Delivered at the June 4 Taste the Difference event during Toronto Climate Week, CCFE Founder and Chair Alan Levine shares the story behind the founding of the Canadian Centre for Food & Ecology and introduces the Local Food Economy Regenerator initiative.
First, to everyone here – thank you for coming tonight to hear more about our plans – with a special thanks to our partners for daring to dream big with us. I do want to point out that when Joshua Schrei said “it all has something to do with food”, he was just quoting his mother.
My food journey began 20 years ago, in a humble restaurant in the Amalfi hills when I ate a simple green salad that changed my life forever. This was lettuce – just leaves - BUT bursting with flavour. (which I found out only much later, meant it was bursting with nutrients). When I demanded (nicely) to know why it tasted so good, the proud restauranteur took me to the other side of the building to see his lettuce patch.
Once home, I started my own lettuce patch. And, at first, I created the same ethereal eating experience as my Italian mentor. But then I ran into problems: bugs, slugs, disease, rot. Off I trundled to the local garden centre where I had my next wake up moment. The solution to all problems, as far as the “experts” are concerned could be found in a place I will always remember as the room of poison. Dozens and dozens of products you would definitely not want to eat.
And I was forced to ask myself the question: So what does this mean is ON and IN the food at the local supermarket?
What I found was truly disturbing. Modern chemical farming is designed to use the local environment to absorb the poisons and other chemicals put on the plants with no consideration for the health either eaters or the farmers. Big ag breeds plants designed for appearance, durability - and survival in low nutrient, biologically dead soil. Which we now know is a prescription for low nutrient, flavourless food.
As a marketer, I anguish at the industrial chemical food system’s success in commoditizing food based on uniformity. AND taking a brand new and different form of agriculture – a departure from 1000’s of years of growing food naturally - and somehow getting away with calling it “conventional”.
And the most disappointing thing I learned is that industrial chemical food - justified because at least its cheap – really isn’t. According to the Rockefeller foundation, the UN FAO and other organizations, the world spends over 10 trillion dollars a year on food- and over 20 trillion dollars a year on the health and environmental problems caused by the food system
My journey continued. I found that our region produces delicious, ecologically grown, nutrient rich food. BUT MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT DEMANDING BETTER FOOD – because they don’t know it exists – or where to get it.
My first job out of university was at Procter and Gamble working on new product introductions. While P&G put a lot of care into how the product was made, they put just as much effort into marketing.
However, in the regenerative ag space, there is NO marketing. Kevin Costner is a fine actor, but “if you build it they will come” only works in the movies. As a result, our country has 1000s of dedicated farmers who are doing what I call: pushing on a rope.
I decided that Canada needed an organization that would pull on that rope. An organization dedicated to educating and inspiring people so they choose the local food that is good for them and their community - and good for the planet. Enter the CCFE.
But what information? Scary information is rarely a motivator– except of fear and guilt – but NOT behaviour change. I believed that flavour - enabling people to have their own salad moment – would work much better. And behavioural science has backed that up.
With a corporate background, I am not an expert in the not-for-profit world. But there are lots of things that are the same, regardless of the sector.
First: outstanding, experienced leadership is essential. Lucky for the CCFE, I got introduced to Sarah Heynen. Sarah brings a wealth of experience in sophisticated fundraising and NFP management from several organizations such as Mt. Sinai and WWF – and both fundraising lead and then COO of the Evergreen Brickworks. I can confidently – and gratefully - say that nothing that is happening today would be happening without Sarah’s vision, strategic leadership - and her outstanding ability to build high trust relationships.
Second: Organizations fail because they are insufficiently capitalized to lay the groundwork that positions them for long term success. To ensure the CCFE is well prepared for the work ahead, Iris and I have committed $3,000,000 to fund its early years.
Those funds have enabled Sarah and her team to pursue a strategy of building connections and credibility through respectful exchange; as well as demonstrating that our behavioural science-based programs have true impact.
I am truly pleased to say that our future plans are now ambitious enough to outstrip our personal ability to support them on our own.
So, today, I am asking you to join us and our partners in changing the system - in whatever way that you can:
1. Help us co-create the Local Food Economy Regenerator model that Sarah described earlier tonight. We are assembling a core team of food producers, distributors, retailers, restauranteurs, researchers, impact investors to bring this model to life and to test it right here in the GTB.
2. You can help fund the development of this model. This is a multi-year endeavour - we’re not launching it overnight. We need philanthropic capital to help us to design, test and build something new.
3. You can connect us. Do you know someone who is motivated by health, environment or community; and looking for new ways to contribute to addressing our country’s – and our world’s most pressing problems. Introduce us.
4. Tell us how to tell our story better. What can we do that would make the need more compelling? What else did you want to hear about? What else do you want to know?
I hope that everyone here tonight got a little taste of the power of food. It is life changing. It is life giving. And it can be the key to a healthier, happier Canada. I can’t wait to grow that future together.
