Giving My Head a Shake!
Sometimes, I just have to give my head a shake. For the past 20 years I have been working passionately with First Nation’s to do what I can to help advance their economic and environmental interests.
But this particular story is not about me; it is about what just happened to 4 First Nation communities that wanted to address food insecurity – to improve their food future by growing their own products and being able to offer lower prices. Their projects were viewed as fitting within the context of a circular economy being good for the people, the planet and sustainability.
– This was to be a self-contained, hydroponic organic operation, which would work to eliminate the production of CO2 emissions by removing 2 truck runs per month totaling almost 15,000 kms.
Good for the People? – their leafy greens and vegetables now travel by truck resulting in huge losses and even higher prices, to the point that many cannot afford $26 for a kg of tomatoes or $11 for a head of lettuce. A similar basket of food in the communities is 246 percent more costly that in Vancouver.
Good for the Planet – This was to be a self-contained, hydroponic organic operation, which would work to eliminate the production of CO2 emissions by removing 2 truck runs per month totaling almost 15,000 kms.
Good for Sustainability – The preliminary business projections show a healthy return, allowing the business to be self-sustaining.
All good so far.
THEN WHAT HAPPENED?
The projects got kicked in the >>>>>.
Applying to a federal program for support funding, the 4 projects were turned down because as the evaluator stated, “the projects do not address food insecurity and there is no opportunity to appeal.”
Addressing food insecurity was the major descriptive in the application. But what could be more basic than understanding, when a First Nation cannot afford the price of food and they are wanting to sovereignty over their food security, to be able to afford to eat what they grow, that does not address food insecurity? There were also the social, environmental and economic benefits, all rolled up into reconciliation that were just ignored.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
We do not give up. We continue to look for ways to bring these projects to the communities. We cannot continue to see children going hungry. And this is not only in First Nation communities. All across our country there are more than 1.2 million people using food banks, an issue for Truth and Consequence
TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCE?
At Sustainable Circular Economy, a boutique firm in Vancouver that assists communities and companies to apply the principles of the circular economy into their decision-making, we have become increasingly frustrated at the lack of discussion incorporating truth and discussion and seemingly always falling back to environmental political expediency.
Our goal is to provide information so that people may have reasoned discussions, leading to the best decisions for people, the planet and sustainability. The way that we are going today is not working – we are far from meeting our environmental goals and I respectfully suggest, it is time for the people to lead and our leaders to follow.
See our discussion about LNG that describes many issues of consequence we do not even hear about, and think about why the First Nation communities were left out of any reconciliation advancement.
CONCLUSION
With many things going on in the world today, they just do not make sense. Little discussion and political expediency seem to be how our politicians manage. LNG could possibly be a game changer, getting us through the transition to Net Zero without social, economic, and environmental disasters. And doing the world a world of good by assisting First Nations to address food insecurity could show us all a pathway and address the rights of reconciliation.
All I can do right now is give my head a shake at what has happened and is happening. A sorry state, but we at Sustainable Circular Economy look to do the world a world of good with reconciliation and truth and consequence.
If we can help you though the process of reaching the right decision for you, considering the circular economy and what is good for the people, the planet and sustainability, we would love to hear from you.
Best wishes
Sustainable Circular Economy
Vancouver, Canada
Telephone: (604) 788 7261