For perhaps the first time in several generations, Canadians have been faced with real uncertainty in their food system. The fallout of the COVID-19 economic shutdown and panic buying led to shuttered processors, dumped milk, and empty grocery store shelves.
Most consumers wouldn’t normally think about or talk about food security or agriculture on a daily basis, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced many people to think about it, says president and CEO of CropLife Canada, Pierre Petelle.
That increased focus prompted fourteen agriculture organizations to take out a large ad in the Globe and Mail recently. Playing off the recent Canadian Olympic approach, the campaign asks policy makers to let agriculture lead Canada to new economic prosperity.
The campaign pushes for an “own the podium” type approach — where several government departments actively coordinated, nationwide to bring about real change and results in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“The government needs to provide the tools and regulatory structure to really let ag succeed,” Petelle says.
Petelle says the organizations — CropLife Canada included — are looking to align their ask and look at a whole-of-government approach to agriculture industry prosperity, pushing for agriculture to be firmly wrapped into Canada’s overall strategic focus.
Listen to the full discussion on the campaign with Shaun Haney and Pierre Petelle.
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