This past Friday (February 12th) was Food Freedom Day in Canada- the day that the average Canadian will have earned enough money to buy his/her groceries... for the whole year!
Can you imagine? It takes only 43 days!
Food Freedom Day fell on the same day last year.
Unfortunately, according to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), the gap between the price of food and the amount of money farmers receive has been increasing. One CFA-funded study found that farmers get only 27% of money spent on groceries by an average family.
In the States, Americans spend less than any other nation on food- 9.5% of their annual income. Interestingly, they spend the most on health care- 16% of their annual income.
Sure, food is cheap... but
at what cost to farmers, the environment, and our health?If we can afford it, maybe we should be spending more money on good quality, fresh, organic, local foods...
Happy Valentine's Day!
5 comments:
great post happy valentines
Wow, I had no idea!
Great post, Sybil. If only we could find a way for everyone to be able to afford and have access to fresh food all the time!
I'm always taken back when I hear the statistics. I hope America continues to move toward supporting local and sustainable farming.
This is an interesting concept. I really can't believe we pay more on health care, than food. It just doesn't seem right, but I guess I'm not surprised. All the processed and fast food we buy is SO CHEAP! No one is buying fresh produce and lean meats (ok, well not many people) and the whole grains that protect us form disease. We are buying corn and sugar, which is cheap and causes disease in excess. Thanks for pointing out the farmer issue, it's a serious problem. My grandpa was a farmer, I'm glad he was a farmer in the days when it was worth it.
Thanks for your comments guys!
It is sad that fresh, local food is more expensive, and not as available, as processed, high sugar, high fat foods... It has to change.
The stats are interesting- in 1960, almost 20% of our income was going to buy food and 5% to health care... and now, these have switched...
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