World Animal Protection Canada has expressed strong support for the federal government's newly unveiled National Food Security Strategy, emphasizing the need for investments that foster an equitable, humane, sustainable, and resilient food system across the country. The organization, a leading voice in animal welfare and sustainable agriculture, highlighted the strategy's focus on improving food affordability, strengthening domestic food production and processing, increasing access to healthy foods aligned with Canada's Food Guide, and building a more resilient Canadian food system.
Key Measures in the Strategy
The National Food Security Strategy includes several critical measures, such as enhancing access to fruits and vegetables, bolstering regional food infrastructure, supporting domestic food production, and making the National School Food Program permanent. According to World Animal Protection Canada, these investments can significantly improve food security while making healthy, nutritious food more accessible and affordable for all Canadians.
Consultations and Recommendations
Over the past year, World Animal Protection Canada conducted extensive consultations with farmers, food security experts, environmental organizations, academics, and civil society leaders through interviews, focus groups, and stakeholder engagements. These efforts aimed to develop actionable recommendations to inform government policy on creating a more equitable, humane, and sustainable food system.
"Food security is not only about producing more food; it's about building an equitable, humane, and sustainable food system that can withstand climate impacts, economic uncertainty, and changing consumer demand while supporting farmers and improving animal welfare," said Lynn Kavanagh, Farming Campaign Manager at World Animal Protection Canada. "As governments invest in Canada's food future, they must prioritize farmer-led solutions that reduce dependence on highly concentrated food processing and distribution systems, expand market opportunities, reduce financial risk, and help producers adopt more resilient and diversified production systems."
Building Resilient and Diversified Operations
The organization stresses that future investments must help farmers build more resilient and diversified operations that improve animal welfare, strengthen farm viability, and reduce exposure to market, climate, and supply-chain disruptions. The expansion of plant-based crops is highlighted as a key strategy to buffer these shocks and bolster domestic food supply, aligning with the new strategy's objectives.
Canada's Leadership in Pulse Production
As a global leader in pulse production, Canada is uniquely positioned to enhance food security through plant-based proteins. Pulses such as peas, lentils, and beans are affordable, nutritious foods that can help Canadians adopt healthier diets while improving access to foods recommended by Canada's Food Guide. Additionally, these crops improve soil health, require less synthetic fertilizer, and are more resilient to drought and other climate-related disruptions that increasingly challenge Canadian farmers on the front lines of the climate crisis.
Call to Action
World Animal Protection Canada is urging governments to support farmers in adapting to current economic and climate challenges and diversifying their operations to build resilience. This requires expanding regional processing capacity and market opportunities that improve animal welfare while strengthening food security and food sovereignty. The organization also calls for recognizing and rewarding farmers for the ecological services they provide through biodiversity conservation and land stewardship.
