ECFWA Annual General Meeting in London

Yesterday we went to London with the SPARK writers, Kim, Owen and Lilian to the AGM of the Eastern Canada Farm Writers Association.
The meeting went smoothly with reports and discussion on upcoming and past events.
This year the Canadian Farm Writers Federation will be holding it's annual conference in Belleville, a request for volunteers was put forward to help host this national event. The conference will run from September 27th to 30th. http://www.cfwf.ca/
In 2011 the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists will be holding their annual congress in Guelph. Many details are yet to be established, however a tentative date of September 14th to 18th has been set. http://www.ifaj.org/
After lunch sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario and Pioneer, two guest speakers presented on interesting topics that provided us with some insight into new initiatives as well as information on how more urban areas view their food.
Sue-Ann Staff of the Niagara Vintners Inc. is the wine maker for an exciting new initiative. She presented to us the Story of the 20 bees, how she and 19 grape growers have come together to create a new company. They have chosen to go with a less traditional label, (bright yellow!) in order to grab the consumer's attention and all reports show that this will be a successful venture. They are committed to promoting 100% Ontario made wines and to being environmentally conscious. http://www.20bees.com/
Lastly, Wayne Roberts of the Toronto Food Policy Council spoke with us about where he believes Toronto's food demands are headed. He believes that consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the "authenticity" of their food. Once reliable, convenient sources of food are established, along with a stable price the majority of consumers will be looking to meet with and know the person who grows their food. http://www.toronto.ca/health/tfpc_index.htm