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Deadly outbreaks from contaminated food have fueled the 'buy local' movement like nothing else, says Brent Warner, president of Farmers' Markets of Canada.

That's good news for farmers, right? Not necessarily, argues Warner, especially when it comes to organic food. Even as food prices go up, Canadian farming incomes remain the same (if not lower) as they were in the 1940s.

"We cannot provide organic food and cheap food in North America," he says. "If people want good local food and they want it organic, great, but they've got to realize they've got to pay for it."

Deconstructing Dinner launches its 2009 season of programming with a retrospective and forward-looking presentation from Warner, recorded at the annual conference of the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation.

Voices

Brent Warner, interim executive director, Farmers' Markets Canada (Sidney, B.C.) -- FMC has been created to help connect Canadian consumers to their local farmers and to address the needs of farmers' markets across the country. Brent is a former industry specialist in agritourism/direct marketing with British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture & Lands. Brent is a horticulturalist who has also served as secretary of the North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association.

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