National Farmers Union calls for boycott and divestment campaigns to end Israel’s occupation of Palestine
On the 20th anniversary of the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, farmers across Canada are taking up the call.
Moncton, NB – Members of the National Farmers Union (NFU) have passed a landmark resolution at their National Convention to join the global movement of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) in solidarity with the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom, justice, and equality.
The resolution comes as Israel continues to block food aid from entering Gaza, causing starvation and famine, and its genocide against the Palestinian people enters its third year.
Citing Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure – rendering 98.5% of farmland unusable – and the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon, the NFU has resolved to boycott and divest from companies profiting from Israel’s genocide and illegal occupation of Palestinian territory; to support members to implement BDS on their own farms; and to demand the federal government impose diplomatic and economic sanctions on Israel, including a comprehensive arms embargo.
“As food growers devoted to nourishing life, it is abhorrent to us to see Israel deliberately starving families in Palestine to force them off their land,” said Wyanne Sandler, an NFU member who farms in Nalikitquniejk, Mi’kma’ki (Antigonish, Nova Scotia). “The use of hunger as a weapon against Indigenous Peoples has a long history here in Canada, and we oppose it in the strongest possible terms.”
The resolution at the NFU’s 2025 National Convention builds upon resolutions in recent years calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, affirming Palestinians’ right to sovereignty and food sovereignty, and opposing the use of hunger as a weapon of war.
“Food sovereignty is a core value of the NFU,” says Hannah Dwyer, who farms on Sinixt, Ktunaxa, and Syilx land near Nelson, BC. “We support the right of all farmers – from Turtle Island to Palestine – to feed their families and communities in safety, dignity, and freedom. With this resolution, we are also demanding that Canada fulfill its legal obligations as a UN member state and use all available measures to stop Israel’s genocide and its daily violations of the ceasefire. The federal government must act immediately to sanction Israel, sever trade agreements, and stop supplying weapons to a state committing genocide.”
– 30 –
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Marquis (Outreach Strategist, NFU): marquis@nfu.ca
