THE EDIBLE CITY- Toronto’s Food from Farm to Fork

Edited by Christina Palassio and Alana Wilcox

The Edible City is a collection of 42 stories from passionate Torontonian’s whom are presently active in food related issues and celebrations here in Toronto, Ontario. The book presents itself like a menu, each chapter is illustrated by a menu choice- a five-course meal: Antipasto, Primo, Secondo, Contorno, and Dolce. Each chapter unravels the web of food. Unpacking the social, political and economic discourse of food and the reader’s connection to it within the city landscape and beyond. The approach is multifaceted, it uses distinctive narratives to tell the story of food, in an attempt to allow the reader to recognize: the issues surrounding food politics both in low socio-economic neighbourhoods, but also in five star restaurants; our shared history of how and why Toronto established itself as Hogtown on the most fertile land- in close proximity to an endless supply of fish stock; where Toronto gets its food from, beyond the Toronto Food Terminal- reflective of both the migrant workers of Ontario, to imported food; questions of who and why sews the seed, harvests, sells, distributes, cooks and even serves our food and who is vulnerable and/or celebrated in that process; the impacts of both vegetarianism and eating local butchered meats, furthermore; it asks what are we without access to food?

Relevance

While this book is specific to Toronto’s food and drink culture it in many ways employs common themes of other large cities in North America. It illustrates the importance of accessing good local food for all people.  The food movement, which entails, eating local, eating what is in season, eating food that is grown in a way that nurtures the planet, not harming it, and having affordable nutritious food available to all people in all neighbourhoods, from all different socio-economic backgrounds is one faucet of social justice and sustainability. Making conscious choices about where one would and how would purchase their vegetables, fruit, fish, beer, coffee and meat reflects their commitment to the environment. Many of the story stories include work done by powerful leaders in the community who facilitate programs, empowering people to get connected to their food source, and or educating the public on food security sovereignty. It also tells the stories of people in the community- not angered by failures of the system, like for example the corn products that are now used as an ingredient in main-stream beer, like Molson. Rather the collection of stories focus on the celebrations of Ontario products, like the local brewers dedicated to use local hops and products to brew their beer. For Torontonians not familiar about where their food comes from, or maybe more interested in learning about the inspiring organizations leading the way in food security, this book has immense value. If you identify as an environmentalist or foodie, this book is a must read.