Riana Topan

“It is up to the Ontario government to ensure that education is well-rounded – and not a vehicle for industry to promote its own agenda.”

To the Editor, Re: Spreading the word about the agri-food industry (Observer, Aug. 10/17). MOST CANADIANS – ESPECIALLY children – could benefit from better knowledge of where their food comes from. A 2013 report prepared for the Ontario Public Health Association found “key areas where Canadians are struggling with food literacy.” Inschool education programs no doubt will play a critical role in addressing this issue. Indeed, the Ontario government is continuing its partnership with AgScape, an educational notfor-profit that promises to provide “factual, balanced, curriculum-linked food literacy programs and resources” to Ontario’s classrooms.

AgScape is supported by Turkey Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Broiler Chicken Hatching Egg Producers, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Egg Farmers of Ontario, the Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board and many other big agri-food organizations. How will school children receive an unbiased picture of the agricultural sector, when that education is delivered by a group with close ties to industry?

There are positive and negative aspects of Ontario’s agri-food sector, but unless AgScape plans to explore both, students will not get the whole picture. An accurate lesson in local food must include a discussion of farm animal welfare and nutrition.

Children must learn about the hundreds of millions of animals raised for food in Canada each year and the poor conditions in which most farm animals currently live. In our increasingly factory-like farm system, most pigs, chickens, and cows are rarely afforded sufficient opportunity to move about freely or engage in natural behaviours, let alone enjoy fresh air or sunlight.

Further, AgScape may heavily promote meat, poultry, dairy and egg products as intrinsic parts of a healthy diet, despite plant-based foods being optimal for health, and downplay the fact that animal agriculture is a major contributor to climate change. Better education in schools is imperative to helping children make more informed choices, like following the Three R’s: refining our diets by choosing products adherent to higher welfare standards, reducing meat consumption and replacing animal products with more plant-based ones. It is up to the Ontario government to ensure that education is well-rounded – and not a vehicle for industry to promote its own agenda. RIANA TOPAN | HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL – CANADA