COVID-19

Open letter: Canada must support global access to COVID-19 vaccines at the WTO

This letter was sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 10, 2021.  Dear Prime Minister, Since the beginning of the pandemic, world leaders have repeatedly spoken of the need for global solidarity to get us all through this once-in-a-century health crisis. You were among the first to call for global equal access to COVID-19 health technologies. Read more

Producers need immediate action on BC’s meat processing crisis

The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed a meat processing crisis in BC. Abattoirs are critical for small-scale livestock producers, but provincial policy and regulatory structures currently prevent them from meeting the high demand for local, sustainable, and niche meat products. The critical shortfall in abattoir and cut/wrap capacity is making it impossible for farmers to provide Read more

A vibrant small-scale meat industry for British Columbians

NFU recommendations to BC Ministry of Agriculture

The Ministry of Agriculture has recently released an Intentions Paper on “Rural Slaughter Modernization.” We are very excited to see the MoA tackling the complex issues facing the meat processing sector in BC and welcome the opportunity to influence the thinking of the MoA as they work to address the critical policies, regulations, and financial Read more

Urgent need for support to increase local and regional abattoir capacity

The increase in demand for locally produced food, particularly meat, in response to COVID has been widely reported all across Canada. This has the makings of an economic success story – a silver lining in the pandemic’s very dark cloud – but serious, targeted investment in to create and expand its infrastructure is needed to allow this emerging source of local prosperity to become well established. Read more

Union Farmer Quarterly: Summer 2020

In this issue … Messages from the Editorial Committee, NFU President Katie Ward (bilingual), Women’s President Coral Sproule and Regional Reports Articles: Catching up with Martha Robbins, new (returning) International Program Coordinator and Darrin Qualman who joins NFU to work on climate change and ag NFU National and Regional Conventions amid COVID-19 (bilingual) The NFU’s work during COVID-19 Read more

Union Farmers Newsletter: July 2020

Inside this issue … Envisioning a Post-Pandemic Agriculture and Food System: A sustainable and just food system for Canada as proposed by the National Farmers Union to mitigate and prevent multiple cascading crises and provide the foundation of a good life. 2019 Farm Revenue and Expense Data: Farm income not as “high” as first appears, Read more

Envisioning a Post-Pandemic Agriculture and Food System

A sustainable and just food system for Canada as proposed by the NFU will mitigate and prevent multiple cascading crises and provide the foundation of a good life. Read more

NFU-O Statement on the Deaths of Two Migrant Farm Workers

We stand in solidarity with the Migrant Rights Network and Justicia for Migrant Workers in their outrage over the death of Bonifacio Eugenio Romero and their efforts to improve migrant workers’ housing, working, and status conditions. Read more

NFU asks necessary questions

Calls for increased transparency, clear guardrails on spending, and a basic appreciation for the economic realities facing our farmers should be enthusiastically welcomed in a province that clearly values the benefits farms bring to our communities. Read more

Emergency Processing Fund: NFU Input

We look forward to more details and good news about expanding our local and regional processing capacity to serve Canada livestock producers from coast to coast. Read more