New resources launched to answer Canadian questions about where food comes from

Guelph ON – Canada’s farmers are ready to share the real dirt on food and farming with their fellow Canadians.

The Farm & Food Care Foundation has launched a new edition of the popular publication “The Real Dirt on Farming”, which answers Canadians’ questions about food and farming, and tackles hot topics –like pesticides, antibiotics, hormones and GMOs – head on.

“Interest in where our food comes from has never been stronger, and this is farmers answering the many questions that are asked daily about how our food is grown,” says Bruce Christie, Chairman of the Farm & Food Care Foundation. “Our goal is to help Canadians make informed decisions about the food they’re serving their families.”

For the first time, the 50-page booklet, originally published in 2006 and re-issued in 2010, is now a national initiative with a distribution target of one million copies, and support from agricultural organizations from coast to coast.

Also for the first time, “The Real Dirt on Farming” goes beyond just a print publication and now includes a whole suite of resources and activities that provide information on key topics in Canadian agriculture, from caring for farm animals and growing crops to food safety, the environment and the economics of farming.

The newly launched “Real Dirt on Farming” website, www.RealDirtonFarming.ca, provides access to a new Speakers’ Bureau, as well as current and past copies of the publication, and other related resources and information. A shorter digest version is being developed that will be inserted into Canadian newspapers and magazines, and a Canada-wide geocaching adventure is in the plans for 2015.

A new national speakers’ bureau will provide people to talk about farming in Canada to service clubs, municipal council meetings, university of college classes and other events. Training sessions for farmers and agri-business professionals interested in being part of the speakers’ bureau are being rolled out this fall and winter.

“The Foundation’s mandate is to connect consumers with the food they eat, and introduce them to some of Canada's farm families,” says Christie. “We’ve come a long way from our first booklet in 2006 where we distributed 15,000 copies, and we appreciate the support from farmers and agricultural businesses across the country to help us tell the story of Canadian food and farming.”

Source: Farmfoodcare