Deconstructing Dinner

Demand for organic food in Canada has been growing steadily at 25 percent a year. With new federal regulations passed in December and a new Canada Organic logo backing organic claims, the Canadian organics sector can expect this growth to continue. Canadians are becoming more health conscious and concerned about the safety of our food system. Consumers need to be aware of new information about our food, especially as it relates to our and our children's health. That's why scientists, children's health experts and the general public discussed what it means to grow up organic at the one day conference "Growing Up Organic" in Toronto on February 17th , 2007. The conference was hosted by Canadian Organic Growers.

The organic standard bans the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, additives, genetically modified organisms and irradiation. The result is food that has fewer toxic residues and a healthier ecosystem that will sustain food production over the long term. With the growing popularity of organics, people are asking many questions. Some of the more common questions include: Are organic foods really healthier? Should I be buying organics for my children? Are organics worth the higher price? The body of knowledge around organics continues to emerge, as scientists and nutritional experts conduct studies to answer these kinds of questions.

Speakers

Ann Clark, Associate Professor in Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph (Guelph, ON) - Dr. Clark's research program encompasses pasture and grazing management and organic agriculture, as well as risk assessment of genetically modified crops. A native Californian, she studied at the University of California at Davis and at Iowa State University. Her academic career started at the University of Alberta, but she has been at Guelph since 1983. In a career spanning 26 years, she has authored 15 books or chapters in books, presented papers at more than 50 conferences and symposia, and published 25 refereed journal and 150 technical and extension articles. She currently teaches Crop Ecology, Crops in Land Reclamation, Managed Grasslands, and several courses in Organic Agriculture, and coordinates the new Major in Organic Agriculture.

Peter Macleod, Executive Director of Crop Protection Chemistry - CropLife Canada (Toronto, ON) - CropLife Canada is a trade association representing the developers, manufacturers and distributors of plant science innovations (pest control products and plant biotechnology) for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings. Peter MacLeod has spent his career in the field of scientific research and regulatory affairs. His research activity has mainly focused on the degradation of pesticides in soil and water but he has also managed environmental toxicology studies and food residue studies. Peter is an active participant on the Pesticide Management Advisory Committee to the Federal Minister of Health and has served on many panels on pesticides and risk management. Born in Yarmouth , Nova Scotia his fondness for Agriculture and Science led him to attend the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. He graduated in 1987 with a B.Sc. (Agr.) Hon., Dalhousie University.

Ellen Desjardins, Public Health Nutritionist - Region of Waterloo Public Health (Waterloo, ON) - 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.

Wayne Roberts, Coordinator, Toronto Food Policy Council (Toronto, ON) - Wayne moderated the session of the conference titled Is Organic Worth the Price?. The Toronto Food Policy Council partners with business and community groups to develop policies and programs promoting food security. Our aim is a food system that fosters equitable food access, nutrition, community development and environmental health.

In 2001, well-known food activist Vandana Shiva spoke to an audience in Vancouver at an event sponsored by the Basmati Action Group. It was during that time that the company RiceTec, had recently attempted to patent basmati rice, a staple of Indian and Pakistani livelihoods and diets. The Basmati Action Group was formed to launch a North American-wide boycott on all products produced by the company.

Vandana's lecture addresses the patenting of life and the genetic modification of food. She speaks of the crisis in India that continues today, where over 40,000 farmers have taken their lives as a result of what she refers to as genocide by the multinational pesticide and seed companies.

The broadcast explores the new Green Revolution being pushed onto the African continent by the Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations. We explore the company Bayer, and their role in the recent contamination of the global supply of rice with an unapproved variety that had been genetically modified.

The segments of Vandana Shiva's lecture were recorded by the Vancouver-based Necessary Voices Society.

Speakers

Vandana Shiva, Founder - Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology / Navdanya (New Delhi, India) - Vandana has been involved in the protection of ecosystems, farmers, and food security for well over 2 decades. Shiva studied philosophy at the University of Guelph in the late 70's and moved on to complete her Ph.D in Quantum Theory Physics at the University of Western Ontario. Using her background in physics and her love of nature, she began questioning how science technology has impacted the environment In 2001 she founded a program called Navdanya, formed to provide education and training on subjects such as biodiversity, food, biopiracy, sustainable agriculture, water and globalization. She is the author of dozens of books.

Clean, white, wholesome milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt and ice cream - very common ingredients within the diet of Canadians.

On part II of the Deceivable Dairy series, we look deeper into the dairy industry and explore the politics of production, trade and animal welfare.

The welfare of dairy cattle was explored during part I of the series, but the framework for regulating and monitoring the welfare of animals in this country may shock you.

Canada's dairy industry is one of three industries that operate under a supply management system. The system is one of the last remaining protections for Canadian farmers to the threats posed by cheap imports. We have seen how the heavily subsidized agricultural sectors in the United States and Europe have already threatened farmers here in Canada, and many are now worried that supply management is at risk of being undermined.

But supply management has its critics, and they're not just the big industrial processors. In an age where local production is essential to combat climate change, the current structure of supply management has created a barrier for farmers to produce milk for their own communities.

This broadcast will also take a look at some of the major dairy processors in Canada. As 70% of all Canadian dairy is processed by 3 companies, getting to know these companies is essential when getting to know your milk, cheese, butter and yogurt.

Guests

Shelagh MacDonald - Program Director, Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) (Ottawa, ON) - The CFHS is the national voice of humane societies and SPCAs. They bring together those who work with, and care for animals to promote respect and humane treatment toward all animals. The CFHS plays a crucial role in farm animal welfare in Canada. The CFHS is a founding member of the newly-formed National Farm Animal Care Council.

Jan Slomp - Farmer / Alberta Coordinator, National Farmers' Union (NFU) (Rimbey, AB) - Born and raised in the Netherlands, landed as immigrants in Canada with his wife Marian and three children in the spring of 1989. They bought a small dairy farm in Rimbey, central Alberta where their herd of 70-80 cattle are raised on grass. Jan is the Alberta coordinator of the NFU - a national organization that works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada.

Food Sovereignty is the human right of all peoples and nations to grow food in ways that are culturally, ecologically and economically appropriate for them.

The idea of food sovereignty as it applies to Western cultures, is one best illustrated through the many recurring topics covered here on Deconstructing Dinner: control of resources, control of agricultural practices, control of production/distribution/retail, and the inability for Canadian communities to viably reclaim and create food systems that better serve the needs of the people within those communities.

Indigenous Food Sovereignty is a much different concept, and as broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner often explore the food systems of the Western world, and how they impact health, environment and people, there is much to learn from the foodways of North America's indigenous people. The modern food system of today could not have been made possible without the destructive forces of colonialism, and its impact on the food supply of this continent's earliest inhabitants. This destruction continues today.

Through the eyes of indigenous food sovereignty, this broadcast will look to better understand the ways in which the modern food system has disengaged all peoples from our land.

Speakers

Nicole Manuel - Neskonlith Indian Reserve, Secwepemc Nation (Chase, BC) - Nicole spoke to an audience in October 2006 at the Bridging Borders Toward Food Security Conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Nicole was at the forefront of the demonstrations that took place in 2001 on the land that is now Sun Peaks Resort north of Kamloops, British Columbia. The land was an important location upon which the Secwepemc Nation gathered and hunted their traditional foods.

Paul Smith - Oneida Nation/Heifer International, Indian Nations Program (Wisconsin) - Although their original homelands were in the area of New York, the Oneida Nation is scattered today in several parts of North America (Wisconsin, New York, and Canada). The Oneida Indian Reservation in Wisconsin (a few miles north of Appleton and southwest of Green Bay) is where many members of the Oneida Nation reside. Paul spoke to an audience at the 2006 Bridging Borders Toward Food Security Conference in Vancouver.

Nancy Turner - Professor of Ethnobotany, School of Environmental Studies, Univeristy of Victoria (Victoria, BC) - While working on her thesis, Dr. Turner collaborated with Saanich First Nations elders to learn about the significance of plants to their culture. Her post-graduate work concentrated on plant classification systems among the Haida, Nuxalk (Bella Coola) and Stl`atl`imx (Lillooet) people. Her major research contributions have been in demonstrating the pivotal role of plant resources in past and contemporary aboriginal cultures and languages, as an integral component of traditional knowledge systems, and how traditional management of plant resources has shaped the landscapes and habitats of western Canada. Dr. Turner spoke to an audience in February 2007, as part of a lecture series titled "Acceptable Genes? Religion, Culture and the Genetically Modified (GM) Foods Debate" Her lecture was titled "Why Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Beliefs Matter in the Debate on GM Foods".

Michael Ableman is the founder and executive director of the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens, a non profit organization based on one of the oldest and most diverse organic farms in southern California, where he farmed from 1981 to 2001. The farm has become an important community and education center and a national model for small scale and urban agriculture. Under Ableman's leadership the farm was saved from development and preserved under one of the earliest and most unique active agricultural conservation easements of its type in the country.

Michael lives in British Columbia on Salt Spring Island where he is developing a long-term master plan for Foxglove Farm. The farm will include mixed grain, livestock, and fruit and vegetable production. The 75 acres of forest will be managed using strict eco-forestry principles. Harvested trees will be milled and furniture products produced on-site.

His most recent book "Fields of Plenty" describes the growing community of farmers and food artisans, who are producing sustainable nourishment that is respectful to the land and rich in heritage, flavor and commitment.

Michael spoke to an audience in November, 2005. This event was produced by Necessary Voices Society and the Vancouver Public Library.

Following in the foodsteps of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, the Agri-Business Exposed series will explore the major agricultural companies whose names are rarely heard by the eating public.

The ingredients entering into the staples of our diet rarely, if ever, originate from the company that produced the final product. Behind the Krafts, Nestles, Coca-Colas and Pizza Huts of the world, are the large corporations that deal with the most important person in the process; the farmer.

The Cargill Exposé It is fitting to launch this series by exploring the most influential and powerful agri-business in the world; Cargill. As one of the largest private companies in the world, Cargill's $75.2 billion in sales employs 149,000 people in 63 countries. But the Minnesota-based company utilizes a strategy that situates much of their presence behind the scenes, and upon addressing the scope of this company's influence, their operations and products make their sales figures and employment statistics close to meaningless. Cargill sets the stage for agriculture and food around the world, and a better understanding of this company, is a better understanding of our dinners.

On this Part II of the Cargill Exposé, we tackle topics of child slave labour in the West African cocoa industry, we raise questions over how Cargill's High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has played a role in the global obesity and diabetes epidemics, and we discover how the company was able to arrive in Canada in 1989, and now assume 50% control of Canada's beef.

Guests for Part II of the 2-part Cargill Exposé

Cam Ostercamp, President, Beef Initiative Group Canada (B.I.G.) (Blackie, AB) – The organization was formed in 2004 to be a voice for primary producers of beef in Canada. As Cargill is the most influential company in the Canadian beef industry, Cam's experience as both a farmer and President of B.I.G., provides him with a comprehensive background on the influence exercised by the company.

Brian Campbell, Staff Attorney, International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) (Washington, D.C.) – ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. The organization is currently targeting the child labour practices in the West African cocoa industry that company's like Cargill are said to support. Brian Campbell began working with the ILRF as a law clerk in 2001 and was hired as a full time attorney upon graduation from law school in 2004.

Brewster Kneen, Author/Publisher, The Ram's Horn (Ottawa, ON) – Brewster was born in Ohio and studied economics and theology in the U.S. and the U.K. before moving to Toronto in 1965. There he produced public affairs programs for CBC Radio, and worked as a consultant to the churches on issues of social and economic justice. In 1971, with his wife Cathleen and their children Jamie and Rebecca, he moved to Nova Scotia, where they farmed until 1986, starting with a cow-calf operation and then developing a large commercial sheep farm. When he stopped farming, he developed a devoted interest to learn more about Cargill than perhaps anyone has ever attempted. The second edition of his book "Invisible Giant" (2002), provides the most current and comprehensive source for any eater interested in learning more about the origins of our food.

Following in the foodsteps of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, the Agri-Business Exposed series will explore the major agricultural companies whose names are rarely heard by the eating public.

The ingredients entering into the staples of our diet rarely, if ever, originate from the company that produced the final product. Behind the Krafts, Nestles, Coca-Colas and Pizza Huts of the world, are the large corporations that deal with the most important person in the process; the farmer.

The Cargill Exposé It is fitting to launch this series by exploring the most influential and powerful agri-business in the world; Cargill. As one of the largest private companies in the world, Cargill's $75.2 billion in sales employs 149,000 people in 63 countries. But the Minnesota-based company utilizes a strategy that situates much of their presence behind the scenes, and upon addressing the scope of this company's influence, their operations and products make their sales figures and employment statistics close to meaningless. Cargill sets the stage for agriculture and food around the world, and a better understanding of this company, is a better understanding of our dinners.

Guests for Part I of the 2-part Cargill Exposé

Brewster Kneen, Author/Publisher, The Ram's Horn (Ottawa, ON) - Brewster was born in Ohio and studied economics and theology in the U.S. and the U.K. before moving to Toronto in 1965. There he produced public affairs programs for CBC Radio, and worked as a consultant to the churches on issues of social and economic justice. In 1971, with his wife Cathleen and their children Jamie and Rebecca, he moved to Nova Scotia, where they farmed until 1986, starting with a cow-calf operation and then developing a large commercial sheep farm. When he stopped farming, he developed a devoted interest to learn more about Cargill than perhaps anyone has ever attempted. The second edition of his book "Invisible Giant" (2002), provides the most current and comprehensive source for any eater interested in learning more about the origins of our food.

John Sauven, Campaign Director, Greenpeace (London, UK) - Greenpeace has been very active in exposing the operations of Cargill in Brazil's Amazon. Their 2006 report titled "Eating Up The Amazon", illustrated the soya crisis through an analysis of both Cargill and the European operations of McDonald's. The report documents the path taken by soya from illegally cleared farms, to Cargill and its customers. With the hope of raising awareness about the company's activities abroad, Greenpeace has staged a number of protests that have successfully disrupted Cargill's operations.

Recorded in Vancouver during the October 2006 Bridging Borders Toward Food Security Conference, the plenary titled, "A Vision for Food Sovereignty: Farmers Speak Out" provided a critical opportunity for those working on community food security work to hear from farmers themselves.

Topics discussed: The effects of free trade agreements on farmers in Mexico, Canada and the US; Migrant workers' rights; The Canadian Wheat Board; The extraction of farmers' wealth by agricultural corporations.

The conference was hosted by the Vancouver Food Policy Council, and organized by the California-based Community Food Security Coalition and Food Secure Canada.

Deconstructing Dinner was on hand to record the conference

Speakers

Dena Hoff - ex-Chair, Northern Plains Resource Council (Glendive, Montana) - Dena raises sheep, cattle, alfalfa, corn, and edible dry beans, among other crops, on their farm in Glendive, Montana since 1979. She is an active member of her rural community, serving on the Water Commission and the local food cooperative. She is also active with the National Family Farm Coalition.

Alberto Gomez - National Coordinator, UNORCA (Mexico) - UNORCA (National Union of Autonomous Regional Farmers' Organizations) is an autonomous, non-profit, and non-partisan network of Mexican campesino and indigenous farming organizations. They are a member of La Via Campesina - the International Peasant Movement. LVC coordinates peasant organizations of small and medium sized producers, agricultural workers, rural women, and indigenous communities from Asia, America, and Europe. It is an autonomous, pluralistic movement, independent from all political, economic, or other denomination.

Carlos Marentes - Director, Border Agricultural Workers Project (El Paso, Texas) - The BAWP is an organizing effort initiated by Sin Fronteras Organizing Project as an attempt to help migrant farmworkers improve their wages and their working and living conditions. The majority of the border farmworkers work in the multi-million dollar chile industry of Southern New Mexico.

Karen Pedersen - ex-Womens' President, National Farmers' Union (Cut Knife, Saskatchewan) - Karen is a fifth-generation bee-keeper at Pedersen Apiaries. She spoke on behalf of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), an organization that works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada.

Clean, white, wholesome milk, cream, cheeses, butter, yogurt and ice cream - very common ingredients within the diet of Canadians.

Dairy was recently the centre of attention throughout the Canadian media, following a raid on a farm in Ontario where raw milk was being produced and sold. As the sale of raw milk is prohibited throughout Canada, this exposure reintroduces the controversy surrounding the standard pasteurization of milk products.

Dairy products are a staple of the Canadian diet, but how much information are Canadians missing out on? As one of the most aggressive marketers within the agriculture/food industry, dairy receives a pretty positive image. But behind the production of milk are issues surrounding animal welfare, environmental impacts and consumer health.

As this topic is so unexplored by the media, this will mark the first of a 2-part series on Dairy production in Canada. Join us as we explore the surprisingly un-chartered territory of dairy: raw milk vs. pasteurized, grass-fed vs. grain-fed, environmental impacts of dairy systems, organic dairy, animal welfare, and how the veal industry is a byproduct of your stick of butter.

Guests

Sally Fallon - President and Treasurer, Weston A. Price Foundation (Washington D.C.) - A nonprofit charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated non-industrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets. The Campaign for Real Milk is a project of the Foundation, and promotes the production and consumption of pasture-raised raw milk products. Sally is a journalist, chef, nutrition researcher, homemaker, and community activist. She is the author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats (NewTrends).

Dr. Alan Fredeen - Professor, Plant and Animal Science, Nova Scotia Agricultural College (Truro, NS) - Comprising NSAC's Department of Plant and Animal Sciences is the Atlantic Pasture Research Group. The APRG is an informal association of scientists in the Atlantic region with an interest in research on grazing animals and pastures. Among Dr. Fredeen's areas of interest, is the environmental comparisons of pasture-raised dairy versus the more conventional confined systems.

Ric Llewellyn - Jerseyland Organics (Grand Forks, BC) - A family owned and operated dairy. Ric & Vickie Llewellyn settled there in 1985 with their herd of pure bred Jersey cattle that now number 95(+) head. In 1994 Jerseyland Cheese began commercial production after completing its transition to "Certified Organic" status. Thus making Jerseyland B.C.'s & Western Canada's first "organic" dairy and Western Canada's first producer of organic cheeses and yogurts.

In a recent issue of the highly-respected Alternatives Journal, the subject of food, filled the pages within. Titled "Thought for Food", the edition connected a new generation of food activists to a classic member of Canada's food heritage. It honours the People's Food Commission that, in the late 1970s, traveled across the country to hear the views of fellow citizens and then assembled the trend-setting report: The Land of Milk and Money.

On this broadcast of Deconstructing Dinner, we hear from 3 of the issue's authors and a subject-specific guest, for what will provide a potluck of topics and ideas to explore.

Guests

Darrin Qualman - Director of Research, National Farmers' Union (NFU) (Saskatoon, SK) - "The Cupboard Is Bare" - Transnational interference grinds down world grain supplies. What you should know about grain prices. NFU members believe that the problems facing farmers are common problems, and that farmers producing diverse products must work together to advance effective solutions. The NFU works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada. Darrin is also the Water Issues Coordinator of the Saskatchewan Environmental Society.

Rachelle Sauvé - Freegan, Food Not Bombs (Peterborough, ON) - "Dumpster Dining" - Freegans consume waste food to protest consumer waste. While this article was authored by Ferne Edwards, Rachelle Sauvé is very much the subject matter herself. She eats as a vegan and does her best to defy the cycle of capitalist production and consumption by finding the majority of all things that she consumes from resources that are set to be waste or have been discarded as waste. Rachelle believes strongly "that in an economic system that exploits and subjugates the majority of people, those who need food, shelter, clothing, etc... have the right to and should reclaim the waste products of an over consumptive society to provide for their basic needs."

Marc Xuereb - Public Health Planner, Region of Waterloo Public Health (Kitchener, ON) - "And Miles to Go Before I Eat - Home-Grown Hurrah" - Marc recently authored the study, "Food Miles - Environmental Implications of Food Imports to Waterloo Region". The report documents the average distances travelled by imports of selected food items to Waterloo Region as well as the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their transport.

Peter Andreé - Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Carleton University (Ottawa, ON) - "And Miles to Go Before I Eat - Local Limitations" - Peter's contribution to the "Thought for Food" issue, provided a critical response to Marc Xuereb's "Home Grown Hurrah". Peter identifies that supporting local, is not necessarily the most environmentally friendly choice. Specializing in Politics and the Environment, Peter's primary interest lies in food issues. He is the author of the forthcoming "Genetically Modified Diplomacy" (UBC Press). His academic research most recently took him to Australia's Monash University.