Deconstructing Dinner

Perhaps nowhere within our food system is the source of our food so disconnected from our dinner plates than that food which originates from the sea. Only a fraction of the Canadian population lives by the ocean, and those who do, are only exposed to a glistening sheet of water stretching out to the horizon, oblivious of what lies beneath.

When Canadians think of food from our oceans, it is without doubt, our country's populations of wild salmon that pop into mind. On this broadcast we will learn of the management of Canada's wild salmon populations and the history of how such an important industry began heading in the same direction that eventually led to the collapse of the Atlantic Cod Fishery.

On the West Coast, few debates have been so passionate or long-running as the one over management of wild salmon stocks, yet few issues remain so confused in the public mind.

In his 2005 book "Salmon Wars", author Dennis Brown reviews the history of the West Coast salmon resource with such comprehensiveness and clarity that even those closest to the issue will find themselves viewing it with new understanding.

In 2005, Dennis was recorded speaking in Vancouver by the Necessary Voices Society.

Speakers

Dennis Brown, Author, "Salmon Wars: The Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery" (Burnaby, BC) - A member of a third generation fishing family, was born and raised in Vancouver. He was educated at the University of British Columbia. In 1980, he joined the staff of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union and worked as the union's Fraser Valley organizer, dealing primarily with the gillnet and troll fleets. In 1990 he was elected to the post of business agent of the UFAWU and three years later he became secretary-treasurer. In 1996 he was hired as Premier Glen Clark's special advisor on the Pacific Salmon Treaty.

This broadcast attempts to tie together some of the most pressing global issues and observe just how interconnected our food choices are to the world around us, and just how significant of an impact our food choices can have on the shape and future of this planet and its inhabitants.

The connections between the global pharmaceutical industry and global food may not be so apparent, but the most startling example is the push to begin growing genetically modified crops to provide ingredients to the pharmaceutical industry. But as such technology is not yet approved for commercial use, we travel to Africa, where the connection between Big Pharma and Food exists today. In brief, the connections appear as such; pharmaceutical companies profit off of an industrial food system that in turn contributes to poverty and food shortages, which in turn contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS, and then, the pharmaceutical companies profit from the drugs they produce to treat the virus.

Helping to make the connections, Deconstructing Dinner uses audio productions from InterWorld Radio (IWR), a part of the UK-based Panos Institute, an international media organization which produces news, features and analysis about the most critical global issues of today.

Featured Audio

"Malawi: Toxic Hunger" - Around one million people in Malawi live with HIV and AIDS. Many people who fall ill find it hard to farm, and struggle to get enough to eat. Antiretroviral drugs which help boost the immune system can help people regain their strength. But taking such potentially toxic treatment without food can be dangerous. Research by the UK's Overseas Development Institute argues food security is essential to break this vicious cycle. In Malawi, the charity Care International supports vulnerable households by running communal vegetable gardens. Hilary Mbobe visited Steria, who is living with HIV, in the village of Matapila. 01/02/2007

"The Food On Your Plate" - More and more countries are producing food they don't eat and eating food they don't produce but is this a good thing? Do the big supermarkets have too much power? Is the organic movement and local production and consumption a sensible way forward? 15/10/2003

"Ghana: Foreign Flavours" - Rice and chicken is a signature dish in Ghana and there's plenty of demand for the raw ingredients. But only if the price is right. Ghana's farmers find they can't compete with cheap cuts of meat from the European Union or subsidized rice from the US, and it's fueling hardship. Isaac Tetteh reports. 16/02/2006

"Zambia: Buying Your Way Out of Hunger" - Each year wealthy nations donate more than five million tonnes of food aid to poorer countries. But some aid professionals think giving food should be a last resort. They say many people facing food shortages would be better off with cash or vouchers to spend in local shops. Researchers who looked into a scheme in Zambia's western province in which aid workers gave out cash instead of food aid say the results are promising. Pamela Mnyantha reports. 01/02/2007

"Zambia: GM Under the Microscope" - Genetic modification or GM is one of the most hotly contested technologies of today. Embraced in the US and shunned in Europe it affects the food we eat, our environment and the livelihoods of farmers. Genetic modification involves altering the genes of plants and animals in an attempt to produce crops more efficiently. But questions over its safety and whether it is in fact superior to other farming methods have divided consumers and scientists.Zambia was catapulted into the heart of the controversy three years ago when it famously refused American food aid during a famine because it contained GM maize. The government still maintains its ban today - not least, some say, because it wants to hold onto its European market. But farmers in Zambia are divided about the issue. IWR reporter Pamela Mnyantha found out what's happening in Zambia now. 07/04/2005

Since the inception of Deconstructing Dinner in January 2006, a growing number of broadcasts have explored livestock as a topic for discussion. This broadcast will revisit with a number of guests who have previously appeared on the program. These topics are in much need of an update, and the three programs to revisit on this broadcast are "Eggs" (Jan.12/06), "Bacon and Marshmallows: The Story Behind Pork" (Mar.23/06) and "Slaughterhouses on the Butcher Block?" (May.4/06).

Topics of discussion.......1. An update on the elimination of battery cage egg production in Canada. 2. An update on the elimination of sow gestation stalls within Canada's pork industry. 3. The battles waged between communities and intensive livestock operations (ILOs). 4. An update on the new British Columbia meat inspection regulations that threaten the future of the province's small-scale livestock industry.

Guests

Bruce Passmore - Farm Animal Welfare Project Coordinator, Vancouver Humane Society (Vancouver, BC) - Bruce first appeared on the program on January 12, 2006 and launched our broadcast titled "Eggs". The VHS coordinates the Chicken Out campaign - working towards the elimination of battery cages within Canada's egg industry.

Vicki Burns - Executive Director, Winnipeg Humane Society (Winnipeg, MB) - Vicki first appeared on the program on March 23, 2006 and launched our broadcast titled Bacon and Marshmallows: The Story Behind Pork. The society had been coordinating the Quit Stalling campaign to see the elimination of sow gestation stalls from Canada's pork industry. In February 2007, Canada's largest pork producer Maple Leaf Foods, announced that they will phase out the use of these stalls over the next 10 years.

Elaine Hughes - Stop the Hogs Coalition (Archerwill, SK) - Elaine appeared on the program on March 23, 2006 during our broadcast titled "Bacon and Marshmallows: The Story Behind Pork". At a meeting held in Archerwill on April 9, 2003, it was learned that North East Hogs/Big Sky Farms Inc. was proposing to establish a 5000-sow mega hog operation somewhere in the Tisdale/Archerwill area. The coalition is a group of concerned ratepayers of the Rural Municipalities of Barrier Valley and Ponass Lake that are opposed to this proposal. We hear an update on this issue.

Cathy Holtslander - Beyond Factory Farming Coalition (Saskatoon, SK) - The BFF promotes livestock production for health and social justice. They promote livestock production that supports food sovereignty, ecological, human and animal health as well as local sustainability and community viability and informed citizen/consumer choice. They recently authored The Citizens' Guide to Confronting a Factory Farm.

Faye Street - General Manager, Kootenay Livestock Association, (Cranbrook, BC) - Faye first appeared on the program in May 2006 for our broadcast titled "Slaughterhouses on the Butcher Block?". The KLA is a registered society whose members are livestock producers in the East and West Kootenay region of BC. They promote the beef cattle industry in the Kootenays as a viable and valuable resource. The association has been working to respond to new provincial meat inspection regulations that threaten the future of the small-scale livestock industry. We hear an update on this issue.

Don Davidson - Project Manager, Meat Industry Enhancement Strategy, BC Food Processors Association (Vancouver, BC) - The BC Meat Industry Enhancement Strategy (MIES) was formed in 2004 to manage new provincial meat inspection regulations and the subsequent transition for processors across the province. It was developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries in conjunction with industry and the BCFPA.

Many forms of urban agriculture have existed for thousands of years. For city dwellers growing food in backyards or even on window sills, this is essentially, farming in the city.

As practical and environmentally friendly as growing food within a city can be, the art of gardening has seemingly disappeared in many urban settings. As current farming practices are proving to be unsustainable in the long-term, urban agriculture is looked upon by many as being a critical shift that needs to take place if we are to ensure a level of food security in the near and distant future.

This broadcast marks the second of an ongoing series that will explore urban agriculture in British Columbia, Canada, and around the world. Featured on the broadcast will be the launch of an on-line community of gardeners with the hope that every lawn in British Columbia will contain a food producing garden. We will learn of an innovative project that links up underutilized backyard garden space with those willing to urban farm it. When we think of urban agriculture, rarely do we think of growing mushrooms! The steps on how to go about becoming an urban mushroom grower will be shared on this broadcast.

Guests

Steve Pedersen - Coordinator, Public Health Association of BC (PHABC) (Victoria, BC) - PHABC works towards preserving and promoting the public's health through disease and injury prevention, health promotion, health protection and healthy public policy. Their recently launched Every Lawn A Garden project is hoping to see every household in BC have a food garden (a 'local' food supply) and for every community in BC to increase the capacity of its local food supply through a system of community and local gardens.

Michael Levenston - Executive Director, City Farmer (Vancouver, BC) - Since 1978, City Farmer has taught Vancouver residents how to grow food, compost, and take care of their gardens in an environmentally friendly manner. Referring to themselves as Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture, City Farmer maintains one of the most comprehensive on-line resources of urban agriculture information. A recent addition to their web site is an on-line tool titled Sharing Backyards, allowing city dwellers with unused garden space to link up with those looking for a space to garden.

Peter Mcallister - Woodlot Director / Mushroom Grower, Lofstedt Farm (Kaslo, BC) - In 1991 Peter obtained a 1500-acre Government Woodlot, situated in the Farm's watershed. It is now being ecologically logged with Percheron horses, and he also needs the help of qualified forestry trainees, in a separate enterprise from the farm. For the past 8 years Peter has explored the world of mushroom growing, and is now offering workshops on how to grow edible mushrooms at home.

It's been a long time in the making here on Deconstructing Dinner to air a feature on coffee, the second most valuable traded commodity in the world, second only to petroleum.

And so if coffee is the most valuable agricultural commodity on the planet, then deconstructing coffee is possibly the closest we can come to deconstructing humanity itself.

Coffee is constantly scrutinized for its human and social impacts around the world, but rarely do we examine the environmental consequences of a Tim Horton's Double Double, a Starbucks Cappuccino, or even an Organic/Fair Trade Espresso.

This broadcast will examine how the removal of human labour from the coffee industry has led to poverty, hunger, environmental destruction and climate change.

Guests

Adam Tomasek - Priority Leader for Borneo-Sumatra, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) (Washington, D.C.) - In January 2007, WWF released a report titled "Gone in an Instant". The report finds coffee lovers the world over are unknowingly drinking coffee illegally grown inside one of the world's most important national parks for tigers, elephants and rhinos -- Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Indonesia. Illegally grown coffee is mixed with legally grown coffee beans and sold to such companies as Kraft Foods and Nestle among other. This coffee is threatening the future survival of 3 animal species.

Daniel Fourwinds - Capulin Coffee (Nayarit, Mexico) - Capulin is a hand crafted, traditionally sun-dried, 100% jungle shade grown natural coffee. Capulin claims to provide the sweetest, least bitter and most stimulating 100% Arabica Tipica coffee available anywhere, and provides more money per pound directly to local villagers than any other coffee company on the planet. This coffee illustrates the destructive forces ALL water-processed (washed) coffees are having on people and the planet.

Benji Hansen - Clean Bean Cafe (Nelson, BC) - The Clean Bean Cafe exclusively sells Capulin Coffee. Located alongside the main highway running through the city, the coffee is sold out of the back of a trailer and is essentially a drive-thru coffee shop. But while Capulin Coffee presents a real opportunity for social and environmental change, Benji Hansen is encouraging yet another level of change by NOT offering ANY take-out cups. Instead, Hansen maintains a 'mug orphanage' whereby customers are free to take their ceramic mug with them! Hey fast food chains and coffee shops..........take some notes!

In January 2006, Deconstructing Dinner was launched to fill a gap not nearly satisfied by Canada's mainstream media. But the subject matter of Deconstructing Dinner is frequently covered by other independent radio stations across the country.

This broadcast will highlight four programs from campus and community radio stations that have explored how our food choices impact ourselves, our communities and the planet. In doing so, we hope to showcase the importance of independent media and the diversity of content that can be found within.

Featured Programs

"Redeye" - Vancouver Co-operative Radio CFRO, (Vancouver, BC) - Redeye is a 3-hour radio program broadcast live every Saturday morning on Vancouver Cooperative Radio, CFRO 102.7FM. It is produced by an independent media collective at the studios of Coop Radio in Vancouver's downtown Eastside. The show has been on the air for over 30 years, providing high-quality public affairs and arts programming to listeners looking for a progressive take on current events.

Clip Jason Mark - Farmer and author based in San Francisco California. Interviewed by Peter Royce. Urban farms in Havana supply all the fresh fruit and vegetables the city's residents need. Cuba made the transition to small-scale, local, organic production following the break-up of the Soviet Union. The crisis Cuba continues to respond to, is a glimpse into the very crisis that Canadians may very well face in the near or distant future. Aired: 04.14.07

"Alert!" - University of Manitoba CJUM - (Winnipeg, MB) - Broadcast every Friday at 11 AM on 101.5 UMFM in Winnipeg, Alert radio brings you all kinds of leading-edge information they think you want to hear. The show covers politics, economics, issues of social and environmental justice; features interviews, commentaries, profiles of people in the news; has features on music, media, the arts; as well as special shows dedicated to new ideas or significant events.

Clip Mustafa Koc - Former Chair of Food Secure Canada and Founding Coordinator of Ryerson University's Centre for Studies in Food Security (Toronto). Interviewed by Andre Clement. Health Canada's new Food Guide was recently released, Mustafa Koc speaks about the corporate influence on the creation of the guide. Aired: 03.02.07

"The Friday Morning After" - McGill University CKUT - (Montreal, QC) - CKUT 90.3 FM McGill Radio Inc. is a non-profit campus community radio station that provides alternative music, news and spoken word programming to the city of Montreal and surrounding areas. CKUT is made up of over 200 volunteers who work closely with a staff of coordinators. The Friday Morning After is a weekly public affairs program airing every Friday morning from 7-8am, and is produced by a collective of volunteers.

Clip Alka Chandna - Senior Researcher, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) - Norfolk, VA. Interviewed by Joe Broadhurst. This segment looks deeper into the massive Menu Foods pet food recall. While the mainstream media reports on only a few deaths as a result of the recall, thousands of pets are said to have died from the tainted food. Alka Chandna speaks about Menu Foods' past and an unregulated industry where everyone has blood on their hands. Did Menu Foods hold back the recall so two weeks of evidence could be thrown away by consumers? Aired: 03.30.07

"You Are What You Eat" - Queen's University CFRC - (Kingston, ON) - CFRC provides innovative and alternative radio programming that enriches and challenges the academic and cultural life of the University and Kingston community. Tune into You Are What You Eat when Sayyida Jaffer explores nutrition, culture and politics and how they relate to food.

Clip On March 22, 2007, Queen's University's Studies in National and International Development program hosted a panel of experts on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). The event was titled "The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program in Canada: Route to Mutual Development or Recipe for Migrant Exploitation?". with Ken Forth, Chairman of the Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Service (Lynden, ON). Stan Raper, United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) (Toronto, ON). Dr. Leigh Binford, Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Mexico. Aired: 03.29.07

Listen to a few broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner, and choosing food may suddenly become an intimidating adventure. It is of the utmost importance that we also bring our listeners examples of alternatives to the industrial food system that is spiraling out of the control of Canadians.

Enter the co-operative model of operating a business. Long an example in Canada of how people can assume control over our needs and resources, co-operatives as an alternative to the industrial food system will be the focus of this series. This is an exciting series, as we ourselves at Kootenay Co-op Radio are a co-operative too.

How does a co-operative differ from a traditional business? Most importantly, a co-operative is owned and democratically controlled by the people who use the services or by those working within the co-op. A co-op is operated for the benefit of members and members have a say in decisions affecting the co-op. In the case of food, such a premise directly challenges many of the pressing issues Deconstructing Dinner explores on a weekly basis.

On this Part II of the series, we look at how co-operatives can provide an alternative to agricultural land ownership and how farmers can receive a fair price by working together to market their product.

Guests

Rob Diether and Lorraine LeBourdais - Horse Lake Community Farm Co-operative (100-Mile House, BC) - An innovative plan to protect a unique piece of farmland in British Columbia is providing a model of how a community can take ownership of the land that feeds them, and guarantee access to locally grown food. Working with The Land Conservancy (TLC), a co-operative has been formed to purchase and preserve a 133-acre farm at the east end of Horse Lake. Joining the Co-op provides many benefits. These include community involvement in the farm's operation with preferred access to the farm's organic produce, educational and cultural activities and special programs and events on the property.

Cathleen and Brewster Kneen - The Ram's Horn (Ottawa, ON) - In October 2006, Deconstructing Dinner recorded Cathleen and Brewster speak at the Bridging Borders Towards Food Security Conference held in Vancouver, BC. Their workshop told the story of the Northumberland Lamb Marketing Co-operative in Truro, Nova Scotia, which recently marked its 25th anniversary. Their workshop explored the factors that made Northumberlamb a voluntary supply management system, setting prices, controlling quality, negotiating delivery times and volumes with farmers, and supplying the major supermarkets in the province with local lamb year round. Cathleen and Brewster publish The Ram's Horn - a monthly journal of food systems analysis.

Audio Clips

Grassroots Groceries - Produced and hosted by Wajid Jenkins for Sprouts - a weekly news magazine of the Pacifica Foundation. Wajid hosts The Compost Pile at WORT Madison, Wisconsin. Grassroots Groceries looks at the past, present and future prospects for grassroots groceries in Madison, Wisconsin. With a globalized food system that favors centralized, large-volume brokers, small-scale grocers face huge obstacles. One of the original food cooperatives in the United States, the Mifflin Street Community Cooperative in Madison, Wisconsin was forced to close its doors on Friday December 8, 2006. Established in January 1969, Mifflin Coop played a pivotal role in the progressive movement for food justice in the Midwest and beyond. With roots in the radical politics of the movement against the Vietnam War, Mifflin has remained true to its original values and mission. It is a collectively managed, member-owned small-scale grocery. Mifflin was central in the formation and support of other cooperative businesses in the Midwest, loaning money, inspiring discussion and forging new paths. It struggled with debt, changing neighborhood demographics and runaway globalization of the food system. Now, after 38 years, it has closed it's doors, leaving a small but obvious hole in the local food scene in Madison.

The Packaged Foods Exposed series takes a look at the largest food manufacturers in the world. What products fall under their banners; how has their influence shaped economic policy, society and culture; how have they affected the environments they operate in; and what relationships do they foster within the countries they are located?

This series places corporations in a critical light, hoping to provide a more balanced image to the advertising and PR campaigns launched by some of the most influential food corporations on the planet.

In this third episode of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, we take a look at the second largest food manufacturer in the world, and the largest in North America - Kraft Foods.

The first half of the broadcast will look at the company's previous ownership by tobacco giant Altria/Philip Morris, and fast track to today, because since March 30, 2007, Kraft is now an independent company. Many eaters around the world are still unaware that between 1988 and 2007, support for Kraft products was support for the tobacco industry.

Within the second half of the show, Kraft's marketing strategies will be placed under a critical light following our discovery of an advertisement that was rolling in lies. Other highly questionable marketing campaigns will also be explored.

Guests

Bryan Hirsch - Organizer, Corporate Accountability International (Boston, MA) - Formerly INFACT, Corporate Accountability International is a membership organization that protects people by waging campaigns that challenge irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions around the world. For 30 years, Corporate Accountability International and our members have scored major victories that protect people's lives by forcing corporations like Nestlé, General Electric and Philip Morris/Altria to stop abusive practices. Kraft Foods has long been boycotted by the organization, but since its recent spin off from Philip Morris, the boycott has now been dropped.

Audio Clips

Making a Killing (2001) - Corporate Accountability International / AndersonGold Films - A powerful organizing tool in the fight for social justice and tobacco control. This documentary exposes Philip Morris/Altria's deadliest abuses. It reveals the burning truth about how the tobacco giant uses its political power, size and promotional expertise to spread tobacco addiction internationally, leaving in its wake a trail of death and destruction.

Finding the adequate nutritional balance within our food is often of paramount importance. When looking at the history of the current food system serving Canadians, it becomes apparent that only for a short time have we been experimenting with such a modern approach to eating. Processed foods and industrial farming are seen as convenient innovations, but how has such a model affected the nutritional composition of our food?

Two speakers addressed this concern at the 2007 Growing Up Organic Conference held in Toronto on February 17th. The conference was organized by the Canadian Organic Growers. This broadcast will examine how, since the innovations coming out of World War II, the nutritional content of the Canadian food supply has plummeted.

Through the assistance of CKLN in Toronto and Heather Douglas, Deconstructing Dinner was on hand to record the conference. This broadcast features the final session of the conference where panelists were posed the question, "Is Organic Worth the Price?".

Speakers

Thomas Pawlick, Author, The End of Food: How the Food Industry is Destroying Our Food Supply - And What We Can Do About It (Kingston, Ontario) - Pawlick's lecture was titled "Our Children's Food, Our Children's Survival". A veteran newspaper and magazine journalist with more than 30 years experience in Canada and abroad, Thomas has taught at both Canadian and foreign universities and colleges. The End of Food exposes the cause of the food crisis--an industrial system of food production geared not toward producing nourishing food, but maximum profit for corporations. Thomas is currently on leave from his position as Associate Professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Regina. Following the book achieving best-seller status, the University cut his salary, cut his research funding, removed him from email lists, and removed all copies of his book from the shelves of the campus book store. Thomas Pawlick is currently restoring a small scale organic farm north of Kingston, Ontario with his son.

Ellen Desjardins, Public Health Nutritionist - Region of Waterloo Public Health (Kitchener, ON) - Ellen's presentation is titled "Eat up! It's good for you! - what the scientific literature says about the health benefits of organics". Ellen has worked in various programs throughout the province and at the federal level for the past 20 years. Ellen has co-authored numerous articles in the area of food security. She has also chaired work-groups and prepared position papers for the Ontario Public Health Association on food systems, public health concerns about food biotechnology, and mercury in fish. In 2005, Ellen was a founding member of the new national organization Food Secure Canada.

Audio Clip

"Food for Fighters" - Produced in 1943 by the United States Office of War Information, this short provides a glimpse into the origins of our current food system. The film was designed to promote the innovations that provided soldiers overseas with nutritionally adequate food. The audio version featured on this broadcast is available in its visual format from the Prelinger Archive at www.archive.org.

Listen to a few broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner, and choosing food may suddenly become an intimidating adventure. It is of the utmost importance that we also bring our listeners examples of alternatives to the industrial food system that is spiraling out of the control of Canadians.

Enter the co-operative model of operating a business. Long an example in Canada of how people can assume control over our needs and resources, co-operatives as an alternative to the industrial food system will be the focus of this series. This is an exciting series, as we ourselves at Kootenay Co-op Radio are a co-operative too.

How does a co-operative differ from a traditional business? Most importantly, a co-operative is owned and democratically controlled by the people who use the services or by those working within the co-op. A co-op is operated for the benefit of members and members have a say in decisions affecting the co-op. In the case of food, such a premise directly challenges many of the pressing issues Deconstructing Dinner explores on a weekly basis.

On this Part I of the series, we look at how co-operatives can provide an alternative to the retail and distribution sector of Canada's food system. The province of British Columbia has some of the most innovative cooperatives in the country, and the two co-operatives featured on today's broadcast are both located within the province: the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative in Nelson, and FoodRoots, a newly established distributors co-operative in Victoria.

Guests

Abra Brynne, Board President - Kootenay Country Store Co-operative (Nelson, BC) - The Kootenay Co-op is a large, member-owned cooperative offering natural, organic foods and products in Nelson. Since its inception in 1975, the Co-op has taken a leading role in promoting natural, organic foods and products, sustainable living and supporting local, organic farms and businesses and fair trade organizations. With over 7,000 members, the store is a leading example in Canada of an alternative to the conventional model of food retailing. Abra has been a member of the store since 1991, was a staff member until 2000, and is now the President of the Board.

Jocelyn Carver, Human Resources Director - Kootenay Country Store Co-operative (Nelson, BC) - In March 2007, Jocelyn helped organize an event/meeting for the 55 staff members of the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative. The meeting explored food sovereignty and food security, and invited local farmers and suppliers to come and speak to the staff. Such a meeting would be unheard of within the conventional retail system, and Jocelyn was invited onto the show to share this experience.

Staff of the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative - Joy Farley, Anneke Rosch, Niels Petersen, Allana McConachy and Ben Morris

Lee Fuge and Susan Tychie, Co-Founders - FoodRoots (Victoria, BC) - Incorporated in October 2006 as a co-operative, FoodRoots has been formed to promote a local sustainable food system by creating the infrastructure link between the eaters/consumers and the growers and processors in the Victoria region. They promote sustainable food grown naturally as close to home as possible, and place a priority on Certified Organic. FoodRoots works hard to educate eaters/consumers about local agriculture and food security issues, and the co-operative challenges the conventional distribution systems controlling Canada's food system.