Webinar: Organics are inaccessible? Exploring Organic Values and Food Sovereignty

A social system that fails to support equitable access to healthy food often leads to disdain for organic as “elitist” and not useful. Yet organic has often led the way in improving access to nutritious good food and gardens. Join Taylor Stanley of MadeGood, Markus Pfenning of Pfennings and Kate McMurray of The Big Carrot as they explore organics, accessibility and the challenges and opportunities with Organic values of health, fair labour, animal welfare, and environmental responsibility.

Taylor Stanley: Taylor brings with him a diverse background in international business development, where he has always maintained a focus on sustainability. After completing his B-Comm undergrad, Taylor realized his passion for travel and combined that with post-graduate studies in International Development Management. Taylor has worked in Canada, Australia, Mexico, and most recently China before returning to his hometown of Oakville in early 2020. Today, Taylor leads Riverside Natural Foods’ sustainability efforts in collaboration with the many sustainability champions across the organization. Current initiatives Taylor is focused on include developing internal communication & governance systems to embed Riverside’s Sustainability Strategy, leading the development of the organizations Product Life Cycle Assessment initiative, and supporting Scope 3 Value Chain Emissions measurements and future reduction strategies.

Markus Pfenning: Markus grew up on Pfenning’s Organic Vegetable farm in New Hamburg, which was founded by his grandparents Wilhelm & Barnhild Pfenning in 1981. After a few years away from the farm, he has returned to work alongside his family. This means he can work on what he values most – growing nutritious, delicious, and safe food! And to do so in a way that honours not only the environment (now and in the future), but also the people that grow it. He is involved in just about every aspect of the farm business: crop planning, managing plant health, making deliveries to customers, preparing for inspections, ensuring traceability records are in good order, and tracking sales.

Kate McMurray: Kate is a certified nutritionist and healthy food systems advocate. For 10 years her work at The Big Carrot has focused on championing organic agriculture, building better food literacy, and fostering creative partnerships in the community. The Big Carrot is a worker-owned natural food market that has been committed to local, organic, non-GMO and sustainable food systems since 1983. Growing from 9 founding partners to a thriving worker-owned business, The Big Carrot is run in the same democratic manner as when it first opened. Its approach to health includes creating and protecting sustainable, robust food systems and facilitating community innovation. Each year The Big Carrot funds two grant streams: Carrot Cache and Natures Finest Fund which support sustainable farming and equitable food systems in Ontario.