Soupstock: Thousands gather at Woodbine Park to protest Melancthon mega-quarry

By Tim Alamenciak Toronto Star October 21 2012 

Some came with bowls. Some came with mugs. They came in the thousands to Woodbine Park for Soupstock — a massive culinary protest targeting the Melancthon Township mega-quarry.

More than 200 chefs cooked up 12,000 pounds of local produce for Sunday’s event. Last year more than 28,000 made their way to a field 100 km north of Toronto for Foodstock.

This year organizers decided to host it closer to downtown.

“We need to connect people that live in the city with the food that feeds them,” said Jode Roberts, spokesperson for the David Suzuki Foundation, a co-host of the event along with chef Michael Stadtlander and the Canadian Chefs’ Congress.

“I’ve been advocating to everyone I know. We need to make people aware,” said Diana Mikas who just finished a bowl of chocolate soup. “It affects everybody, not just farmers. It’s integral to our survival.”

The quarry project first started raising eyebrows in 2006, when several farmers were approached with offers to buy their land north of Orangeville. In 2011, Highland Companies submitted a proposal for a quarry licence to the Ministry of Natural Resources and public opposition coalesced.

Opponents have been protesting ever since, expressing concern over the loss of farmland and potential damage to the water supply. The quarry is slated to be about 2,300 acres (930 hectares) — roughly a third of the size of downtown Toronto.

“We should all be concerned about our food sources and drinking water,” said Michael Lewis, a Parkdale resident enjoying some minestrone at Soupstock. “It seems like we have water everywhere — but we don’t.”

Chefs came from all across Canada and the U.S., with one coming from Boston, where the hedge fund financing the quarry project originates.

The movement against the quarry has spread through the city, with red-and-white signs protesting the development popping up in Toronto neighbourhoods. It’s attracted star power also — George Stroumboulopoulos and Our Lady Peace drummer Jeremy Taggart served as emcees for Soupstock.

In 2011, the government of Ontario launched an environmental assessment into the project — a first for an Ontario quarry. The assessment is expected to take several years.CTV Toronto 

CTV News Oct. 21, 2012 2:00PM EDT 

Crowds gathered at Woodbine Park to taste the savoury soups of more than 160 chefs and restaurateurs at Soupstock, an event protesting the proposal to build a mega-quarry in southern Ontario.

The event, a follow-up to last year’s Foodstock, raised funds to fight the quarry proposed for a site approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto on Highway 124 near Shelburne.

The quarry will span 2,300 acres across the Township of Melancthon and tap into one billion tonnes of limestone deposit, eliminating farmland in the process.

The provincial government announced in September 2011 that a full environmental assessment will be required before a final decision is made. If approved, the quarry will be the largest in Ontario and the second largest in Canada.

Participating chef Jamie Kennedy told CTV Toronto that the restaurant industry has a vested interest in preserving local farmland.

“As restaurateurs we view food as culture. So when you are making a contribution to food culture, it’s very important to respond to where you are geographically,” Kennedy said during an interview in October.

Sunday’s event was co-sponsored by The David Suzuki foundation.

Faisal Moola, director of operations at the Suzuki Foundation, said that the quarry will eat up more of the province’s prime farmland.

“This proposed project is unprecedented in Canada in terms of the impact it will have on farmland and nature,” said Moola.

According to Moola, around 16 per cent of class one agricultural soil has been lost to development in the last 10 years.

“This is not the time to be moving forward with this proposal that would destroy so much farmland,” he said.