Monsanto update

Well, since this is a food blog and since I wrote earlier about the tension for Canadian farmers with the shift in food policy towards welcoming back genetically modified grains, I just wanted to add an update from the National Geographic I'm reading. But, first I want to note that most of Canada and particularly Ottawa, seems to be riding the farm to table or locovore movement. Many restaurants seem not only conscious of but practicing farm to table cooking. Menus list where the food has come from (the particular growers) and signs indicate that this or that food place attempts to use as much local produce and meat as they can. (What this means in the winter here, I have no idea). If the Jean Talon farmer's market is any indication, summer is filled with plenty of fresh and exciting food.
but, clearly, such is not the case around the world. NG indicates that most of the world is not in a position to practice any kind of farm to table practices, and in fact, is in such desperate straights that our own eating habits (particularly those that include meat) are contributing to a current global food shortage. One possible answer is offered by genetic modification of food. Many argue that at this point that is the only answer.
So the dilemma abides: what should responsible foodies do? Support farm to table practices where they work and encourage genetic modification where necessary? Focus on ways to create a better food supply globally, even if it means not supporting farm to table? Is it responsible to spend time and energy trying to get organic lettuce in your child's school while millions have no lettuce? Of course, these are timeless questions but ones that will have to be addressed at least at the level of the policy makers.
What I'm interested in on this trip is seeing how each region of North America that we visit responds to food in its own way. Can Montreal's farmer's market provide food stuffs for a majority of its many restaurants? (I don't even know if the food in the market is local. I've read so much criticism lately about farmer's markets and their turn toward loosening standards for who is allowed to sell in the market. We saw people filling their trucks with produce from a local chain grocery to go sell in the farmer's market).
Given the importance of our food supply, it's fascinating and troubling how little we know about it.