Food

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Food   

It is food that gives us the energy to work, play, think and create. We all need a variety and range of foods that can be prepared easily. We should also be eating more healthy foods to keep us moving daily. In recent years, we have come to expect a wider concern with the ease of shopping than in what the item wastes in nutrition, calories and packaging. On top of that, our global food system contributes 21%-37% of the greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity. The sources of this are nitrogen fertilizers, deforestation in order to create agricultural land, methane from livestock, food processing, transportation and packaging, and heating greenhouses. Our food system is also responsible for polluting our ecosystem with synthetic herbicides and pesticides as well as unfairly treating farmers and agricultural workers.

We can reduce the impact on our environment and improve our health by:

• Growing some of our own food and herbs
• Eliminating use of pesticides and herbicides 
• Using locally grown fresh produce to decrease use of fuel in delivery
• Buying food with as little packaging as possible and in bulk
• Varying our diet with lentils, beans, rices and nuts
• Eating more raw or lightly cooked foods ie. steamed, stir- fryed
• Cutting down on sugar, salt and caffeine, fats and heavy meats

Another way to reduce our food waste is to donate food that we do not need or will not use. The London Cares Curb Hunger Campaign partnered with the London Food Bank to raise awareness of the need for fresh food, non-perishable food, and financial donations in our community. You can participate in this annual campaign by donating fresh or non-perishable foods, volunteer to Grow-A-Row or Adopt-a-Plot, or through financial donations. You can find more information on other organizations in London working to do their part here.

Gardening

Creating a vegetable and/or herb garden at home is a great way to cut back on grocery bills and eat healthy, local produce. You can buy produce seeds from grocery stores, local businesses, and gardening trade shows. On top of that, seeds and cuttings can often be harvested from the produce we eat and be used to grow our own.

Make sure you know the growing conditions of your produce before planting them as every plant has different requirements for sunlight, water, temperature, and space. This information can often be found on the back of seed packets or can be researched online. Improper care leads to less produce, slower growth, and/or wilting.

Herb and vegetable gardens can be grown indoors or outdoors. Indoor gardens often require supplemental lighting, or you can avoid this by growing plants that prefer more shade like leafy greens. For people living in apartments, purchase planters that can be hung over balcony railings in order to maximize gardening space.

If you have a composter, gardening waste such as leaves and wilted flowers, can also be turned into compost which you can later add to your garden to grow healthier plants.

If you find your garden has become infested with pesky bugs, you can use biological control agents to manage their populations in a safe and sustainable way. Biological control agents are predatory invertebrates that feed on pests, you can either purchase them from specialized stores or you can also attract them to your garden by planting specific vegetation. An example of a biological control agent would be ladybugs which feed on aphids. There are other sustainable ways of dealing with pests such as pheromone traps which can be used for pests like Japanese beetles and handpicking them and throwing them into a bucket of soapy water. Make sure a bug is a pest before removing them from a plant, you can use resources like insect identification guides and BugGuide.net to identify it. This will also give you a chance to learn more about local beneficial and harmful bugs in your area.

Packaging

Take one quick glance around any grocery store and you will notice that almost every single item is packaged. Sometimes the packaging will be recyclable such as cardboard boxes or glass bottles, however, a lot of the time items will be wrapped in plastic. Plastic packaging is destined for the landfill where it will pollute our environment.

Take sustainable action by avoiding purchasing any food items that have plastic packaging or components. Look for alternatives that have minimal plastic packaging, recyclable or biodegradable packaging, or ideally, no packaging at all. When purchasing produce, only buy produce that is unpackaged, and instead of putting it into plastic bags, use reusable cloth bags.

In 2018 a packaging-free grocery store called ReImagine Co was born. What started off as a three-month pop-up project turned into the first zero-waste grocery store in London by 2020. London has many options when it comes to buying local such as local butchers, grocers, and farmer’s markets. Check out London Food Co-op for local, certified organic, Fairtrade food.

Nutrition

Eating a balanced diet is key to being healthy and staying energized. A balanced diet includes foods of different colours, your plate should never be filled with a food of just one colour. Half of a meal should consist of fruits and vegetables while the other half should be comprised of grains and proteins.

Eating large amounts of fruits and vegetables is essential as they contain a large amount and variety of nutrients such as fibre, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin A. They are also low in calories, fat, and cholesterol and could potentially decrease risk of chronic diseases. It’s also better to eat whole fruit and vegetables instead of juices, many juices are supplemented with large amounts of sugar.

There are 2 types of grain, whole grain and refined grain. Whole grain is the healthier option, it contains more components of the plant making it more nutritious while refined grains are milled, removing fibre and other essential vitamins in the process. Refined grains are often enriched with vitamins but are still less healthy than whole grain products. Examples of refined grains would be white flour and bread while whole grain products are foods such as brown rice and quinoa. Grains, especially whole grains, contain nutrients such as iron, fibre, and vitamins that help with metabolism.

Protein is the most important macromolecule in the body, it’s a key component in creating bones, hair, hormones, muscle, blood and so on. This is why we need to keep an eye on the protein rich products we eat. Protein rich foods include red meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, legumes, and seeds. Protein rich foods are also often high in iron, zinc, magnesium, and vitamin E. However, eating too much meat can have negative impacts on your health, always eat meat in moderation. Meats are often high in calories so consuming too much meat is likely to exceed the recommended daily intake of calories. In addition, limit the amount of processed meats you consume such as bacon and hot dogs, these meats often contain large amounts of LDL cholesterol which can increase the risk of heart problems.

Consuming dairy or calcium-fortified products is essential as calcium promotes bone health. Dairy products are also fortified with vitamin D which helps to maintain bone structure. Avoid dairy products that are high in fats and LDL cholesterol as consuming to much of these can be harmful to your health and will often exceed your calories intake for the day. If you prefer to avoid dairy, there are plenty of calcium-rich alternatives such as:

• Calcium fortified products like juices, almond milk, and cereal
• Canned fish
• Soy products
• Leafy greens such as bok choy, kale, and collards

The Canada Food Guide recommends eating foods with healthy fats while avoiding any saturated fats. Recommended foods to get oil from are fish, nuts, and vegetable oils, and soy products.

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Sustainable Foraging

Gain a deeper appreciation for local plants and fungi by delving into sustainable foraging. Foraging involves visiting local forests and natural areas and harvesting plants and fungi to consume. It’s a great way to learn about local species, their nutritional properties, and how to identify them. It can also save costs on groceries and allow you to try cooking with ingredients that cannot be bought at the supermarket. Visit Forest City TREEats to find out what is in season and to take a look at their map of forageable food in London.

When foraging, always make sure you come prepared for the weather and with an identification guide. Foraging will often take you to areas that are prone to ticks so make sure you wear long sleeve shirts, closed toe shoes, and long pants to avoid risk of tick bites. Many plants and fungi have look-alikes that can be hazardous to your health, make sure you are certain that the plant you are foraging is the correct species. If you are not certain do not harvest the plant. Some species such as pheasant’s back mushrooms also only cause adverse reactions in some people so make sure you do your research before foraging.  A great resource is the Forage City Facebook group, discussion on where and what to forage is updated frequently by members of the community.

To ensure you are foraging plants sustainably, do not overharvest, if there are very few of one plant in an area, do not pluck it. Also, avoid harvesting too much from one plant if possible. The exception to this would be invasive species such as garlic mustard, however, precautions must be taken to prevent spreading the seeds of invasive plants. In regard to fungi, make sure to not harvest too many mushrooms as this can prevent the fungi from reproducing. Do not pluck the mushroom, make sure you cut it off about a centimetre from the bottom in order to protect the fragile mycelium.

Buying Sustainably

Local

A typical meal has traveled thousands of kilometres before making it to your table. Consider the true cost of your food in terms of transportation and the emissions and smog generated, processing, refrigeration and distribution. In supporting local farmers and businesses, you reduce your ecological footprint and move towards organic foods or seasonal fruits and vegetables to reduce your exposure to synthetic chemicals. You also access fresher produce picked likely the day before, giving it more flavour and nutrition.

Consider a commitment to eat only foods within a 100 mile radius of your home. The 100-Mile Diet is a diet built with the purpose of buying sustainably, by focusing as much of your purchasing power into the local market as you can. Read the book that started it all for tips from authors Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon who spent one year eating food produced within 100 miles of their Vancouver home. Use the mapping tool to find your 100 mile boundary and get started even if it is just one day to begin with.

You can also try joining the locavore movement, a movement with the purpose of eating sustainably by eating locally to avoid the carbon costs of transportation and food packaging. The Middlesex Federation of Agriculture has published several versions of the Middlesex-London Local Food Guide which has information that can help Londoners secure local produce year-round. Check out the map provided on page nine of their guide to easily locate year-round local food from London and the surrounding areas. It can help to know when certain produce is in season when trying to eat locally, you can find such information through Ontario’s Availability Guide. It is also important to know how to preserve local produce for winter, to be able to reliably eat locally grown or prepared foods. Ask your favourite restaurant if they use local and organic produce! It’s the next frontier of food and critical to sustaining our natural resources.

It is important to ask ourselves how much we are overusing our planetary resources. It takes 5 Earths to live like a Canadian. If you would like to know more about our overshooting of our planet’s resources Earth Overshoot Day’s website is a great resource.

Buying locally grown food, achieves one of the ten challenges in the David Suzuki Nature Challenge, an action list to most effectively protect the environment and improve our quality of life. Another challenge on this list involves eating meat-free meals one day a week. Most of the world’s water is used for agriculture. However, meat production and processing requires far more water compared to any other food process. Meat production is also the world’s largest user of land, for pastures and arable land. When trying to eat locally in London without losing the convenience of modern grocery stores a great option is On the Move Organics. On the Move organics works to reconstruct the conventional food system in South-Western Ontario through working with local food producers to provide access to and deliver local organic food straight to your door.  

London and the surrounding areas have many local farmers markets to visit and shop from. Many of these local farms sell their products at the St. Mary’s Farmers Market, Western Fair Market, Covent Garden Market, Horton Farmer’s Market, and Strathroy Farmer’s Market on the weekends.  Some of these markets are also open during the week such as the Komoka Market, Wildflowers Night Market, and the small markets that are actually run on location at some of these farms. Mulberry Moon Farm, Slegers Living Organic Greens, and more have on-site farm markets. If visiting these farms directly seems daunting there are also many local farms with online stores, and some even have food box delivery programs through Farm Shares and Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSA’s). These programs help support local farms through buying a share of the harvest for the season, then the farms will pick your produce at the peak of harvest and send it to you weekly. If you are interested in CSA programs Ontario has a directory with a map to find all of the local farms with a CSA program. Other programs in London that provide food boxes are the London Good Food Box and the Lifespin Community Food Box which are both more affordable solutions to buying local.

For information on where to shop local, organic food, please see the London Area Organic Growers website.

Fairtrade

Sustainability is at the forefront of Fairtrade as its goal is to strengthen economies, create a fair society, and that resources are consumed within our means. This is accomplished by providing farmers and workers with a fair income for their produce and labour. Fairtrade also promotes worker rights and safe working conditions for those that work on plantations. Farmers and workers are empowered by connecting them with stakeholders and giving them a voice on an international scale. Consumers also pay a Fairtrade Premium which communities can use to fund better healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Fairtrade farmers are also expected to farm in a sustainable manner and are provided training to learn about sustainable farming.

Fairtrade items can be found at grocery stores, cafes, restaurants, and local businesses. All Fairtrade products have a label on them confirming that they are certified Fairtrade.

Fairtrade products include:

• Coffee
• Bananas
• Herbs
• Ice cream
• Tea

London Initiatives

Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture brings London communities together in order to grow, process, and share fresh produce between neighbourhoods. It includes strategies such as community gardens, urban beekeeping, community kitchens, farmer’s markets and more. Benefits of urban agriculture are:

• Creation of greenspaces for food
• Active outdoor community engagement
• Increased access to fresh, local, and affordable food
• Forming habitats for pollinators

Many neighbourhoods in London have community gardens, these are a great way to connect with your community and get the chance to grow produce, especially if gardening space is limited at home. They also offer a way to get inexpensive, fresh, and nutritious produce. These gardens turn once unused plots of land into a sustainable greenspace. Currently the City of London has over 21 community gardens and over 500 plots. Community garden plots are also available for rent depending on your income.  Also ask about private community gardens as there may be one near your home.

An additional form of community gardens is school gardens, where students get the chance to create a community garden together. This gives students the opportunity to learn more about the food system and how their food is grown. One school even planted a food forest as a more long-term project to provide healthy and fresh snacks to the kids for years to come.

Food forests and other “foodscaping” projects are another urban agriculture initiative that the City planned for in their 2017 Urban Agriculture Strategy. Today the city has two community run food forests at Wood St. Park and West Lions Park. There is also the Carolinian Food Forest, a project started in 2017 with the goal of making a food forest that was composed of entirely native Carolinian plants. ReForest London has also worked on two orchards at King’s University College at Western and the London Food Bank. Six more orchards were grown as community efforts next to their respective community gardens. There have also been efforts to replace non-edible plants in city planters with edible ones, as well as to track these edible plants for people to enjoy. Forest City TREEats has an excellent map of edible plants available for citizens of London to forage from and enjoy, visit their website to find out which edible plants are in season now. If you are interested in how urban agriculture is a climate action please see the brochure Urban Agriculture as Climate Action.

Pollinators are essential to the wellbeing of our ecosystems which is why we need to protect our bee populations. Urban agriculture promotes the creation of pollinator gardens as well as urban beekeeping, where people keep hives on their property. If you’re interested in becoming a beekeeper, make sure to follow provincial guidelines which limit how close bees can be to residential and public spaces. Park naturalization is another way London is supporting urban pollinators. Through increasing biodiversity in our parks we help to increase new wild habitats for pollinators as well as other urban creatures. Visit the Pollinator Pathways Project for information on pollinator garden programs in London. 

Another aspect of urban agriculture is community kitchens. These provide people with an opportunity to share cooking skills and engage with their community. It can also provide low income communities with local and fresh food and spread awareness on the need for food security.. Visit Growing Chefs! for more information about community food education and cooking programs in London.

Resource sharing allows for community members to work together in order to build a more sustainable and healthier neighbourhood. When it comes to urban agriculture in London, resource sharing consists of starting a tool library where people can borrow gardening tools instead of buying their own, and seed swaps where people can exchange their heritage plant seeds. Resource sharing can help promote community projects such as community and pollinator gardens and can also improve the living spaces of community members. It can also remove barriers by engaging community members and providing them with tools and knowledge they may not have had access to otherwise.

Farmers markets allow for small scale farmers and other community members to sell their products. This promotes local businesses and gives people an opportunity to buy food locally, reducing their ecological footprint. It also increases the availability of nutritional food and prevents ‘food deserts’ which is where fast food restaurants are much more accessible than grocery stores. There are also local community gardens like the one at White Oaks Church, or the Westview Community Garden. The Westview Community Garden is run by Grow Cook Learn, a community through food security and education organization that also hosts cooking workshops and other programs. London also has a London Community Gardens Strategic Plan that outlines the overall vision and direction for community gardens across London. For more information on community gardens in London visit the City of London’s website or look at the most recent report.

Food waste is a massive issue within Canada, in fact a third of all food produced in Canada goes to waste. Urban agriculture aims to mitigate this by offering strategies to reduce and divert the amount of waste that we produce. One strategy is composting on the residential and community scale. This involves using a composter to break down organic matter such as food scraps and yard waste to use in the garden. Many community gardens in London are seeking quality compost in order to grow healthier and more nutritious plants.

Food hubs are a collection of resources regarding food systems that are accessible to the general public. Food hubs include resources on:

• Food nutrition and knowledge
• Food decisions
• Ecological factors involved in food
• Food skills such as gardening and cooking
• Self-efficacy and confidence

Food hubs will also contain information on food-related initiatives in the area such as community gardens, tool libraries, and community kitchens. They empower the public by providing all the information they need on food in their local area.

Community education and training provides accessible and hands-on experience working with food. This can include workshops and festivals and bring the community together to celebrate food. Education in food systems is key to informing people about the resources and the needs and benefits of our current food system. If you would like to attend free cooking classes, the Covent Garden Market hosts Cooking Demo classes on Saturdays (10am-11am) and Sundays (12pm-1pm) as well as Cooking Class on Thursdays. For more details on their events visit their website.

You can find more information on urban agriculture in London here.

London Food Charter

The London Food Charter emerged from the community’s shared priorities of eliminating poverty and increasing healthy living. The purpose of the food charter is to promote food security within the London area. This would mean that every single Londoner has access to safe and nutritious food at all times. In order to accomplish this, the Food Charter envisions a London where:

• Londoners have a just and sustainable food system
• Everybody receives an income that can afford them safe and nutritious food
• Stores and markets that sell food are easily accessible
• There are plenty of opportunities to teach people about food
• Londoners can take part in urban agriculture

If you would like to review the Food Charter, click here.

Middlesex-London Food Policy Council

Middlesex-London Food Policy Council is dedicated to providing the Middlesex-London area with a safe, equitable and environmentally friendly food system that is accessible to everybody. The mission of this group is to:

• Provide a way for the public to discuss issues about the food system
• Involve the public in decisions regarding food systems
• Foster coordination and communication between different sectors of the food system
• Create and change policies
• Provide support programs

Means of carrying out this mission are pushing for policy changes that benefit the community, identify food system issues, develop initiatives to take action, involving the public in the conversation about food systems, and by conducting research on local food systems. Community food assessments provided a foundation for the Middlesex-London Food Council to organize and act on their mission.

Middlesex-London Community Food Assessment (2016)

The Community Food Assessment, or CFA, was focused on analyzing the benefits and needs of food systems within the area and coming up with an action plan in order to improve it. The CFA hoped to engage the community on the topic of food systems in order to spread awareness on food-related issues, and food security and sustainability. The CFA intended to provide the community with food sovereignty which is the right for people to have access to healthy and culturally appropriate food that is sustainably harvested. The assessment of the food system consisted of 10 categories:

• Population statistics
• Food production
• Food access and distribution
• Food purchasing and consumption
• Food education, knowledge and literacy
• Food waste management
• Food policy and advocacy
• Risk management and food safety
• Food innovation and technology
• Food funding, finance, and investment

These 10 categories were the scope of the CFA.

Furthermore, the assessment outlined 4 areas to take action on and plan community initiatives around them. These 4 areas were:

• Food waste reduction
• Food literacy
• Food processing and distribution
• Small-scale agriculture production

To learn more about the Middlesex-London Community Food Assessment 2016 click here.

The London Environmental Network (LEN) Food Security Map

LEN has worked together with other member organizations to make a map of all the sites in London where fresh food is grown, processed, or distributed including regional farms, markets and mills within a 50km radius from London.

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