More than a year and a half after Prime Minister Trudeau assigned him the task of developing a national food policy, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay has launched a public consultation on the issue.The 2015 mandate letter to the minister from Trudeau instructs him to “develop a food policy that promotes healthy living and safe food by putting more healthy, high-quality food, produced by Canadian ranchers and farmers, on the tables of families across the country.”Agriculture Canada has set up a web site www.canada.ca/food-policy where Canadians can contribute their views on the entire food chain and comment on the major themes of increasing access to affordable food, improving health and food safety, conserving our soil, water, and air and growing more high-quality food.The initiative will receive a thorough airing in June when the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, which started developing a national food strategy back in 2010, holds “a collaborative session for Canadian agriculture and agri-food leaders to explore the opportunities and challenges of developing a unified National Food Strategy.”It will be held in advance of a June 22-23 Food Strategy Summit being organized by Agriculture Canada.After in-depth discussions with the food industry and government, CFA issued a discussion paper on a National Food Strategy in 2011 to keep the issue alive. In 2015, the Canadian Agriculture Policy Institute held a public conference on the issue and released a series of recommendations. The Conference Board of Canada has also developed food policy proposals.CFA President Ron Bonnett said, “With the rapid growth in the global demand for food, this is a critical and timely issue. Canada has the potential to play an even larger role as a global and trusted leader in the production of safe, high-quality and affordable food.“To ensure success, a NFP must integrate the entire value chain, from seed to fork. This includes Canadian farmers and food manufacturers who are interdependent and play a leading role in producing safe, high-quality and affordable food.”Proposals from the Advisory Council on Economic Growth and the Powerhouse report prepared by CAPI and the Public Policy Forum needed to be at the centre of the discussions, he said.“A National Food Policy must ensure that our rural communities are sustainable and prosperous.  Food manufacturers play a critical role here as the top manufacturing employer in rural Canada, and by providing an important market for the food that farmers grow.Chris Kyte, President of the Food Processors of Canada, said, “Competitiveness” must be the cornerstone of any food policy. Only a competitive industry is able to grow its share of domestic and international markets can deliver low cost, high quality food while increasing wealth across the country.”Carla Ventin, Vice-President of Food and Consumer Products Canada, said, “To ensure success, a NFP must integrate the entire value chain, from seed to fork.  This includes Canadian farmers and food manufacturers who are interdependent and play a leading role in producing safe, high-quality and affordable food.Canada needs “to process more of what we grow here in Canada, rather than allowing other countries to do this for us,” she said. “When we keep value-added food processing here in Canada, we provide Canadians across the country with high-technology manufacturing jobs. We need to focus on making the sector more innovative and competitive so that we can grow the Canadian economy for the benefit of all Canadians.“We are very fortunate here in Canada with our abundant natural resources and affordable food.  Canadians were found to spend the 3rd lowest share of their total expenditures on food (at10.7% of their disposable income in 2016).”Diana Bronson, Executive Director of Food Secure Canada, said, “Every Canadian should be able to put healthy, affordable, sustainably grown food on their table. This is our chance to take concrete actions to reform our food system, from farm to fork. Our members across the country are excited to make their voices heard.”Her organization has proposed ideas for a food policy that include:--taking concrete steps to progressively eliminate food insecurity, which currently affects four million Canadians;--champion healthy and sustainable diets, using government purchasing power and dietary guidance to improve health and environmental outcomes;--commit to support for sustainable food systems and waste reduction throughout our agriculture and fisheriesAlex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.