm, the new sustainable agriculture component
of the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead.

George McRobie has long been one of the world’s leading proponents of
sustainable agriculture and appropriate, small-scale technology. He was
a close friend and colleague of the radical economist E.F. Schumacher,
whose landmark book /Small Is Beautiful /made such an impact in the
latter part of the 20^th century.More recently, McRobie has served as
President of the Soil Association, Britain’s foremost farm organization
promoting organic agriculture — with Prince Charles as Patron. Dr.
McRobie has been awarded an honorary degree by the University of Prince
Edward Island, and is at present a part-time Islander, dividing the year
between homes in London and Brackley Beach.

Patrick Holden is a noted international authority in the field of
sustainable agriculture. Himself the operator of an organic dairy farm
in Wales since 1973 — which now boasts a herd of 75 Ayrshire cows –
Holden worked for 20 years with the Soil Association, during the last 15
of which he served as the Director.In 2010 he founded a new organization
– The Sustainable Food Trust — with a mandate to provide a global
voice for the Sustainable Food Movement.

Mr. Holden’s visit to the Island is made possible through the support of
the PEI Department of Agriculture.

Since meeting space is limited at the Homestead — capacity about 50
people — you should register in advance by phoning (902) 651-2789, or
sending an email to macphailhomestead@pei.aibn.com.

Please note that this is not a PEI Food Security Network initiative. For more information on this event, please contact the coordinators directly. Thanks!

Liberal Party Supports a National Food Policy

The Prince Edward Island Food Security Network was pleased to receive a response from the Liberal Party of PEI to questions it had asked of all parties regarding their support for a national food policy.

The letter from party leader Premier Robert Ghiz states, “The Liberal Party is supportive of a national food policy and will continue to encourage the federal government to work on this initiative,” and he concludes, “I think it is fair to say that our Party is aligned closely with the goals and objectives of your organization and we will continue to work closely with all stakeholders within the industry.”

The Liberal Party response arrived too late to be included in a September 27 summary of other parties’ positions on the principles of a national food policy.

The Food Security Network congratulates the Liberal Party on its election win and will work with the government to uphold the commitment it expresses in the Liberal Party’s letter to us.

Cinema Politica

Dear Food Security Network Members,

Please see message below regarding a viewing of the film “The Garden” being held by Cinema Politica Charlottetown and the PEI Food Security Network on October 17th.

______________________________________________________________________

*Cinema Politica in October*

The Garden
Monday, October 17
7:00 p.m.

Lecture Theatre A,
Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI

In honour of World Food Day, Cinema Politica Charlottetown and the PEI Food Security Network will present the documentary *The Garden * on Monday, October 17th at 7:00 p.m. in Lecture Theatre A of the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI.

About the Film:

The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South
Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.

The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if
they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers.

The film explores and exposes the fault lines in American society and raises crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.

For more information about Cinema Politica, contact charlottetown@cinemapolitica.org or check out our page on Facebook, or visit http://www.cinemapolitica.org