Food freedom day deserves emphasis - WP editorial

MOST Canadians probably didn’t even notice the occasion. They went

about their lives, ate their regular meals, shopped for groceries,

visited drive-throughs and relaxed in restaurants.

Most Canadians probably didn’t see a single farmer’s field on the way

to work or on their supermarket trip that day, nor did they care.

Except for a few News release

newss, staged events on Parliament Hill, and

the occasional news squib, “food freedom day” was a non-event on Feb. 7.

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The day was marked by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture as the day

an average Canadian has earned enough to pay for the year’s food bill.

In 37 days, enough is earned to cover a year’s worth of groceries.

The farmer’s portion of the food bill was covered in the first nine

days of 2002.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadians spend 10 percent of their

income on food and restaurant meals, or about $2,790.

In the United States, a similar acknowledgement was organized by the

American Farm Bureau Federation, which marked “food check-out day” on

Feb. 8. Americans spend 10.6 percent of their income on food, with

farmers earning about 20 cents of every dollar spent on food.

The farm bureau stressed that the percentage of income people spend on

food has gone down during the last 30 years, and “the decrease … is

especially notable since trends indicate Americans are buying more

expensive convenience food items for preparation at home, as well as

more food away from home.”

People on both sides of the 49th parallel enjoy cheap food. It is among

the best, cheapest and safest in the world.

CFA quoted Statistics Canada numbers showing that in the last four

years, food prices rose by 11 percent but farmers received on average

two percent more for what they raised, even though it cost them more to

produce food.

As politicians work on a strategy for agriculture, this consideration

must continue to be emphasized: farmers are shouldering the

responsibility for food safety while also ensuring food remains

inexpensive. Yet they suffer the results financially. They are earning

less, not more, of the food dollar.

Educational efforts by CFA, the AFBF and others are commendable.

Consumers must be made aware of the small percentage farmers receive

from the total food bill, and examples make a strong point.

CFA showed a meal that included chicken, milk, potatoes, onions,

carrots, celery, peas, a roll, butter and milk would cost $8, or $9.20

with tax, but the farmer receives 50 cents of it.

Unfortunately, if consumers are to be convinced to care about those who

produce their daily bread, this message must be reinforced more than

once a year.

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