It Was A #FoodStock Sunday
It feels like much of our weekend was spent at protests, but this was the one we had to make it to: FoodStock. 
With a proposed mega quarry threatening 2,300 acres of prime agricultural land, pristine aquifers, and endangered species in Melancthon Township, just north of Toronto, the Canadian Chefs’ Congress took action. 100 chefs from across Canada came together to hold a fundraiser on land made available by the farmers still working the land in the region threatened.
From the Stop the Quarry site:
If approved, this would be the largest quarry in Canadian history, and the second largest in North America.
The quarry, if approved, would irreversibly eradicate Class 1 agricultural land, involve excavation 1.5 times as deep as Niagara Falls and 200 feet below the water table in an area known as The Headwaters, since it the highest point of elevation in Southern Ontario and home to the headwaters and sensitive recharge area of numerous important river systems that provide water resources for approximately 1 million Ontarians.
The proponent intends to manipulate 600 million litres of water daily (equivalent to 25% of all water consumed by Ontarians on a daily basis), in perpetuity.
In short, Canada has never laid witness to the potential for a quarrying excavation and operation of this magnitude.
A large and growing number of Ontario residents and concerned environmental organizations have understandingly become very alarmed that our government could potentially authorize Highlands to proceed with what could prove, in retrospect, to be an environmental disaster.
Over 20,000 people showed up to have their voice hear. (Some estimated over 28,000).
The roads were packed, the cops were directing traffic and the number of shiny cars parked was astounding to me.
It was Pay-What-You-Can with a recommended donation of $10 per person
Each Chef prepared 1,000-5,000 samples of a single item using local produce and they served until everything was completely gone!
It was pay what you can and bring your own plates and cups.
It was far. It was cold. It was muddy.
It rained on us. The lines were long.
And it was an amazing success in terms of bringing people out to show their support and raise funds to fight the mega quarry application for a limestone quarry put forward by the Highland Companies.
You can still donate to help this fund, just click here: Stop The Quarry
The slideshow of all my photos from the day above will only be visible if you are on unsweetened.ca when you read this post. Sorry!
