The Hua Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in fall of 2013, and launched in November 2013.[1] It was founded by youth organizers Claudia Li (Chinese-born Canadian), Kevin Huang (Taiwanese-Canadian) and Bard Suen (Chinese-born Canadian) to build community engagement in environmentalism and sustainability.
The foundation evolved out of Li and Huang's shark conservation campaign, Shark Truth. It is a program of the Global Youth Education Network Society (genius), a federally registered charity.[2]
Programs edit
Reconnecting edit
In 2013, The foundation hosted a wonton workshop, the first of a series of cooking classes called the "G-Ma Kitchen Table Series." The classes aim to reconnect Chinese youth with their traditional foods and practices by decreasing the intergenerational knowledge gap.
The Choi Project edit
The Choi Project is the Hua Foundation's food security and food literacy program. It aims to provide more local, pesticide, and hormone-free food products that can be used in traditional cuisine.[3][4] The organization is partnered with various Metro Vancouver area groups such as the Richmond Food Security Society,[5] Vancouver Food Policy Council[6] and urban growers.
Shark Truth edit
In 2009, Claudia Li founded Shark Truth, an organization aiming to protect sharks from extinction through reduction of shark finning, using cross-cultural messaging, such as its Happy Hearts Love Sharks wedding contest. In 2012, Shark Truth offered wedding couples who vowed to go "Fin Free" at their weddings a chance to win a trip to the Galapagos Islands. Shark Truth campaigns saved nearly 8,000 sharks by diverting over 80,000 bowls of shark fin from consumption.[7][8]
The issue of shark-fin soup caused controversy and divides in the Chinese and environmental communities.[9] The move toward local bans in Canadian municipalities — and Shark Truth's role — was covered in the South China Morning Post and numerous national and international outlets.[10]
References edit
- ^ Jennifer Moreau, "Burnaby Woman Launches New Foundation"', Burnaby Now, November 18, 2013
- ^ Genius Archived 2014-06-22 at archive.today, hua foundation
- ^ "Vancouver's Chinese restaurants urged to buy local food". CBC News. November 18, 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ Woods, Graeme (December 6, 2013). "Growing the food movement by bridging cultures". Richmond News. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ "Seasonal Choi Guide". Richmond Food Security Society. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ "November 13 Meeting: Intercultural Food Literacy & the Hua Foundation". Vancouver Food Policy Council. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ "Happy Hearts Love Sharks - Wedding Bells". Happy Hearts Love Sharks. 2012-06-08. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ^ "Fostering and Communicating Sustainable Lifestyles Principles and Emerging Practices - Summary Report" (PDF). oneearthweb.org. United Nations Environment Programme. 2016. pp. 75–77. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
- ^ "Shark fin soup targeted by Chinese-Canadians". CBC News., March 25, 2010
- ^ Shark Truth, In the News