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Food and agriculture Higher education and research Knowledge mobilization Uncategorized

The Global Food Crisis – La crise alimentaire mondiale

The last several months have flown by and I have been very preoccupied with the troubling global food crisis, which also impacts wealthy countries like Canada. It’s been an honour to be approached for media commentary on the emerging situation. Krystalle Ramlakhan of CBC Radio interviewed me in February. You can read the online article here that was reproduced into a clip on CBC’s The National with some elements of the interview repurposed for a more in-depth story on CBC Radio in May, available here.

The spring was busy and exciting. I finally got around to publishing an article in The Conversation on the global food system in April after many years of wanting to do so. The timing was perfect for this type of “explainer” and – given the excellent distribution platform and Creative Commons licensing, the article got picked up and republished across Canada and around the world. I was delighted with the uptake and resulting media commentary including syndicated live and recorded radio and television and, by June, another interview used for both CBC The National, with the audio used for CBC Radio’s The World at Six. I also travelled to attend the normally annual National Retreat for Women on the weekend of April 22-24th – our first gathering since 2019 held at beautiful Government House in Victoria. It’s been an honour to serve as a volunteer on the organizing committee with some stellar accomplished women!

Ce fut aussi un honneur d’être élu au conseil d’administration d’Équiterre à la fin du mois d’avril après avoir été encouragée de postuler. Équiterre est le plus important organisme environnemental au Québec qui, en plus, fait un excellent travail dans le domaine des systèmes alimentaires durables. Quel plaisir d’être convié à la retraite annuelle au moi de mai. Voici notre photo de groupe “folle”!

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Food and agriculture Higher education and research Knowledge mobilization Uncategorized

Turning a new leaf… Un nouveau début…

Le français suit…
 
As some of you already know, after nearly three exciting, intense years as Executive Director of Food Secure Canada (FSC) I decided some time ago to step down and take a needed breather but the news was confidential until January 24th. My last day was Friday, January 28th per the message that was shared with FSC’s membership as well as other messages the same day followed by the newsletter on February 9th.
 
I want to thank FSC’s team, volunteer board, members, partners and funders for their dedication. It’s been a privilege to serve this movement with such passionate people, organizations and networks and have policy impact. I’m proud of all that has been accomplished collectively.  I look forward to making continued contributions to food-system transformation from my perch as an Ottawa-based Senior Fellow at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia.
 
With gratitude…
 
Gisèle
 
Comme certains d’entre vous le savent déjà, après près de trois années passionnantes et intenses en tant que directrice générale du Réseau pour une alimentation durable (RAD), j’ai décidé il y a un certain temps de prendre un recul pour respirer mais les nouvelles étaient confidentielles jusqu’au 24 janvier. Mon dernier jour fut le vendredi 28 janvier tel qu’indiqué dans le message qui a été partagé avec les membres du RAD ainsi que d’autres messages la même journée et l’infolettre le 9 février
 
Je tiens à remercier l’équipe du RAD, le conseil d’administration bénévole, les membres, partenaires et bailleurs de fonds pour leur dévouement. Ce fut un privilège de servir ce mouvement et de travailler avec des personnes, des organisations et des réseaux si passionnés et d’avoir un impact au niveau politique. Je suis très fière de tout ce qui a été accompli collectivement. Au plaisir de continuer de contribuer à la transformation du système alimentaire en tant que « Senior Fellow »  au « School of Public Policy and Global Affairs » à l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique (depuis Ottawa).
 
Toutes mes reconnaissances…
 
Gisèle

FSC team in March 2020 / Équipe du RAD en mars 2020

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Food and agriculture Knowledge mobilization Uncategorized

2021 – What a year / Quelle année

Like 2021, 2020 will be an intense year to remember. In May, I returned to Montréal for about six weeks and eventually vacated my apartment there in late June. Our board also approved a three-year strategic plan that month, which was quite an accomplishment, given the global pandemic. We also hired a few talented new staff members and both ramped up and put to bed some major projects through the summer and early fall. For example, our exciting Sustainable Development Goals programming provides a horizon to 2030 to address organizational and personal long-standing priorities such as food (in)security, improved nutrition and the transition to more sustainable food systems. Our collective future depends on this being done right…

En fin d’été nous avons (re)déménagé à Ottawa, un projet en cours depuis longtemps. Notre maison, louée depuis huit ans, fut en assez bonne condition mais ce n’est jamais évident s’installer… le travail continue et nous espérons que le temps de fêtes sera un moment pour s’avancer un peu plus pour se sentir plus chez nous en 2022.

There were a few highlights this fall that make the last few months particularly memorable and rewarding. In October, I had the honour of being invited to speak at Think Elevate 2030 in Toronto on the topic of “Intersectionality of Food Security, Sustainability, and Public Health”. You can watch the video here. November was exciting with one of our team members being able to attend Cop 26 as well as Chef Rich Francis hosting an Indigenous fusion cooking class at George Brown College with the proceeds going to Food Secure Canada on November 22nd.

Un fait saillant du mois de décembre fut l’invitation de faire parti d’un panel sur le thème de “Nourrir l’humanité durablement” animé par Hélène Raymond dans la compagnie d’Alain Olivier et Alain Denault dans le câdre du Congrès de l’Union des Producteurs Agricoles du Québec. Vous pouvez visionner la vidéo ici après l’allocution de la Ministre Marie-Claude Bibeau.

Last but not least, it was a sad end of the year with the loss of my beloved father in law, the legendary Sadru Ahmed who left us in November. However, it was a privilege to know and be related through marriage to this great and honourable man. He will be missed but never forgotten. We also mourn the loss of others this year – friends, colleagues and other cherished souls. Let’s hope for a brighter 2022…

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Asia Food and agriculture Uncategorized

World Bank-FAO Report on Asian Urban Food Systems Published

Before taking on my current assignment a few years ago, I was asked to contribute background papers to provide research, advisory and analytical services for the Food Safe and Nutrition Secure Urban Asia project of the World Bank’s Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The report was launched in March 2021 and below is the executive summary and hyperlink. I’m honoured to have been listed as a contributor and hope this work will have positive policy influence.

Across Asia, cities are contending with a wide range of food-related issues but most lack a dedicated or coherent set of food policies. For most cities in Asia, food has been a policy and governance blind spot, while national food policy has distinctly lacked an urban perspective. Arguing that food system outcomes are central to the topmost priorities of Asian cities, RICH Food, Smart City calls for cities of all sizes to “get smart to get RICH”—that is, to pursue food policies that foster reliable, inclusive, competitive, and healthy (“RICH”) food systems, better aligned with cities’ contemporary challenges and aspirations. Based on the first systematic survey of urban food policies in 170 Asian cities in 21 countries, RICH Food, Smart City finds that only 8 percent of surveyed cities are “food-smart” and intervene in the food system in ways that are forward-looking, holistic, and inclusive. Nearly three-fourths are either at an early stage of effective engagement or fully in reactive mode, responding to problems as they emerge. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the need for coherent multisectoral strategies and coordinated action was becoming apparent. The pandemic has now drawn attention to the essential functions of urban food supply chains and businesses and further exposed the vulnerability of urban populations to food insecurity, zoonosis, and foodborne disease. But the crisis has also shown us the potential of the food economy, through its displays of resilience coming from informal marketing channels and budding e-commerce networks and capacities. Rich Food, Smart City illustrates how Asian cities and urban leaders can take on vital food system issues, including food security, diet quality, environmental sustainability, and climate neutrality; and how building RICH food systems can help cities pursue their goals. The book will be of interest to urban planners, policy makers and leaders at the city and national levels, as well as to food system and development practitioners, and others interested in urban food policy and governance.
Citation
“Acharya, Gayatri; Cassou, Emilie; Jaffee, Steven; Ludher, Elyssa Kaur. 2021. RICH Food, Smart City : How Building Reliable, Inclusive, Competitive, and Healthy Food Systems is Smart Policy for Urban Asia. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35137 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
URL
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35137

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Food and agriculture Uncategorized

Almost two years – Presque deux ans

Bientôt, je fêterai mes deux ans au Réseau pour une alimentation durable. Le temps passe vite! Depuis le mois d’aout, j’ai fait la COVID au mois d’octobre, on a organisé un super évènement au mois de Novembre – Cultiver le Changement: Une transition juste vers un système alimentaire régénérateur, et on a eu notre assemblée annuelle en janvier. En plus, j’ai été nommé au Conseil consultatif de la politique alimentaire du Canada au mois de février et on a eu une séance publique épatante concernant la politique alimentaire au mois de mars.

One of the highlights for me was being successful in inviting the great Buffy Sainte Marie to participate in our Cultivating Change online event. The great African-American musician, arranger and producer, Quincy Jones, said that music can touch the hearts and minds of millions of people. Buffy Sainte-Marie is that kind of artist and probably the world’s most iconic Indigenous singer-songwriter. Her work spans 55 years and runs the gamut of politically informed classics such as “Now that the Buffalo’s gone.” Her work has also crossed into the popular domain with the likes of Elvis Presley, the late Joe Cocker and Scottish singer Donovan covering her compositions, among others. She remains until today the only Indigenous person to win an Oscar for her song “Up Where We Belong”, one of my personal favourites with vivid imagery of eagles and mountains and helping us think of getting through life and its obstacles day by day. The great Buffy recently turned 80 and remains an inspirational icon to so many around the world, including me.

Merci pour ces belles experiences! Malgré les défis et la pandémie, le soleil revient et nous souhaitons la bienvenue au printemps.

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Uncategorized

Belated thanks to Thrivehire for interviewing me in December!

I was delighted when a former Simon Fraser University Graduate Student who had done a practicum with me in 2016 approached me about doing an interview for Thrivehire. Here is the edited transcript from their website. Thanks Annalise!

https://thrivehire.org/its-a-balancing-act-how-dr-gisele-yasmeen-has-built-a-career-by-wearing-many-different-hats/

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Knowledge mobilization Uncategorized

Les migrations francophones dans l’Ouest canadien – questions de diversité

Voici un lien à ma chronique diffusée hier à Radio-Canada au sujet de l’immigration francophone dans l’ouest canadien et les questions de diversité, tant au niveau historique que de nos jours. Le sujet fut inspiré par ma ma présentation sur la francophonie canadienne dans l’ouest canadien lors d’un colloque organisé par l’Association d’études canadiennes le 1er mars à Gatineau (Aylmer). Suite à cette présentation, Marc-Aurélien Négri m’a contacté enfin de rédiger un article publié par La Source le 8 mai. Merci en particulier à la réalisatrice compétente de l’émission Les Samedis du Monde et mon amie de longue durée, Saïda Ouchaou!

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Uncategorized

Le grand voyage de la francophonie canadienne

Cet article publié la semaine passée dans La Source parle un peu de ma présentation sur la francophonie canadienne lors d’un colloque organisé par l’Association d’études canadiennes le 1er mars à Aylmer. Mes remerciements à Marc-Aurélien Négri – auteur de l’article – qui a pris l’initiative de me contacter pour rédiger le texte. Voici le lien: http://thelasource.com/fr/2018/05/07/le-grand-voyage-de-la-francophonie-canadienne/

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Uncategorized

Trash Can Dreams

The Coffee Cup Revolution: Vancouver’s Downtown East Side, Oct 16th 11am-2pm

For the uninitiated, there’s a term in Vancouver English for those who earn a living by sorting through the trash and collecting the valuable recyclables. They’re called binners and the expression was coined by Vancouver journalist Bob Sarti in the mid-1990s. I remember hearing about the binners and the establishment of the United We Can bottle and can refund depot on the Downtown East Side at the time. Ken Lyotier was the leader of this movement, which made national headlines as a social enterprise to facilitate income generation in the inner city. It reminded me of some of the small-scale urban livelihoods I had come across in my work in South and Southeast Asia. Informal recycling in particular was extensively documented by Christine Furedy – now retired in Australia after a distinguished career at York University. Professor Furedy was a pioneer in the study of “waste-pickers” and their role in urban solid waste management, particularly in Asia. One of the things she was known for was teaching her classes on garbage dumps. She was an inspiration. Ken indicated to me recently that, when he started organizing his fellow binners in the 1990s, he was unaware that there were similar groups emerging around the world including Wastewise and KKPKP in India, Linis Ganda in the Philippines and the famous cartoñeros in Argentina to name a few.

Upon returning to Vancouver a few years ago after many years with the public service in Ottawa, I was delighted to learn that the binners movement has not only survived but is now thriving, thanks, in part, to progressive policies supporting small-scale livelihoods in the City of Vancouver. I finally visited the new, relocated United We Can depot last year and also learned that Ken Lyotier – whose work has been recognized through many awards, including an honorary doctorate – started a complementary group called the Binners’ Project, now led by a dynamic young lawyer from France named Anna Godefroy. I had the pleasure of attending their first public meeting in April of this year. One of Binners’ Project’s causes celèbres, is to get mandatory deposits put on disposable coffee cups. Though recyclable, many of these cups go into the landfill unnecessarily. Not only would a deposit incentivize recycling generally, it would provide an income to binners – the unsung heroes of urban solid waste management.

I’ll be attending the upcoming Coffee Cup Revolution gathering at Victory Square, 200 West Hastings Street, on Monday, October 16th from 11am to 1pm. I hope to see many of you there! And, like the song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin goes:

Until you’ve seen, this trash can dream come true

You stand at the edge, while people run you through

And I thank the Lord, there’s people out there like you

Thank you / Merci Ken, Anna and all the binners for your courage and commitment!

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Social Protection Uncategorized

Q and A regarding Social Protection on the WIEGO Blog in English and Spanish

Thanks to Carlin Carr of WIEGO for offering to interview me for the WIEGO Blog. The following Q and A was published in September. The English version is available here with Spanish available here. Photo courtesy of WIEGO.