Voices from the Food Frontlines

Episode 18 | Conserving and Promoting Culinary Knowledge with the Ghana Food Movement

The Ghana Food Movement (GFM) is a network of diverse food actors working across Ghana’s food system, bringing farmers, market vendors, bloggers, and chefs together to build a more sovereign food system in Ghana and West Africa. In this episode, Chef Abiro and Chef Fia-Foli discuss the GFM’s work in promoting local ingredients that are indigenous to the environment and connecting forgotten foods and climate resilient crops to the marketplace. Through initiatives that serve to express and craft indigenous foods on the plate - from events such as the Dine and Dance to culinary skills trainings at the GFM Kitchen – the Ghana Food Movement helps to bring dishes such as fonio and wasawasa to audiences beyond tourists and expats and engage local Ghanaians who are losing touch with their roots and customs. This interview took place in July 2023; it was facilitated by Feeding City Collaborator Dr. Siera Vercillo, who has been conducting participatory action research for food sovereignty with communities and partner organizations in Ghana for over a decade. 
 
To learn more about the Voices from the Food Frontlines, Sustainable Foodways podcast series, visit the Feeding City Lab at https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/feedingcity/sustainable-foodways/.
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Episode 17 | Grassroots Food Systems and Ghana’s Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development

Development approaches in Ghana need to incorporate indigenous knowledge and worldviews. This is what the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD) does in its work with communities across Ghana, in sectors such as agriculture, health, education, and natural resources management. In this episode, Willie Laate, CIKOD’s Deputy Director, explains how the organization develops localized tools, frameworks, and programs for understanding and supporting diverse, local knowledge and governance systems. Willie describes the problem with the erosion of cultural systems in Ghana and its impacts on food, traditional culinary knowledge, and indigenous seeds. He offers some examples of cooperative systems and practices that empower communities with diverse food systems, from communal cooking, to community seed sharing and seed fairs, to the cultural festivals that help generate development agendas that are more inclusive and not based on predetermined questions and responses. This interview took place in July 2023; it was facilitated by Feeding City Collaborator Dr. Siera Vercillo, who has been conducting participatory action research for food sovereignty with communities and partner organizations in Ghana for over a decade. 
To learn more about the Voices from the Food Frontlines, Sustainable Foodways podcast series, visit the Feeding City Lab at https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/feedingcity/sustainable-foodways/.
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Episode 16 | Advocating for Seed Sovereignty and Agroecology in Ghana

In this episode, Edwin Baffour shares how the civil society organization Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG) advocates for environmental, social, and food justice. Edwin describes the politics around food and seed in Ghana, the infrastructural challenges that farmers face in accessing indigenous seeds, growing food, and getting it to the market, and the pathways towards agroecological farming. Food Sovereignty Ghana has advocated against GMOs and resisted the Plant Breeders Bill and the Plant Variety Protection Bill through litigation cases across courts in Ghana, bringing attention to the genetic modification of staple foods, such as the cowpea. Through education and stakeholder engagement with traditional authorities, farmers, market vendors and the general public, Food Sovereignty Ghana aims to build “people power” towards food system change. Highlighting that agroecology can empower farmers, Edwin says, “If a farmer can use the neem trees on his farm to tackle pests, he doesn’t need to buy an agrochemical from a company. If a farmer can use garlic and pepper to tackle pests on his farm, then he keeps more money to use for his children’s education and their health.” This interview took place in July 2023; it was facilitated by Feeding City Collaborator Dr. Siera Vercillo, who has been conducting participatory action research for food sovereignty with communities and partner organizations in Ghana for over a decade.  
*Update (June 2024) -- Since the time of the interview, cases have moved through the courts. Edwin has shared with Feeding City Lab the following updates on the status of the proceedings: "Last year in 2023 the Supreme Court of Ghana unanimously dismissed a case presented by FSG which sought to challenge the constitutionality of the Plant Variety Protection Act which was passed into law in 2021. FSG will be appealing this decision. In May of 2024 the Human Rights High Court also dismissed a case that FSG commenced in 2017 to halt the commercialization of a genetically modified cowpea. Though this decision will also be appealed, the court ruled that all GMO food and feed must be labelled in Ghana." 
 
To learn more about the Voices from the Food Frontlines, Sustainable Foodways podcast series, visit the Feeding City Lab at https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/feedingcity/sustainable-foodways/.
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Episode 15 | Supporting Ghana’s Smallholder Farmers through Capacity-Building and Policy Advocacy

In this episode, Bismark Owusu Nortey, Head of Programs and Advocacy at the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), discusses the Association’s work and how it first got its start in 2005, following the liberalization of farming systems in Ghana. When state subsidies for agri-inputs were removed and the importation of cheap industrial foods flooded local markets making it difficult for Ghana’s smallholder farmers to survive and thrive, PFAG responded. The Association provides a voice in policy advocacy for peasant farmers, builds their farming capacities, connects them with new opportunities and services, and facilitates market access to improve their livelihoods. The episode concludes with a discussion of agroecology and some of the challenges that farmers encounter when transitioning from industrial farming to sustainable farming. This interview took place in July 2023; it was facilitated by Feeding City collaborator Dr. Siera Vercillo, who has been conducting participatory action research for food sovereignty with communities and partner organizations in Ghana for over a decade.
To learn more about the Voices from the Food Frontlines, Sustainable Foodways podcast series, visit the Feeding City Lab at https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/feedingcity/sustainable-foodways/.
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Episode 14 | Resilient Farming through Collective Action: Reviving Heirloom Grains in Tamil Nadu

With climate change and increased rural-urban migration, how can communities become self-reliant to ensure nutritious food security? In this episode, Feeding City Lab graduate intern Geetha Sukumaran brings listeners along on the Lab team’s recent research trip to South India. They met with local cooks, food retailers, farmers, and farmer collectives to learn about the challenges they face, the solutions they are implementing, and the changes that they advocate in order to create more resilient foodways. The episode spotlights Sheelu, President of the Tamil Nadu Women’s Collective, a grassroots organization that brings together more than 100 000 women from across the local food system, including farmers and agricultural labourers, fishers, salt pan workers, cooks, and food processors. Sheelu describes how the Women’s Collective has evolved over the past three decades to focus on the effects of climate change and on finding ways to support farmers.* Heirloom crops – such as the traditional millets that reliably grow even when the rains fail – play a key role. Listeners will learn how women farmers are working together through “seed democracy” to revive heirloom foods - by conserving and exchanging seeds, by promoting access to land, grain processing facilities, and farming tools, by supporting the preparation and distribution of value-added products, and by sharing knowledge from field to kitchen. This episode features an interview with Geetha Sukumaran (recorded in January 2024) and field quotations from Sheelu of the Women’s Collective (recorded in October 2023). 
[* In March 2024, The Women's Collective was recognized at the The Hindu World of Women Awards, receiving The Hindu Excellence in Agriculture & Rural Development Award.] 

Episode 13 | Connecting Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Food Production in Kerala

How can grassroots efforts in environmental conservation go beyond their local context to help bring about lasting global impact? In this episode on climate-smart food and farming futures, Dr. Jayeeta Sharma of the Feeding City Lab spotlights the Lab’s collaboration with Thanal in South India. Listeners will learn how the Thanal Trust got its start in 1986 as a collective dedicated to the conservation of rivers and biodiversity to then become a leader in community-based “demand-led research,” opening up pathways of agroecological production for small farmers throughout Kerala. The episode highlights Thanal’s current efforts to recover climate resilient ways of cultivating traditional rice and heirloom millet, linking biodiversity to economy to support sustainable foodways and rural livelihoods. This episode features an interview with Dr. Jayeeta Sharma (recorded in January 2024) and field quotations from Jayakumar of Thanal (recorded in October 2023). 
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Trailer: Voices from the Food Frontlines, Sustainable Foodways

The Feeding City Lab introduces its new podcast sub-series, Voices from the Food Frontlines: Sustainable Foodways. Episodes focus on social and ecological resiliency, sharing stories from the field, highlighting grassroots actions, and bringing listeners new research on sustainable foodways and what's needed to make them possible. With insights from the Feeding City Lab’s local and global partners, Voices from the Food Frontlines: Sustainable Foodways offers a view into community collaborations and creative and cutting edge innovations from across the world — from the cultivation of heritage foods and ethnocultural crops to the food work and small enterprises that enable farm-to-table connections. Stay tuned for episodes, starting in Spring 2024!
To learn more, visit the Feeding City Lab's website at: https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/feedingcity/

Episode 12 | Bringing Farmers’ Markets to Underserved Neighbourhoods: A Story from Scarborough

What is the past, present, and future of farmers’ markets in Scarborough? Toronto’s easternmost neighbourhoods have notoriously lacked sufficient access to vital social infrastructure such as public transit, health care, and fresh, healthy, affordable food. In this episode, Feeding City’s Jasleen Sohal talks with Jennifer Forde about food access and farmers’ markets in Scarborough. Jennifer tells her story of growing up in Scarborough’s Malvern neighbourhood and shares what fueled her to lead the way for farmers’ markets in Scarborough. As a seasoned market manager – Jennifer has overseen several farmers’ markets across the Greater Toronto Area – she first helped bring farmers’ markets to Scarborough five years ago, working with small family farms, women-led enterprises, newcomers, and BIPOC communities to make affordable, nutritious, local produce and culturally diverse artisanal products broadly accessible. She reflects on the operational impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, shedding light on the work of keeping the markets connected to the community and on how the innovations and relationships forged during that time continue to shape Scarborough’s farmers’ markets even today. The episode concludes with a peek into the Scarborough Neighbourhood Fresh Food Pilot, which used marketbucks and a model of the 15-minute city to increase access to farmers’ markets. Listeners can learn more about Jennifer’s markets by visiting https://www.scarboroughfarmersmarket.ca/ and https://www.courtyardfarmersmkt.ca/. This Feeding City conversation was recorded on August 18, 2023 and lightly edited for clarity and length. 
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Episode 11 | Creating Participatory Food Systems through Pop-Ups and Public Markets

Feeding City Lab’s Jaclyn Rohel hosts Thiago Gomide Nasser in a conversation on pop-up market infrastructure and community-building amongst food makers, vendors, and eaters. Thiago shares the story of how he came to co-found Junta Local, a Rio de Janeiro-based collective that promotes and distributes good, local, and fair food. As a researcher and an activist, Thiago explains how he bridged his academic interests in political science with grassroots advocacy to support small producers and help facilitate short food supply chains in Brazil. Junta Local first originated as a small market of only 14 vendors set up on beer crates and wooden planks, yet over the past decade it has grown into a resilient network of food producers and markets. Listeners will get a view into Junta Local’s unique participatory structure through its modelo ajuntativo, gain insight into how Junta Local helped support the human links within Rio de Janeiro’s food systems during the Covid-19 pandemic, and learn about how digital platforms can complement on-the-ground marketsplaces. This interview was recorded live at the University of Toronto on June 12, 2023.  
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Episode 10 | Supporting Newcomers through a Circle of Community Food Programs

In this episode from Voices from the Food Frontlines, the Feeding City Lab takes listeners on a tour of food and urban growing programs offered by the Toronto-based Centre for Immigrant and Community Services (CICS). In conversation with Serena Yuan, Brian Joyce, Director of Community Services, Facilities and Operations at CICS, discusses the organization’s experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. Brian explains how its programs and facilities evolved in response so that it could continue assisting newcomers and refugees. Through food banks, cooking workshops, a new greenhouse, a community collective of raised garden beds, a seed library, and a meal delivery service in partnership with a local cafe, CICS has helped facilitate community food initiatives in the service of well-being, social health, and connection. CICS’ kitchen and garden-based programs continue to grow. It is on track to grow more than 2500lbs of food this year alone, with a range of organic produce and culturally specific vegetables – from gai lan to bitter melon and fig trees – going towards their other programs, including their food bank. The episode concludes with a peek into the organization’s plans for the future and its continued efforts to work towards developing a sustainable model that could be shared with and adapted by other communities. This episode was recorded on June 16, 2023.
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