Food Day in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
is celebrated annually on October 24 and often throughout the month. The celebration was started in 1975 by the
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in an attempt to create an event similar to
Earth Day. Food Day in the U.S. was created to raise awareness about the increasing
industrialization of American agriculture, rising
food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food.
Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...
, hunger, and the American diet and health crisis. Food Day in the U.S. only lasted until 1977, until 2011, when CSPI revived the National Food Day campaign. The Food Day initiative is now run by Food Day.org within CSPI.
Food Day is still focused on raising awareness and changing behaviors related to food in the U.S. Issues of concern include: nutrition education,
food rescue,
sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...
,
hunger
In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic Human nutrition, nutritional needs for a sustaine ...
, farm animal welfare, and farm and food service worker rights. Food Day in the U.S. is typically celebrated by nationwide and local events to educate people about the
food system and/or to gain support for policies that event hosts deem to be improvements for the current food system, such as improved
nutrition labels, funding for
SNAP, and decreased use of
antibiotics
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention o ...
in food-producing animals typically in
factory farms.
2,300 events took place across the country during Food Day in 2011, 3,200 in 2012, and over 4,700 events in 2013. Events have been hosted by a variety of different groups including local governments, food co-ops, schools, college campuses, non-profits, businesses, government agencies, food banks, farms and farmers, and restaurants.
Food Day or Food Day Canada is a culinary celebration that originated in Canada as "The World's Longest BBQ" in reaction to the BSE crisis of 2003. This economic crisis for farmers was a trade embargo by the US on Canadian beef, based on a single case of BSE (or
mad cow disease
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...
) in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada. Since that year, Food Day has evolved into a celebration by chefs from across Canada.
Food Day happens every day in Canada on the Saturday of the August long weekend (also known as the
Civic Holiday Weekend). Food Day was founded by Canadian culinary pioneer,
Anita Stewart
Anita Stewart (born Anna Marie Stewart; February 7, 1895 – May 4, 1961) was an American actress and film producer of the early silent film era.
Early years
Anita Stewart was born in Brooklyn, New York as Anna Marie Stewart on February 7, 18 ...
.
See also
*
List of food days
This is a list of food days by country. Many countries have designated specific days as celebrations, commemorations, or acknowledgments of certain types of food and drink.
Global or international
Africa
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Franc ...
References
{{reflist
Types of secular holidays
August observances
October observances
Observances about food and drink