Scaling Circular Food Systems in Canada: Stakeholder Workshop

Scaling Circular Food Systems in Canada: Stakeholder Workshop

Date: April 28, 2022

Time: 9:00am-12:30pm Pacific Time / 12:00pm-3:30pm Eastern Time

Hosted by: The National Zero Waste Council, Circular Economy Leadership Canada, Our Food Future (Guelph-Wellington), and Save-On Foods, in collaboration with the Vancouver Economic Commission and Smart Prosperity Institute.

Download the Workshop Discussion Paper – Scaling Circular Food Systems in Canada

Watch Workshop Recordings

Download the Workshop Summary Report

Across Canada, communities and businesses are scaling circular food solutions. Scaling Circular Food Systems in Canada: Stakeholder Workshop was a solutions-oriented and interactive event. Stakeholders from across Canada convened to learn more about the state of the circular food system in Canada and then explored the opportunities and challenges to accelerating a circular transition in Canadian food systems.

Are you participating in Canada’s food system as a producer or processor? A retailer or food recovery organization? A researcher, funder, or government agency dealing with resource, waste or agricultural systems? Or are you considering what embarking on this journey might mean? JOIN US!

Guest speakers included businesses sharing their circular solution story, researchers looking at system disruptions as well as Canada’s foremost regional circular solution incubator.

SPEAKERS INCLUDED:

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab & Former Dean of the Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University

Dr. Tammara Soma,  Director of Research and Co-Founder of the Food Systems Lab, Simon Fraser University

Tim Faveri, Vice President, Sustainability & Shared Value, Maple Leaf Foods

Jason Baillargeon, Director of Food Policy, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Julie Dickson, Managing Director, Public Affairs & Corporate Responsibility, Save on Foods

Barb Swartzentruber, Executive Director, Smart Cities Office (Our Food Future), City of Guelph

Stuart Lilley, CEO & CVO, ReFeed Canada

Denise Philippe, Senior Policy Advisor, National Zero Waste Council / Metro Vancouver

Shianne McKay, Senior Project Manager, Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER)

Antonious Petro, Interim Executive Director, Regeneration Canada

Paul Shorthouse, Managing Director, Circular Economy Leadership Canada (CELC)

Jessica Regan, CEO & Co-Founder, FoodMesh

Ben Wiper, Founder & CEO, 3F Waste Recovery

This workshop:

• Helped people connect, collaborate and prepare for transitions from a linear to a circular Canadian food system;
• Identified linkages with climate action, technology and business model innovation, social equity;
• Surfaced priority areas for action, based on participants’ input, to help stakeholders prepare and lead change.

The discussions at the workshop informed a playbook for action that will become a resource for organizations and businesses interested in transitioning food systems in Canada.

Who participated? Farmers and food producers, food suppliers and distributors, retailers, non-profits, organics management community, product and equipment suppliers, academia and educators, financial institutions and investors, and government at all levels.

This workshop was part of Circular Economy Leadership Canada’s Circular Food Systems work stream. Circular Food Solutions in Canada: A Coast to Coast Landscape Scan, published in 2021 by the National Zero Waste Council and Guelph-Wellington’s Our Food Future, provides background information for the session.