Wynne-Led Government Hopes to Promote Local Food with Food Bill
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
The Ontario Liberals will re-introduce the Local Food Act at Queen’s Mark on Monday, March 25th, which aims to promote food grown in Ontario.
The bill died in Oct. 2012 when the legislature was prorogued and Dalton McGuinty announced that he would step down as leader.
Premier Kathleen Wynne suggests that the bill would make more local food available in markets, schools, grocery stories and restaurants.
“I believe that when they come into a store like Loblaws, they’re looking for local food,” she said.
In addition to making more local food available for the consumer, the proposed legislation would require government to produce a local food report on its activities to support local food and would declare the first week before Thanksgiving as “Celebrate Local Food Week.”
On the Ministry of Agriculture website Wynne is quoted as saying “eating local isn’t just good for Ontario families – it’s good for our economy. That’s why our government will continue to work with the agri-food sector, including retailers and food service operators, to bring more Ontario food to the table."