44th Convention (2013)

Nettie Wiebe teaches ethics at St. Andrews College, University of Saskatchewan and farms near Delisle, Saskatchewan, growing organic grains and pulse crops as well as raising cattle. Nettie served in elected leadership positions of the National Farmers Union for ten years and was the first woman to lead a national farm organization in Canada. Dr. Wiebe is an active participant in public discourse on sustainable agriculture and rural communities, trade agreements, women’s equality, human rights, peace, economic and environmental issues and food sovereignty. Her recent publications include co-editing two volumes on food: Food Sovereignty: Reconnecting Food, Nature and Community (2010) and Food Sovereignty in Canada: Creating Just and Sustainable Food Systems (2011).

Stan Raper, the National Coordinator of the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA), has worked on behalf of both domestic and migrant agricultural workers in Canada for over two decades. In 2002, Stan coordinated the opening of the first UFCW Canada Migrant Workers Support Centre in Leamington, Ontario which has grown to ten AWA centres across Canada. In addition to coordinating the AWA, Stan has also been an active participant in a number of UFCW Canada legal challenges regarding the constitutional right of agricultural workers to unionize, the right of Ontario farm workers to be covered under OHSA, and the right of migrant workers to be treated equitably under the federal Employment Insurance (EI) system.

Jack Kloppenburg is a professor in the Dept. of Community and Environmental Sociology at the Univ. of Wisconsin‐Madison who explores ways for people to live and thrive sustainably. Jack envisions a foodshed” ‐ a sustainable food system demonstrating many of the principles that define food sovereignty, such as local/regional food production and strong community institutions. He is excited by the possibilities of food sovereignty and the application of ‘open source’ principles to the biosciences.

Brewster Kneen has lived a varied life, from pacifist agitator and leftist Christian radical to fifteen years as a sheep farmer and co-op-organizer. In the years since farming, he has been a roving organizer among farmers – including a few years trying to organize agricultural land trusts. Since the late 1980s, Brewster has written six books on agriculture and food, genetic engineering and corporate control, with the latest book being “The Tyranny of Rights”. He says “Food Sovereignty” should not mean corporate sovereignty over global food.

Doug Scott farms near the small town of Waskatenau, which means “where the waters meet” in Cree. It is located about 100 km north-east of Edmonton on the north side of the North Saskatchewan River. Doug’s great-grandfather homesteaded there in 1908, so the crop the Scott’s seeded this year was their 105th. They seed about 3000 acres each year, growing wheat, barley, canola, peas and oats. In 2007 the first major pipeline from Ft. McMurray crossed their land. Since then, three more have been built, with two more in the proposal stage. They now live in what is referred to locally as “pipeline alley”

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger is a Dene Indigenous activist, member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) in northern Alberta, and wife and mother to two. As the ACFN Tar Sands Campaign and Communication Coordinator she focuses on creating greater awareness about the negative climate, human and Indigenous rights impacts of the Alberta Tar Sands, demanding that all levels government and the private sector fully recognize and implement the unique Indigenous rights her people hold as described by Treaty 8 and the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Eriel’s First Nation is suing Shell Canada for unmet Tar Sands Impact Benefit Agreements, as well as challenging Shell’s application for permits to expand and build new tar sands projects in Northern Alberta.

Paul Slomp pastures a small herd of Angus cattle and sells the meat to Ottawa households directly through the Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) model. Grazing Days farm is aimed at providing local grass-fed beef for urban households who don’t have storage space for or who don’t eat large quantities of beef. Paul is experimenting with interesting land tenure and farm financing models.

Lyle Orchard was raised on a family farm near Borden, SK. He and his brothers transitioned the farm to chemical-free production in 1975. He then became a renovation contractor with a focus on energy efficiency, recycling and fine woodwork. He returned to his roots in 2008 to farm 280 acres near Shell Lake, SK growing certified organic cereal crops.