Canadian farmers look forward to Food Freedom Day, Feb. 12

Canadian farm groups will celebrate Food Freedom Day Sat. Feb. 12, 2011 marking the calendar date by which the average Canadian will have earned enough to pay the entire year's grocery bill.

"Canadian farmers are proud of their role in providing high quality food produced to top-level food safety, environmental, and animal welfare standards," said CFA President Ron Bonnett in a news release issued Feb. 1, 2011.

The date for Food Freedom Day is derived through a simple calculation comparing Canadians' disposable income and the amount they spent on food (including alcoholic beverages) during the previous year. It is a general look forward on food prices, based on the previous year's spending statistics. In 2010, the average Canadian spent approximately 11.9% of personal disposable income on food.Food Freedom Day demonstrates the value that Canadian farmers deliver to ALL Canadians - not only through quality food, but by supporting 1 in 8 jobs, which in turn translates into vital economic contributions for our rural communities. Our agri-food industry is a key driver of socioeconomic prosperity in Canada, and one in which investments return many times over.

"We encourage Canadians to choose Canadian food as often as possible, as these purchases represent far more than just food. They strengthen our vibrant, home-grown agriculture sector and benefit the country as a whole," said Bonnett.  

In terms of product variety and price, Canadian food purchases have changed drastically in the last 30 years. Many food items are now ready-to-eat, value-added products. In spite of this, total spending on food has only seen modest increases. During this same period the portion of consumer spending working its way back to the farm is relatively small, particularly when the costs of production are taken into account. In recent years, farmers have had to manage production around extremely unstable costs for inputs such as fuel and fertilizer.

Revenue on consumer food purchases is split across a wide range of agri-food industry stakeholders or "supply chain" groups. These include farmers, agricultural suppliers, food processors, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.

The CFA has completed a comparison of farm gate and retail prices over time. Please refer to the background document for details.

The wides variances in commodity prices, along with changing consumer demands and environmental concerns, have brought about the need for a National Food Strategy (NFS), a project that CFA initiated last year. The goal of the NFS is to develop a long-term vision for a sustainable food system -- one that will engage the entire food supply chain. Learn more at www.nationalfoodstrategy.ca