Bridging Borders Highlights

Between October 7-11, 2006, participants from across North America gathered together in Vancouver for the Bridging Borders Toward Food Security Conference. Hosted by the Vancouver Food Policy Council, the conference was organized by the California-based Community Food Security Coalition and Food Secure Canada, a new Canadian organization.

Participants at the conference met to discuss strategies for improving access to affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate food, and explored opportunities to build sustainable food systems.

Hunger, childhood obesity, urban agriculture, and development on our limited prime agricultural land were just a few of the many issues raised during the conference. As the Vancouver Food Policy Council's Devorah Kahn indicated prior to the conference, "We are meeting to discuss how to work towards viable solutions at the policy and grassroots levels."

As food safety scares grip North Americans, working towards more localized food systems is perhaps more timely now than ever before. With our rapidly changing climate being a result, among others, of our industrialized food systems, climatic changes will also be greatly influencing where food can be grown and how. The subject matter of Bridging Borders Toward Food Security encompasses some of the most pressing issues of our time.

Deconstructing Dinner was on hand to record hours upon hours of the conference, and over the next few months we will be featuring these exclusive recordings. This particular broadcast will provide a collage of the passion that individuals and organizations across the continent are showing for food.

Voices Heard...

Andy Fisher - Executive Director, Community Food Security Coalition (California) Devorah Kahn - Food Policy Coordinator, Vancouver Food Policy Council Gordon Hogg - Minister of State, ActNow BC Peter Ladner - City Councillor, City of Vancouver Jacqueline Tiller - Associate Director, Training & Technical Assistance, First Nations Development Institute (Alaska) Michael Roberts - President, First Nations Development Institute (Colorado) Nicole Manuel - Secwepemc Nation (Chase, BC) Paul Smith - Heifer International Indian Nations Program (Wisconsin) Cathleen Kneen - Chair, Food Secure Canada (Ottawa, Ontario) Dena Hoff - Chair, Northern Plains Resource Council (Montana) Alberto Gomez - National Coordinator, UNORCA (Mexico) Carlos Marentes - Director, Border Agricultural Workers Project (Texas) Karen Pedersen - National Farmers' Union (Cut Knife, Saskatchewan) Ken Meter - President, Crossroads Resource Center (Minnesota) Loel Solomon - Kaiser Permanente (California) Michael Jahi Chappell - University of Michigan, Dept. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Alisa Smith & James MacKinnon - 100-Mile Diet Society (Vancouver, BC) and others...