Introduction

The health sector, and the agriculture and agri-food sector, faces significant challenges in Canada. The health system is pressured by the ever-increasing costs of providing universal health care. For example, as the obesity epidemic and diet-related non-communicable diseases spread through the world, the share of the health care costs attributed to unhealthy eating is estimated to be more than CAD $6 billion per year.² Meanwhile, the growth and profitability of Canadian farms and businesses in the agriculture and agri-food system have shrunk to levels that threaten the financial viability of a number of businesses in these key sectors of economic activity. For example, government subsidies in recent years have surpassed market incomes in the agriculture sector.³

Globally, the world faces yet another food crisis, with food-price inflation sending markets into turmoil and food insecurity becoming a reality for an increasing proportion of the world’s poor, especially the approximately one billion who subsist on less than US $1 per day. As well, food safety has become a growing concern, with practices in one part of the world often resulting in food-borne illnesses in others. A steady stream of media headlines have emerged about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad-Cow Disease), food recalls prompted by outbreaks of salmonella and E-coli, and fears of avian influenza contagion from poultry supply. The issue of food safety has created a challenging environment in which government policy-makers, business strategists, and civil society leaders in health, agriculture and agri-food systems must manage new realities and prepare for an uncertain future.

The past year has highlighted the steep opportunity costs of sectoral isolation in addressing the intractable issues that lie at the interface between health, agriculture and agri-food systems. But the past year has also presented an unprecedented opportunity for a new kind of collaboration, one that produces more effective, integrated solutions. These solutions must emerge through a Whole-of-Society approach. This approach starts with individuals from businesses and communities across all sectors of health and economic activity.

They must act at local, national and global levels. Indeed, the ideological walls that have impeded business, NGOs, government and community convergence in the past have been among the costliest variables in our efforts to find comprehensive, long-term solutions. Canada can become a world leader in integrating health, agriculture, and agri-food policies, thanks to several advantages

• Canada’s health system is highly regarded worldwide, and is a well-established benchmark for universal access to quality and comprehensive health care. Furthermore, Canada has taken a leadership position globally in developing policies related to food safety, infectious diseases, nutrition, and chronic disease prevention;
• Canadian agriculture has a strong base in many food commodities, including grains, meat, dairy, and pulse products, and can provide environmentally and economically sustainable solutions to chronic and crisis-driven food insecurity worldwide, while gaining a competitive advantage in global markets to help feed the world;
• Canada’s strategic and sustained investment in science and technology, an investment that supports research and development, has created opportunities for the health and agriculture and agri-food systems to play a leading role in developing marketable and societal solutions for urgent global health and economic challenges;
• Canada’s policy agendas for health, agriculture and agri-food, and nutrition are already well-equipped with frameworks for action, many of which reflect major, forward-looking paradigm shifts and acknowledge the need for further integration between health, agriculture and agri-food agendas.

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