The Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security Announces New Partner Funding

Oct 12, 2017

The Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security (“the Centre”) today announced investments in four innovative new projects that focus on advancing food security in Canada. The Centre’s new partners are Food Secure Canada, Meal Exchange, Ottawa Food Bank and Kamloops Food Policy Council. Since it was established in late 2016, the Centre has committed investments of more than $3.4 million to support eleven projects.

It is estimated that 1 in 6 children and 4 million Canadians (approximately 12% of the population) face food insecurity. This is a complex and very challenging social issue that requires urgent public policy and community based solutions.

“It is a national shame that with our wealth as a nation and abundant food, four million Canadians face hunger,” said Michael H. McCain, Honorary Chair of the Centre. “This requires policy reform. It requires new ways of tackling the issue. It requires action by business, civil society and individuals.”

Funding these forward-thinking initiatives, which range from addressing on-campus student hunger to creating a multi-stakeholder food security community of practice, will yield important insights and outcomes.

Source: MAPLE LEAF

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.