Op-Ed World Food Day: Collaboration is key to building Canada’s future food system
This World Food Day, farmers across Canada are wrapping up a season marked by drought and low yields. Producers are increasingly facing extreme weather conditions fluctuating between droughts and flood, with a fivefold surge in crop insurance claims over the past six years. Farms, food companies and others along the value chain are deeply affected by climate change, while also contributing to it. Solutions may not be simple, but they are not far.
A call to action to transform our food system
Yesterday in Toronto, a new group of leaders joined Canada’s Clean50, an award which recognizes contributions towards sustainable development and the advancement of a low-carbon economy.
As Clean50 recipients over the past 14 years, we are working to drive practical, scalable solutions. We know that we are not alone: people from every corner of the food system are also innovating to accelerate the shift toward a more resilient and climate-smart food system.
Concrete solutions, from farm to fork
Several powerful initiatives are shaping a more resilient and sustainable agri-food system, proving that economic development, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship can advance hand in hand.
Farmers are taking up sustainable, organic and regenerative practices like cover crops and reduced tillage that rebuild soil health and store carbon — many of which are based on traditional knowledge passed down by generations of farmers, Indigenous communities and other stewards of the land. Innovations like precision agriculture and biological controls are advancing by leaps and bounds. Businesses are building their models around sustainable sourcing and driving the circular economy, converting agricultural residues into valuable inputs and ingredients. And organizations are fostering collaboration across the value chain — linking buyers and producers, designing programs that reward sustainable practices, offering technical guidance, building peer-to-peer learning networks and fighting food waste.
Creating the conditions for change
For the transformation we seek to succeed, it must be guided by a shared vision. This vision includes strong public policies, sustained investment in research, infrastructure, and innovation. It also relies on community building and on collaborations across the entire value chain — from producers to processors to retailers — grounded in local contexts and adapted to the realities of our regions. Producers who choose sustainable paths must receive clear and consistent financial, technical and social supports —including both private buyers and government funders — for the ecosystem services they provide to society. And robust and transparent measurement, reporting and verification systems using high-quality data are needed to recognize progress in a way that earns public trust.
Ultimately, these changes depend on a collective understanding of the true value of food and the people who produce it.
The transition to resilient and sustainable food systems is already in motion. Canada has the talent, the knowledge, and the determination — what we need now is collaborative action. Together, we can ensure that our food systems are healthy, accessible, resilient, and sustainable.
Signed by:
Gabrielle Bastien – Régénération Canada founder, Canada’s 2021 Clean50 Emerging Leader
Gillian Flies – Executive Director, The New Farm Centre, Canada’s 2026 Clean50
Jury Gualandris – Associate Professor and Director, Ivey Business School, Canada’s 2024 Clean50
Beth Hunter – Executive Director, FoodBridge, Canada’s 2026 Clean50
Allison Penner – Executive Director, Reimagine Agriculture, Canada’s 2024 Clean50 Emerging Leader
Jeff Robertson – Canada’s 2023 Clean50 Emerging Leader
Jyoti Stephens – VP Mission and Strategy, Nature’s Path Foods, Canada’s 2021 Clean50
Tori Waugh – Executive Director, Ontario Soil Network, Canada’s 2022 Clean50 Emerging Leader
