Food security and health in Canada: Imaginaries, exclusions and possibilities. (25th November 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wakefield, Sarah; Fredrickson, Kaylen R.; Brown, Tim
• Is Part Of: Canadian geographer. Volume 59:Number 1(2015)
• Page Start: 82
• Page End: 92
• Publication Date: 2014-11-25
• Subjects: food security -- discourse -- health geography -- Canada; sécurité alimentaire -- discours -- géographie de la santé -- Canada; Geography -- Periodicals; 910
• DOI: 10.1111/cag.12139
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-3658

Abstract

Abstract: In recent years, food crises have heightened awareness of food security vulnerabilities even in rich nations. However, the extent to which various issues related to food security (such as consistent access to nutritious food in conditions which maintain human dignity) have been incorporated into Canadian policy and practice is not well documented. This article draws on a number of sources—including policy documents and media reports—to explore how food security is being conceptualized in Canada, particularly at the national level. The article chronicles changes in food security discourse over time, suggesting that recognition of food security as a "Canadian" problem has been partial and contested, and reflects persistent geographic imaginaries of Canada (e.g., as a land of agricultural abundance) and unrelenting social and cultural exclusions (e.g., of Canada's Aboriginal people).