Did you know that only 34 per cent of British Columbia’s food supply is grown within the province? Or that overall in Canada, between 61 to 80 per cent of our vegetables come from the United States.
Food issues - what we eat, how it’s grown, and where it comes from – raise complex questions. Bowen Island Food Resilience Society (BIFS), in partnership with the Bowen Island Public Library, organized ‘Food Matters,’ a series of four talks by Bowen Island food experts. Each of the four speakers presented their own perspective on these issues, made even more timely by the current state of United States and Canada relations.
On Nov. 3, 2024, Dr. Phil Gregory spoke on “Food’s Future: Nature or Technology?” Phil compared the prevailing but unsustainable Industrial Agriculture approach to an Organic Regenerative Agriculture approach.
The latter has emerged from a revolution in our understanding of nature’s synergy between plants, microbes, soil, and animals and their beneficial connections with soil health, human health, and climate change.
He explored many unintended consequences of technological innovations in agriculture and provided evidence that herbivores can be a big part of the solution to our environmental crises if managed to mimic nature, especially if we acknowledge desertification as a major contributor to climate change.
According to Dr. Gregory, de-corporatization of government agencies and regulators is an important next step.
On Nov. 17, 2024, Dr. Hasan Hutchinson spoke on “Making the Canada Food Guide: Behind the Scenes,” a decade long project that culminated in 2019 with the new food guide. Hasan, who was the former federal Director General, Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, talked about the behind-the-scenes pressures, difficulties and science, in the making and promoting of the current Canada Food Guide.
The process resisted lobbying attempts and relied on current science, and consequently resulted in a very different guide from earlier versions. Check it out and see what great resources are available to guide your family’s food choices.
On Jan. 12, 2025, Dr. Charles McNeill spoke on “Innovative Solutions to the Global Food System: Protecting the Climate and Biodiversity.” Charles identified the Earth’s triple environmental crises: the climate emergency, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
Based on his 32-year career with the United Nations building innovative partnerships to solve global environmental challenges, he argued that livestock production and consumption contribute to all three emergencies. He offered many recommendations that include developing policies and regulations to incentivize sustainable farming practices and the protection of natural habitat; investing research into sustainable farming technologies, and alternative proteins; shifting to a more plant-based diet, reducing food waste, supporting local food economies, and “rewilding” agricultural land.
On Feb. 9, 2025, Dr. Hyunjoo Lee spoke on “Your Everyday Meal: A Recipe for Health and the Environment.” Hyunjoo, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine Pharmacy, a chef, and an author, argued that today’s food system not only contributes to global crises – the climate emergency, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, and deforestation – it also threatens our health.
While governments and policy makers can create solutions at a structural level, individuals can take concrete action for the planet and for personal health. Hyunjoo became a vegetarian in 2003, and in 2010 founded ‘Meat Free Monday Korea’, an organization that aims to address the climate crisis by eating vegetarian meals one day a week.
Her slides beautifully illustrated how to realize ecological values through how we select and prepare our food.
If you missed seeing these presentations in person, you can see them at bipl.ca/food . And if you’re feeling inspired to get involved in Bowen Island Food Resilience Society, we’re always looking for volunteers for our garden and special projects.
You can contact us at [email protected] and learn more about what we do by visiting www.bowenfoodresilience.ca
