I started my career in food back in Venezuela with the dream of making a real difference while fostering a sense of belonging. Growing up in the Global South, learning about, and personally experiencing, the injustices of colonialism awakened a passion to use my career for being a force for good, while honouring my roots, protecting the planet, and addressing the inequalities BIPOC communities face. Sustainability has helped me fulfill that dream through implementing environmental projects and management systems, engaging teams with purpose-driven awareness campaigns, and serving and learning from my local communities. 

When I joined Nature’s Path Organic Foods in 2016, I signed up for something bigger than just making delicious organic food or managing environmental projects; I joined a team with a purpose of “always leaving the earth, communities and team members better than they found them”. I’m excited to do work that meets both my personal and company purpose and build a healthier, more inclusive, and equitable food system.  

As a sector, we have a lot to do to make an inclusive and just food system a reality. Starting with acknowledging the Indigenous roots of many of our farming practices, to engaging with our supply chains, to how and where we make and sell our food, to the organizations we support – there is much work to be done. Our industry is making strides and it’s heartening to see organizations like the OSC2 JEDI Collaborative bring companies together to drive this work forward.  

Pictured here is the Vancouver Urban Food Forest (VUFF) team – Vancouver, BC. They are one of Nature’s Path 2023 Gardens for Good grant winners. The VUFF is an inclusive, intergenerational, cross-cultural knowledge-sharing community with a mission to transform Vancouver’s neighborhoods into nourishing spaces. They work to amplify and prioritize Indigenous ways of knowing and marginalized voices in their public parks and green spaces.

One of the initiatives we have undertaken is to partner with organizations focused on uplifting historically marginalized communities while creating greater access to healthy organic foods in their areas. One such partnership is with Intersectional Environmentalist (IE). IE grounds their work in an inclusive vision of environmental protection that recognizes the inseparable bond between people and the planet. They hold the conviction that any form of environmental advocacy that overlooks this interconnection is incomplete and potentially harmful. Their focus is on achieving climate justice, amplifying the voices that have been historically overlooked, and approaching environmental education, policy, and activism with a sense of equity, inclusion, and restorative justice. 

The “Organic Can Save The Planet” toolkit 

Our collaboration with IE led to the creation of the “Organic Can Save The Planet” toolkit (accessible HERE). This guide not only highlights how organic agriculture can contribute to repairing our planet’s soil, but the ways broken food systems are leading climate-impacted and marginalized communities to mobilize around organic community gardening, food justice, and mutual aid. 

The toolkit is organized into three sections:   

• Section 1 introduces the fundamentals of organic agriculture, distinguishes it from conventional agriculture, and elaborates on the climate change impact of these agricultural systems. 
• Section 2 explores the social and environmental effects of organic agriculture, presenting mutual aid and organic community gardens as sustainable methods to counter climate change and create a fair food system. 
• Section 3 introduces the Nature’s Path Gardens for Good grant program, showcases some of our BIPOC-led grant recipients, and provides readers with a list of suggested actions for intersectional healing and further learning resources. 

I’m proud of our Nature’s Path and IE teams and the outcome of this work, and I can’t wait for you to read it! Please feel free to share it with friends, family and colleagues who might be interested in learning more about this powerful and meaningful subject. 

Special thanks to the COTA team for amplifying our work and for their outstanding contribution to protecting the integrity of organics in Canada and the world.