The theory is that there exist people who are poor and cannot afford to buy food that would allow their household to be "food secure" (according to the USDA definition).
UN official sparks debate over Canadian food security
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The theory is that there exist people who are poor and cannot afford to buy food that would allow their household to be "food secure" (according to the USDA definition).
That's why we have sources of free food. Food banks, community agencies, soup kitchens, community gardens, churches....
I'm sure they'll argue that there is no access to these resources in rural areas.
Looks like this report is having it's effect on policy already.
Nunavut to get food security coalition
The Nunavut government plans to establish a food security coalition that will include Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and other Inuit organizations.
Territorial nutritionist Jennifer Wakegijig said her department is trying to improve people's knowledge about store-bought food.
Starting in September, stores across Nunavut will be promoting 10 core recipes that have been developed in Nunavut, by Nunavimmiut.
"They'll be promoting the recipes one month at a time and putting the ingredients on sale," she said.
Wakegijig said a preliminary meeting of the food security coalition will take place in June.
She told the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food about the new coalition last week in Ottawa.
Olivier de Schutter was touring the country to investigate food security issues. He visited First Nations communities in southern Canada but did not travel north. He wraps up his 10-day visit to Canada today.
Wakegijig said she talked to him about the cultural transition from a country food diet to store-bought foods and how it has become a big factor to food insecurity for Inuit.
"People don't have a lot of cultural knowledge that's passed down from generation to generation about the foods that are available in stores," she said.
Access to cultural food is one factor of food security de Schutter has examined on his visit.
Willie Hyndman, who organizes a country food market in Iqaluit, said he struggles to keep up with the demand for country food.
"The households in Iqaluit are just craving it. And it seems no matter how much the hunters show up with, it all sells out," said Hyndman.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2012/05/16/north-nunavut-food-security.html
I'm not saying all, but like any group - there are the "modern" people who don't practice their heritage.
There is no shortage of men and women who still stick to the traditional ways that can educate the youth, IF the youth are willing to get off their asses and learn. Hunting and fishing is very physical.
What if the youth decide not to learn the ways?
Do we let them suffer for their own choices?
I disagree. I think if it's cost effective and can be proven to help people, I would pay.
Looks like both of us will be so that nunavut doesn't gorge on cheese whiz.
First they have to take an hour or two away from playing Angry Birds to learn even if you did offer opportunities to learn to nutrition and self-sustenance.
I am going to say now, that as of this moment I have only read the first page of this thread.
In this I have a few things to say on this subject.
Barring the matter that the number of children going to bed hungry (or going to school for that matter) IS on the rise, however there are a number of contributing factors in to this whole grand scheme. The first and fore most is a lacking of working, or stable working parents in the homes that have those hungry children. The Second is the social assistance program is in fact giving people a reason NOT to work. The Third is simply this. While they are hungry they aren't STARVING.
I happen to oppose this statement as EVERYTHING mentioned in the video is TRUE, Including but not limited to the belief that it's time Canada thinks about leaving the UN.
I happen to agree with this notion, IF Canada where to remove all the funding were sending for the people starving over seas and Deal with our (Apparent) food scarcity, then there wouldn't be a problem.... oh wait, then we'd be in humane because we don't care about another country's sick injured and starved.
While I am hesitant to disagree with you, I am also hesitant to FULLY agree with you here. I grew up in a home that held not out side source of income save for government funding, and in this while at times it's hard to get EVERYTHING you need, it's not impossible. I never really starved though a lot of the time I was under nourished given the fact that I wasn't getting the recommended nutrition for my age category.
I wasn't however out right starving.
This being said a while back I was on the Ontario Social Assistance Program and with that being said it is increasingly difficult (IN SOME AREAS) to get a lot of the fresh foods that one "SHOULD" be eating. This being said, I could, and have fed myself on the social assistance program for under 100$ a month.
HOWEVER. I will say that it wasn't necessarily a healthy balanced diet. It tended to be more carbs then substance, and in this I was STARVED for a number of different nutrition needs. My stomach was full but there was no fuel in the tank more or less.
And the statement on the poorest being the obese of all the classes. I can't confirm or deny that, as I don't have any proof of either argument. (Though if you do I would love to see it so it can't be argued again.)At the same time, I can see how that argument is able to be believable. An Abundance of sugars, fats, carbs, ect and LAZINESS will cause weight gain and excessive fat stores to be made. This is not UNCOMMON for people who do not eat a relatively healthy balance when dealing with nutrition.
While it can be argued that if your hungry enough then you'll loose that weight, however that would be the case in circumstances where your STARVED.
Which I guess is the basis of this whole topic, ARE CANADIANS STARVING? I would have to say no we're not. Being one of those people who sat at the bottom of the barrel and have been trying to work them selves out, I am not a half starved skeleton (though a high metabolism tends to keep one thin anyway x.x)
I think it's more of an issue dealing with STARVATION, as this would be when a human rights issue comes in to effect. In fact Hunger is acceptable by all human rights organizations, SO LONG as food is available readily. Which in Canada it is, Year round you can get All kinds of food. In this, of course you have to pay a price for a lot of it but it isn't impossible to be fed in the day to day.
Also the idea that we should be dependant on the government for our food supply is frightening. Could you imagine the current government handing out meal tickets. No thank you.
I would have to say that is not exactly true. The food source isn't necessarily "So plentiful" that they are over weight. It's more of a contribution of Laziness (in the manner of physical fitness) and Lower priced foods being worse for you, indeed this isn't a Health issue topic and it's a matter of starvation vs. hunger.
So I'll just keep to that.
I may or may not have more to add on this as I read that next few pages on the issue.
In this I have a few things to say on this subject.
Barring the matter that the number of children going to bed hungry (or going to school for that matter) IS on the rise, however there are a number of contributing factors in to this whole grand scheme. The first and fore most is a lacking of working, or stable working parents in the homes that have those hungry children. The Second is the social assistance program is in fact giving people a reason NOT to work. The Third is simply this. While they are hungry they aren't STARVING.
I happen to oppose this statement as EVERYTHING mentioned in the video is TRUE, Including but not limited to the belief that it's time Canada thinks about leaving the UN.
I happen to agree with this notion, IF Canada where to remove all the funding were sending for the people starving over seas and Deal with our (Apparent) food scarcity, then there wouldn't be a problem.... oh wait, then we'd be in humane because we don't care about another country's sick injured and starved.
While I am hesitant to disagree with you, I am also hesitant to FULLY agree with you here. I grew up in a home that held not out side source of income save for government funding, and in this while at times it's hard to get EVERYTHING you need, it's not impossible. I never really starved though a lot of the time I was under nourished given the fact that I wasn't getting the recommended nutrition for my age category.
I wasn't however out right starving.
This being said a while back I was on the Ontario Social Assistance Program and with that being said it is increasingly difficult (IN SOME AREAS) to get a lot of the fresh foods that one "SHOULD" be eating. This being said, I could, and have fed myself on the social assistance program for under 100$ a month.
HOWEVER. I will say that it wasn't necessarily a healthy balanced diet. It tended to be more carbs then substance, and in this I was STARVED for a number of different nutrition needs. My stomach was full but there was no fuel in the tank more or less.
And the statement on the poorest being the obese of all the classes. I can't confirm or deny that, as I don't have any proof of either argument. (Though if you do I would love to see it so it can't be argued again.)At the same time, I can see how that argument is able to be believable. An Abundance of sugars, fats, carbs, ect and LAZINESS will cause weight gain and excessive fat stores to be made. This is not UNCOMMON for people who do not eat a relatively healthy balance when dealing with nutrition.
While it can be argued that if your hungry enough then you'll loose that weight, however that would be the case in circumstances where your STARVED.
Which I guess is the basis of this whole topic, ARE CANADIANS STARVING? I would have to say no we're not. Being one of those people who sat at the bottom of the barrel and have been trying to work them selves out, I am not a half starved skeleton (though a high metabolism tends to keep one thin anyway x.x)
I think it's more of an issue dealing with STARVATION, as this would be when a human rights issue comes in to effect. In fact Hunger is acceptable by all human rights organizations, SO LONG as food is available readily. Which in Canada it is, Year round you can get All kinds of food. In this, of course you have to pay a price for a lot of it but it isn't impossible to be fed in the day to day.
Also the idea that we should be dependant on the government for our food supply is frightening. Could you imagine the current government handing out meal tickets. No thank you.
I would have to say that is not exactly true. The food source isn't necessarily "So plentiful" that they are over weight. It's more of a contribution of Laziness (in the manner of physical fitness) and Lower priced foods being worse for you, indeed this isn't a Health issue topic and it's a matter of starvation vs. hunger.
So I'll just keep to that.
I may or may not have more to add on this as I read that next few pages on the issue.
You may well have pointed this out, but why? Who says that it is. What I say is that there are those who do not have the resources or money to properly feed themselves and that is not just hunger. It is slow starvation. Starvation is not a complete kack of food for a period until death. It is insufficient food or lack of adequate nutrition that will, inevitably lead to death.
It is quite impossible to keep statistics on that. But, it happens and happens frequently.
To go on from there. Canada like every Western nation has the wealth and ability to both give foreign aid and feed its own. It lacks the political will for either. Canada gives only about half of the amount of foreign aid that it is pledged to do. (All developed countries agreed long ago that their contribution woulf be .7% of GDP). It does not provide adequately for its own population because it is. as I have argued in other places in the grip of a Right Wing extremism and has been spasmodically so for thirty years - including the Liberal years.
I wrote in another thread of the degree to which both minimum wage and welfare are less than they were thirty five years ago. That is why there are hungry people in Canada and some starving. There were no food banks then and none needed.
The idea of leaving the UN simply silly. The modern world can not survive without the UN. Without the UN we would be back to the 1930s and on the brink of war permanently. It is also the UN that is responsible for the raising from poverty and starvation of more than one billion people. And many other health and development issues.
And there is PLENTY of food to be had. PLENTY! So much food that our "poor" are obese because there is so much and they have access to so much.
Now if there is no food in a household because parents or caretakers are neglectful then that is the fault of those people... not the lack of food or access to it.
If it happens frequently why are there no stats?
If there are no stats how can you say it happens frequently?
To your first part there is PLENTY of money for food for poor in Canada and the US and PLENTY of free food as well. As I said... our poor are the most obese of all economic classes. Your argument is invented and flat.
Canada gives plenty and all of its people are well fed.
Who is starving in Canada?
Again... you are inventing this. No proof whatsoever.
Well I did not say that Canada should leave the UN... but the UN itself is silly and is completely incapable and ineffectual. Our planet has been in perpetual war in one place or the other since the creation of the UN. They have not been able to stop anyone for fighting if one or more combatants are intent on fighting.
Isn't it funny how we can determine how many people are starving in other countries yet it is "impossible" to develop stats on starvation in Canada and the US?