Name Change for Carrot Creek Urban Farm!

We moved to Alberta – 80 acres of land to grow whatever we want on! So we’re not an “Urban” farm anymore, although the urban techniques (SPIN Farming) we used will be transferred to a large format.

I’m exceptionally excited about this as I’ve had heavy backlash from Big Corporate farmers that tell me it can’t be done.

Wrong.

So I look forward to posting the progress of this vegetable production farm through the years. You’ll see a LOT of changes to everything: pics, headers, offers… I will also be posting daily available produce for my local Alberta customers.

It’s exciting, inspiring and as always, healthy choices – just a whole lot more of them!

Our address:  Carrot Creek Farm – 29034 Highway 587 Bowden Alberta TOMOKO (phone number coming soon…) It’s only 2k east of the Bowden/Hwy 587 exchange (between Red Deer and Olds: 55 minutes from Calgary). Easy to find!

My take on the E-Coli Outbreak and it’s relation to GMO

There is a Universal truth: What you resist, persists.

By now, everyone is aware of the new pathogen E-Coli 0-104. If not, a few articles for you to get up to speed with:

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/06/sequence-yields-clues-to-germany.html?ref=hp

http://www.naturalnews.com/032622_ecoli_bioengineering.html

I first want to address the small vegetable farmers who had to throw out their produce. Cucumbers were cleared of wrong doing yesterday. The EU farmers are very aware that their healthy produce is a threat to Big Agribusiness. In protest, they took all they had and dumped it (if you are going to attack me I simply won’t feed you anymore). Yet, one more reason to grow a garden this year: the food shortages are getting increasingly larger. And another reason to support small local farmers.

The Importance of Seed Banks

April: Sorry for not having written for some time, but this year I have planted and started 5 times what I have done in the past! It’s a good year!

In my area, many of us grow vegetable crops and many have developed seeds for  generations. We have started a seed bank and in collaboration with a few other seed companies and groups, some of us will be growing for seed alone this year. Saving seeds is the easy part. It’s quite another to grow for seed each year. In order to really save seed well, you must grow it and keep it fresh year to year.

Why is this SO important? Andrew Kimbrell of The Center For Food Safety says it well:

My first experience with the perils of large scale seed banks was the scandal that erupted over the Fort Collins collection in the mid 1980s.  Journalists had published stories dramatically detailing the grossly negligent manner in which deposits to the seed bank were treated.  Numerous seed deposits were spilling out onto the floors of the facility, the facility was woefully understaffed, there was no testing of the seed and a virtually complete failure of required regeneration — in short a seed saving disaster. A legal petition by my organization to rectify the decision seemed to get the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) attention. But when no real action resulted we litigated. I was a very active member of that legal team. As such I reviewed much of the material in the case that documented USDA’s complete disregard for the safety and integrity of the seeds under its care. This litigation ultimately forced a settlement where USDA agreed to do an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and conditions at the seed bank improved somewhat.

Join Richmond Food Security Society for the “Clean Bin Project” documentary

Medicated animal feeds and the risk to humans

April: Whenever you see any restaurant or grocer telling you their eggs are healthy or even healthier, ask questions: lots of questions. Under NO circumstances do you have to improve a food unless the conditions exist to create poor foods in the first place.

The story of humans with antibiotic resistance is very personal for me. I was prescribed antibiotics only once, and was found to be allergic to it.  After paying for the test that looks at what is lurking in your system, I find out that I am allergic to every antibiotic. And yet, I have never taken any of them in my lifetime.

We should be asking Canadian and American governments some very, very tough questions…

by Gretchen Goetz | Mar 16, 2011     Link to original article

Administering antibiotics to animals via feed leads to inconsistencies in how much of the drugs they intake, thus contributing to the growth of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, according to a new commentary.

In a paper published this month in Environmental Health Perspectives, experts from Johns Hopkins University and Animal Welfare Approved argue that letting animals “choose” how much of an antibiotic they take by putting it into their feed can pose a severe health risks to humans by allowing drug-resistant bacteria to develop.

“We know a lot about antibiotic resistance in animals, but one thing that really hasn’t been covered very well is medicated feed, and what are the issues surrounding it that make resistance more likely,” says Dr. David Love, project director of Johns Hopkins’ Center for a Livable Future and co-author of the paper.

Health Canada to ban parsley capsules by end of 2011

This was one crazy day: I walk into my favorite health food store and the owner was close to tears. They lose sleep over just buying this store a year ago, and one month later, Harper pulls the rug out from them.

“We are about to lose over half of our product lines, and the shelves are already hard to fill. And now, one of our biggest customer base for parsley caplets is being told by Health Canada that they can’t get it anymore, because there isn’t sufficent evidence available that it is safe.”

I kid you not. I did the research, and it does appear that parsley will be taken off the “natural products” list. But Red Bull Sugar/Caffeine Drink is fine.

I have a call in to Health Canada. Should be interesting.

So here’s my pledge: this year I will grow parsley; lots of it. Dry it. Put it into vegetable based capsules. Sell it. In fact, this year is a really great time to grow all the banned herbs.

This is my pledge, Health Canada. Come and get me. Let’s open this whole BS debate wide enough for all Canadians to hear. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain: for Canadians, at least. Let’s open the raw milk debate up as well. How about the other long list of herbs that, as far as I can Google, have never killed anyone.

We can sell Red Bull but not parsley. We get mercury vaccines. GMO foods. What is this country coming to? Other than a revolution…

Links to this fiasco:

soscanada.net nhppa.org charterofhealthfreedom.org savenhp.org

*Just one funny note: if you go on HC’s site, and send them an email, it asks for all your personal information or it won’t send. When you get the reply email stating yours has been received, there’s an important claimer: “1) IMPORTANT: For reasons of security and privacy, we ask you not to send us any personal information.”

Palm against forehead….

 

Seedy Saturday in Richmond!

They Eat What? The Reality of Feed at Animal Factories

When many Americans think of farm animals, they picture cattle munching grass on rolling pastures, chickens pecking on the ground outside of picturesque red barns, and pigs gobbling down food at the trough.

Over the last 50 years, the way food animals are raised and fed has changed dramatically—to the detriment of both animals and humans. Many people are surprised to find that most of the food animals in the United States are no longer raised on farms at all. Instead they come from crowded animal factories, also known as large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

BC Urban Farmers start off on right foot!

A few Sundays ago, in fact, the only nice Sunday we’ve had so far, 40+ of us from the BC Urban Farmers group sat around tables and hashed out a strategy for forming an organized collective.

After 6 hours we came up with the beginnings of a plan to get our message out, and firm up who we are and what we stand for.

Not all the members farm in urban areas. I do both. Both have different models and different varieties based on space available. It is in these findings that we can come together and compare notes, making us all the more wiser. Intensive agriculture is not new, but it is making a comeback as it feeds a large number of people, has multiple markets, and you can earn a living wage from it.

I have posted our “conclusions” from our first meeting for you to look at: (January+30+Urban+Farmer+Meeting+Summary). Feel free to join us. Even if you have a smaller garden, everyone’s experience here counts. All gardening has value. Especially today…

Human overshoot and our Planet today – Great little story

This is an interesting story about how human intervention does not always work. In most cases, never works. Especially when humans try to control the food supply. This is a great way for kids to learn about “overshoot”.

The Future of Canadian Food rests in Parliament for one more day!

April: This is only important if you eat. If you don’t eat, it doesn’t matter.

Bill C-474 (“an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted”) protects farmers from losing their crops, their livelihoods and their farms (More links below). As GE seed/crop corporations like Monsanto sweep in and take over every food crop growing in Canada, you, the consumer, will lose ALL choices of what you buy and consume. Including all vegetables.

We as farmers will no longer be able to save seeds. Which means, if we buy them at the inflated costs, YOU will be paying double for your groceries.

However, if you don’t eat, it doesn’t matter.

Below, Tom Rudge is a farmer in the Yukon. I know Tom. He works hard to feed you and I. The Yukon is a GE Free Zone, thanks to many that brought it forward and passed it. That doesn’t mean Tom’s farm is safe. I have included Tom’s letter to Harper. Read it, as it applies to ALL farmers. In 24 hours, we will find out if we have a future or not.

Subject Heading: My future and Bill C-474: Your future too?

Exposing Monsanto’s Minions

A few posts down I spoke of Monsanto’s GE alfalfa deregulation. It was a complicated issue, and has opened up the issues and awareness of GMO. Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumer’s Association lashed back. While there are two sides to every story, one side is not being told, and Ronnie wants that exposed. He makes a valid point: one that I found valid in the beginning as well, but did try to understand “why” the Organic groups bowed to the concession of co-existence. So my question now is “Why didn’t they demand that co-existence was not ever an option, but would allow deregulation with the option of coming back to the table to sue?” Below is Ronnie Cummin’s backlash:

Monsanto Nation           By Ronnie Cummins

My exposé last week, “The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?” has ignited a long-overdue debate on how to stop Monsanto’s earth killing, market-monopolizing, climate-destabilizing rampage. Should we basically resign ourselves to the fact that the Biotech Bully of St. Louis controls the dynamics of the marketplace and public policy? Should we seek some kind of practical compromise or “coexistence” between organics and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)? Should we focus our efforts on crop pollution compensation and “controlled deregulation” of genetically engineered (GE) crops, rather than campaign for an outright ban, or mandatory labeling and safety-testing? Should we prepare ourselves for a future farm landscape where the U.S.’s 23 million acres of alfalfa, the nation’s fourth largest crop, (93% of which are currently not sprayed with toxic herbicides), including organic alfalfa, are sprayed with Roundup and/or genetically polluted with Monsanto’s mutant genes?

Or should we stand up and say Hell No to Monsanto and the Obama Administration? Should we stop all the talk about coexistence between organics and GMOs; unite Millions Against Monsanto <http://www.millionsagainstmonsanto.org> ,  mobilize like never before at the grassroots; put enormous pressure on the nation’s grocers to truthfully label the thousands of so-called conventional or “natural” foods containing or produced with GMOs; and then slowly but surely drive GMOs from the market?

Feb 8 is the Day We Support All Farmers (Or Not)!

URGENT Action Alert: Please Distribute Widely –
SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR MP BY FEB. 8th VOICING YOUR SUPPORT FOR BILL C-474

Help Protect our Farmers
Support Bill C-474

A simple action today could stop genetically engineered (GE) seeds from causing chaos on Canadian farms – lost markets, lost crops and livelihoods, and permanent crop contamination.

Private Members Bill C-474 is currently scheduled for a vote at third reading in Parliament on February 9th. The Bill could effectively stop GE alfalfa and GE wheat from being commercialized in Canada. It would require “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.”

GE Seeds and ‘Market Harm’
With greater scrutiny of GE crops in Europe, Canadian flax and alfalfa farmers stand to lose their traditional export markets if these crops are commercialized in Canada. Late last year, Canadian flax exports were found contaminated with a GE variety not approved for our export markets. Canadian flax farmers are paying a heavy price, with some facing the prospect of no markets at all for their crops.

They recognized the potential threat, and in 2001 farmers even took steps to remove GE flax from the market. But despite their best efforts, contamination occurred, creating market uncertainty and depressed prices. Farmers are now paying to test and clean up their seed supplies. They may yet need to abandon their farm-saved flax seed and buy certified seed – all unnecessary and preventable costs.

Allowing for the commercialization of GE alfalfa and GE wheat could also lead to similar problems. Please protect Canada’s farmers and support Bill C-474.

ACTION

Write a letter to your MP instantly. Our friends at CBAN have made it simple. Take action by February 8!
Find out more about this issue and share it with your friends and families by visiting cban.ca or Parliament of Canada.
Learn about the importance of crop diversity and food sovereignty at www.usc-canada.org and at www.seedmap.org.

For more action options and information visit cban.ca or contact:

Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network by Email (coordinator@cban.ca) .

Your actions make a difference!

Thanks for your support of this important issue!

Raw milk should not be a crime!

I’m going – anyone want to join me? I may be a bit noisy….

Food Scraps Recycling: Making it the Norm for Businesses and Institutions

Sustainability Community Breakfast

Our next Sustainability Community Breakfast will take place Thursday, February 3, 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) downtown Vancouver campus at 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver.

Studies show that nearly half of our garbage is made up of food scraps and other compostable materials. Join us to hear how businesses and organizations across the region are reducing food waste and embracing food scraps recycling, keeping hundreds of thousands of tonnes of compostable materials out of landfills.

Speakers:

Can GE and Organics live harmoniously?

I have watched the latest news as the USDA gave the Organic’s industry 2 choices: full deregulation or partial. There is much to consider, so I have written it as I see it. But one thing I feel: we are at the tipping point of our food sovereignty. This could be it folks: whether we get to live in a GE world or not. Hope the experiment doesn’t fail, just in case WE do…

There are several players here: Whole Foods, Stoneyfield and many other grocers that I will be referring to. Their problems run deep and are not as transparent as they seem, so I will attempt to cut through the crap and bring very real, very pressing issues to the forefront.

Here are the problems Stoneyfield, Whole Foods (WF) and all the other organic “grocers/producers” face with this alfalfa deregulation. This is where I would be putting my money and efforts into:

1. We all KNOW the real issue here is not GE alfalfa, but that this ruling is a precursor for ALL GE crops/plants/trees to be released, unregulated. Or at least “moderately”, and anyone that grows for a living understands there is no “moderation” in cross-contamination. This was the open door Monsanto and “friends” needed to push the rest of their agenda. Why? Because they can monitor the pulse of the consumer and public: will they fight it? Will organic organizations fight it? How, exactly, can Monsanto be stopped? Because at this juncture, “stop” is the critical point: the tipping point to losing our food sovereignty, control and choices. That is what this is all about.

Curtis Stone – Spin Farming is in and profitable!

For those that don’t know who Curtis Stone is, he spin farms in Kelowna (Green City Acres), and has learned how to take 1/2 an acre and turn it into gold. He gets calls from all over the planet from doctors and lawyers on how to make money farming. This is why I want to introduce you to Curtis. If we can show a viable and profitable industry and hungry market for fresh local food (I believe it’s here: demand is higher than supply) then we can change the landscape for monoculture and mass factory farming. I’m not saying get rid of it: I am thinking it needs a bit of revision. We should not be paying farmers peanuts from our tax dollars (middle men take money from us and the farmer). They should profit without subsidies, as all farmers should. And live a good life.

New Democrats call on Harper to stand up for Canadian Farmers!!

US decision to allow unconfined release of GE alfalfa a disaster for Canada’s organic industry

OTTAWA – New Democrat Agriculture Critic, Alex Atamanenko (British Columbia Southern Interior), is calling on Prime Minister Harper to urge the US Government to immediately reverse yesterday’s decision to authorize the unrestricted cultivation of Monsanto’s hotly contested genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa in the US.

“It is certain that any GE alfalfa grown in the US will inevitably lead to contamination of alfalfa in Canada,” said Atamanenko. “If Harper doesn’t take a stand to protect Canadian farmers and their organic markets from this looming nightmare then there can be no doubt that Monsanto not only rules the roost in the US but in Canada as well.”

Community Dan Jason on Seed Saving: How to Organize for a Resilient Future

Dan Jason from Salt Spring Seeds came to Richmond for a talk on Friday January 21. This was the overview of his comments – we all must start to save seeds NOW. This is how:

Communities are talking a lot about local food security these days because of the increasingly uncertain times in which we live. Many people have even started using the term “food sovereignty” instead of “food security” because it conveys the idea of becoming self-reliant in food rather than simply having stockpiles of dubious food shipped from far away.

A fast growing movement that’s spreading across the globe involves people organizing together in “transition towns” to address the challenges of climate change, peak oil and economic instability. You can get more background at transitionnetwork.org or you could google transition Salt Spring, Victoria, Guelph or Peterborough, for examples. The aim of these transition towns is to create the ability to manage one’s own affairs in the midst of the huge transitions we are facing. Not surprisingly, every transition community lists locally grown food as a first priority.

Adopt a family farmer

What is adopting of a “Family Farmer”

Acquiring or adopting a family farmer is analogous to but different from having a family doctor with the common theme of health promotion in both of them. Both are kinds of business partnerships arrangements of contacts. It is time that everyone worked on adopting a “family farmer.” More importantly, It promotes not only the health of the Earth`s ecosystems but also the personal health. This is becoming more and more important for protecting our all ecosystems, water security and food security through conscientious agricultural practices. There are several advantages to this procedure as listed below. A technical term used  for this adopt a farmer is Community-supported agriculture (in Canada it is called Community Shared Agriculture) (CSA) which happens to be a socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution.  A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. CSAs usually consist of a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and fruit in a vegetable box scheme, and it may even include dairy, poultry and meat.

Benefits of adopting of a “Family Farmer”

How to make $12 a square foot producing food

I get asked all the time how I figure out how much I make on my production gardens. So here is the magic, or actually, the hard work that makes it all happen. I am using kale as the plant example, and using containers and raised beds. Hope you love math…

Black Kale, the Ancient French variety: I grew 4 plants within 6 square feet. I started them early and planted them as fairly big starts. I already had seeds from the year before (2009). Because kale is biennial, I harvested 21 thick bunches from the year before in the early spring and sold them for $2/bunch – $42. Or $7 a square foot, which alone is a great number.

I Need Your Help Finding a Farm! And Farmers!

Hi everyone! 2011 has come with a BLAST out of the gate, for me anyway! I have found a great new “foodie” friend to grow food with at her property. CSA’s, here we come! I now have 2 properties in Langley to grow on, but unfortunately, I don’t live on.

So – I’m looking for a farm/acreage property, preferably in Langley (BC Canada), but it’s all about the farm more than the location.

I’m looking to rent 5+ acres. House a 3+ bedroom. Land to grow food on. A barn. Fencing.

Plus, I will be training horses there as well.

I was once a General Contractor, and although my projects were smaller, I can build a house, barn, outbuildings, and generally transform any property into a much higher resale value. And I’m willing to do that!

I’m also looking for 2-3 others to join me in this venture. I will be living there pretty much full time (I’ll still work the Carrot Creek Urban Farm). The rent will be cheap. The work will be fun and rewarding. Together we can accomplish much – farm gate market sales, CSA’s, workshops and more.

I’m asking you to tweet, Facebook and generally send this on to anyone that may be interested. Anyone that secures me the humans to inhabit the home gets a free CSA for 2011. Anyone that finds me a property gets one too!

Together, let’s stop worrying about the future and let’s get on with making it what we want it to look like!

April Reeves – email me at – april reeves at shaw dot ca – if you find something!!!

Canada: B.C. fruit growers troubled by apple modification

April: Many of you know me as a GMO Activist. This apple is of special concern to me, as it has the potential to alter every apple on this planet. Once again, we are being thrown into an experiment we have no say in. This apple does not go brown when sliced, and therefore can sit on a shelf or in a McDonald’s restaurant for days. It’s not the genes or health issues that are paramount to me. What always concerns me most are the environmental implications. Pollinators don’t need passports. Read on:

A small Summerland company is making big news across North America with the development of an apple that doesn’t turn brown after it is cut. Okanagan Specialty Fruits is a privately owned biotech company which has been using “advanced molecular biology tools” to switch off the gene that controls the enzyme that turns the white flesh of apples brown after being exposed to the air.

Transgenic crop genes can transfer to organics and heritage/heirlooms: new study

April: In the future we will have to be vigilant in watching and testing for GM contamination of our heritage and heirloom seeds and plants. A new study (below) shows how easy it is: although, for those of us in the battle against GM crops, we have always known this exists.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 1, 2010) — A new data-driven statistical model that incorporates the surrounding landscape in unprecedented detail describes the transfer of an inserted bacterial gene via pollen and seed dispersal in cotton plants more accurately than previously available methods.

Shannon Heuberger, a graduate student at the University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and her co-workers will publish their findings in PLoS ONE on Nov. 30.

The transfer of genes from genetically modified crop plants is a hotly debated issue. Many consumers are concerned about the possibility of genetic material from transgenic plants mixing with non-transgenic plants on nearby fields. Producers, on the other side, have a strong interest in knowing whether the varieties they are growing are free from unwanted genetic traits.

‘Farmpreneurs’ Grow the Bounty

Investing in small-scale processing on the farm can make a big difference in its bottom line.

By Jeff Nield, 9 Dec 2010, TheTyee.ca

Just north of a sharp bend in the Puntledge river on the edge of Courtenay sits Nature’s Way Farm. Arriving at the farm-gate, there are two options for entry. One is through the welcoming door that leads to Tria Culinary Studios and the retail outlet for Blue Moon Winery.

I veer to the right, bypassing this obvious choice and enter through a slightly skewed wooden gate and am quickly set upon by Gattie, a hefty Bernese Mountain dog who promptly sits on my foot in a maneuver she’s learned to demand attention. Once satisfied, Gattie releases her hold and I walk through to a central courtyard that offers a view of the 5.7-acre farm. Blueberry bushes, dormant for the season, sit straight-ahead, a farmhouse with cedar shingle siding is to the right and to the left is a building that I’ll soon discover doubles as an office and a winery. It’s in this final, also cedar clad, two-story building that I find farm owners George Ehrler and Marla Limousin hard at work on one of their many ventures.

Joel Salatin, My Hero: Small Farm Practices

Snagged from Common Dreams

Published on Friday, November 19, 2010 by The Age (Australia)Good Things Come in Small Farming Practices 

Fear and fertility are the two biggest stumbling blocks to Australian farmers shifting their agricultural model from industrial to artisan, writes Helen Greenwood.

by Helen Greenwood

”AUSTRALIAN farmers are looking for the same thing that American farmers need, and that is to farm profitably, and build soil and heal the land while farming.”

Salatin believes: “At the end of the day, it all comes back to the soil. You and I and every other human being … depend on literally a couple of inches of earth for our existence. The most dangerous notion is that we can continue creating fertile soil out of petrochemicals.”

Lantzville shuts down 2.5 acre farm for selling produce ????

April: Just when I thought nothing really insane happens to agriculture here, one of our good farming friends was shut down for selling their produce.

First, there is no law or bylaw stating you “can” sell . Second, Lantzville is rural, even considered remote. People sell and trade their wares all the time.

Unfortunately, Dirk Becker and Nicole Shaw cannot grow on their 2 1/2 acre “urban farm”. Not sure what century it was that 2.5 acres was considered urban…. Is it just me, or does this sound rather insane to you too? I can understand being asked t0 maybe get some licensing or permit to sell, but to shut it down?

Link to article here: Lantzville shuts down Dirk Becker’s urban farm

Japan eager for P.E.I.’s non-GMO canola!

April: Canada does not need GM crops for export. We may find that many countries will soon be looking for other countries that can supply them with Non-GMO crops/plants/animals. Canada could move down this path if our governments would stop selling us out to Big Biotech. Hopefully farmers smarten up, realize they contribute to the stupidity and learn how to make a higher profit and leave the world a little better than when they came in.

P.E.I. is growing more canola than ever before, fulfilling a demand for oilseed that is not contaminated with genetically modified crops.

There is so much interest in the product in Japan, a Japanese buyer now calls P.E.I. home for part of the year.

Sushi company proactive in being sustainable

April: I really LOVE it when companies don’t need to be told what to do to help this planet. And when they have the support of Dr. David Suzuki, I pay closer attention. I love sushi. I could live on it 24/7. I have backed off from eating it the last year due to extinction and the mass raping of our oceans as if they were grocery stores for the fishing industry. So when I find a company like this, I just may go back to eating sushi again, carefully though… I love fish, especially the ones that are still swimming in the ocean.

TORONTO – In celebration of its 15th anniversary, Bento is delivering on its promise to become the first sustainable sushi company in the country. As Canada’s largest sushi company, leader in the sushi category and industry champion in the food sector, Bento officially rolled out its national seafood sustainability plan today. Working in partnership with the SeaChoice program, Bento plans to supply only sustainable seafood by 2012.

The USA is Going Mad: Part 4: S510 May Mean 10 Years in Prison for Farmers

April: Misbranding a product, part of S510 (read below), should just about take out all corporate food systems, since most of them greenwash and outwardly lie in their ingredient lists, and continually lobby for being able to “brand” their foods “natural” and “healthy”. But not likely…

There are arguments for and against S510 in the US, but reading between the lines, any bill that’s endorsed by Big Ag is not a good bill. At least not for small farmers. The US seems to be a nursing ground for stupidity in corporate agriculture policy. Keep Vandana Shiva’s words in the front of your mind: “Some laws are just too stupid to follow…”

Your Farmer Behind Bars?

What S510 Could Do

By Stanley A. Fishman, Author of Tender Grassfed Meat

There are many reasons to oppose S510, the so-called “Food Safety” bill that will come up in the Senate after the election.

It will do nothing to improve actual food safety, relying almost totally on burdensome paperwork.

It will drive small farmers out of business, because they do not have the resources to comply with the crushing burden of meaningless paperwork that will be required.

Organic egg industry being pushed out by Factory Farms

Stop Putting Your Eggs In One Basket

Really good video on the state of our food system: it’s time for all small egg producers to either make changes in the “system” and join forces. We are living in times when, if we choose to do nothing (and it is about wise choices), the next generation will ask “why was no one listening?”

From Natural News…

Scrambled Eggs: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=EDCEEE66359E89ED8D001AABC849A8DE

Processed Meats Declared Too Dangerous for Human Consumption

April: It was a matter of time for this research to come out. This is a great argument for eating “real food” and growing your own garden:

Would you eat this? You probably already do...

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has just completed a detailed review of more than 7,000 clinical studies covering links between diet and cancer. Its conclusion is rocking the health world with startling bluntness: Processed meats are too dangerous for human consumption. Consumers should stop buying and eating all processed meat products for the rest of their lives.

Metro Vancouver is hosting “Food System Strategy” events in BC

Metro Vancouver is developing a Regional Food System Strategy and we welcome your input on the Draft Strategy. This collaborative effort aims to create a sustainable, resilient and healthy regional food system.

Become informed about the issues, engaged in the discussion, and have your opinions heard by attending one of the upcoming public events.
Public Consultation Meetings: 6:30 – 8:30 pm (open house from 6:30 – 7:00pm)

Wed. Nov 3 – Delta
Delta Town & Country Inn
6005 Highway 17 (at Hwy 99), Delta

Thurs. Nov 4 – Pitt Meadows
Hotel Royale Ramada Inn
19267 Lougheed Highway (at Harris Road), Pitt Meadows

Tues. Nov 9 – North Vancouver
The Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier
138 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver

Wed. Nov 24 – Langley
Douglas Recreation Centre
20550 Douglas Crescent, Langley

Thurs. Nov 25 – Burnaby
The Hilton Metrotown
6083 McKay Ave, Burnaby

Thurs. Nov 25  WEBINAR: 12 – 1 pm (to register for the webinar click here)

Organic egg sales on the rise

April: purchasing organic eggs carries many personal reasons behind it. No one does it blindly. The last salmonella scare on factory farmed eggs increased the entire organic egg industry: we have a list of eggs to avoid and buy below:

Just How Organic Are Those Organic Eggs?

In the wake of this summer’s salmonella outbreak scandal, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration uncovered dangerous, deplorable conditions at several large commercial factory egg farms, organic egg farmers reported a significant increase in sales. Natural food stores and farmer’s markets were inundated with concerned customers seeking safer egg options.

Paddle For Wild Salmon with Alexandra Morton

Farming For Climate Change in Richmond

10 October 2010 – 10:00am – 12:00pm

This Sunday, October 10, (10/10/10), the Sharing Farm invites the public to take part in a local Global Work Party for Climate Change event at the Terra Nova Farm from 10am to 12pm. This Sunday, the Sharing Farm invites you to help build permanent beds that will provide drainage and will allow earlier planting in the season, and later into the fall. Interested participants should arrive at the Sharing Farm at 2631 Westminster Hwy at 10am.

This season, the Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Farm is implementing a new approach to deal with flooding fields. Permanent raised beds would allow the Sharing Farm to try a no-till approach, avoiding unnecessary compaction of soil, helping to lock carbon in the soil, increasing drainage and soil fertility, and extending the farming season.

How to Get Involved Planning the Event: contact info@richmondfruittree.com

Event Host: www.richmondfruittree.com

The USA Is Going Mad: Part 3: How To Criminalize Seeds

April: I have read about Bill HR875 in many posts. I have slogged through page after page of the Bill to make sure the authors I’m about to post here are on to something. There is more than just this Bill that concerns me about seeds: Monsanto’s Terminator Technology coming out of the “closet”, Codex Alimentarius and Corporate control and lobbying only serve to push this Bill forward faster. There are loopholes big enough to drive a tractor through, and vague enough to stand for anything in the courts. Judge for yourself:

Seeds: How To Criminalize Them: Bill HR 875

HR 875: SHORT TITLE.-This Act may be cited as the “Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009”

-Wisdom says stop a bill that is broad as everything yet more vague even than it is broad.

-Wisdom says stop a bill that comes with massive penalties but allows no judicial review.

The USA Is Going Mad: Post #2: Collecting Rainwater Illegal In Many States

April: It’s time people in the US stood up against stupid laws. To we Canadians looking at the “state” of things, we realize we may not be far behind, but we also realize, though we have smaller numbers, we scream very loudly, rally, protest and make it known our objections. I encourage all my American friends to do the same. A time has come in your lives to push back: do it in strength, numbers and peace.

(NaturalNews) Many of the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as the nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved, but what I’m about to share with you takes the assault on our freedoms to a whole new level. You may not be aware of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.

Biosolids: What they are and how they find their way into your foods.

Biosolids: a word on the post below that is described as “not in organics”.  So I looked into this word and promptly ran to the bathroom, (ugh).

Quite simply, it’s sewage turned into a “fertilizer” for crops. According to SourceWatch:

Biosolids is the Orwellian PR euphemism for toxic sewage sludge. The name was created and chosen in a PR contest by the lobby association for sewage industry, the Water Environment Federation (WEF). There is now a SourceWatch Portal on “Biosolids”

Beginning in the 1990’s the WEF, with the active encouragement and approval of the Environmental Protection Agency, pushed for the disposal of sewage sludge on farm land after bans were imposed on dumping it in the ocean or incinerating it. The name change of sewage sludge to “biosolids” was crucial the image makeover for sewage sludge, a classic industry-government campaign of greenwashing to change the public perception of toxic sewage sludge from an accurate one of “hazardous waste” to the misleading image of biosolids representing safe “beneficial reuse,” responsible “recycling” and healthy “organic fertilizer,” lately including the ruse of sewage sludge as “organic compost.”