In an effort to combat climate change, a lot of headway has been made to get people to adopt a less meat intensive diet. The popularity of the meatless meat burgers is a testament to people’s willingness to make small changes to do their part. However, food waste remains a perennial challenge. Forty percent of all food produced is wasted. The agriculture industry on a whole accounts for about a tenth of total emissions. Seriously dealing with climate change means that we have to stop wasting food. We are used to cheap and abundant food however, so this is a challenge.

Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest has been researching and identifying sources of food waste. Her current projects include The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste, a world first evidence-based research project that identifies where, why and how much food is lost and wasted across the supply chain and the expansion of Foodrescue.ca an online tool that allows food businesses to donate surplus food to social service agencies, schools and food banks in their community. Laura Dias, Registered Dietitian, representing Ontario Dietitians in Public Health (ODPH) will also be joining us. In 2015, ODPH released a Position Statement on Responses to Food Insecurity stating that food insecurity – inadequate or insecure access to food due to household financial constraints – is a serious problem that can only be solved with income solutions. Because food insecurity is not a food-based problem, it cannot be solved with food-based solutions. Food waste and household food insecurity are two critical but separate structural issues and neither is a solution to the other.

Lori Nikkel and Laura Dias joins us Aug 19 at the Madison Avenue Pub (14 Madison Ave).

Doors open 7:00pm. Please come, order and get settled.  Discussion starts promptly at 7:15.

As always, our events are free. You only have to cover what you order.

Please RSVP to let us know you can join us.