Remembering Brewster Kneen
The National Farmers Union grieves the loss, and honours the profound legacy of Brewster Kneen, who died on December 1, 2025 at the age of 92. Brewster was dedicated to economic and social justice, through building and supporting a wide community of critical thinkers and grassroots activists grounded in the practical realities of farming within Canada and internationally. Brewster was both an intellectual giant whose sharp and insightful writing exposed the powerful, and someone who heartily enjoyed conversations with his many treasured friends.
After studying economics and theology in the USA and UK, Brewster moved to Canada in 1965. With his late wife Cathleen and children Jamie and Rebecca, Brewster farmed in Nova Scotia from 1971 to 1986, raising sheep. There, he organized Northumberlamb, a marketing co-operative, and Brookside Abattoir Co-operative, to increase farmer power and make farming more viable in the region. He was a champion of the National Farmers Union, as an ally, speaker, mentor, activist, friend, and as an Associate Member in his later years.
Brewster’s research and writing deepened our understanding of how corporations consolidate power in the food system, informing and supporting resistance strategies in Canada and internationally. He was not only meticulous regarding evidence and analysis, but also fierce in his love for people and the land. He wrote boldly, publishing books that dared to expose agri-business power structures and their ideological and cultural underpinnings. His works include Land to Mouth: Understanding the Food System; Invisible Giant: Cargill and its Transnational Strategies; The Rape of Canola; Farmageddon: Food and the Culture of Biotechnology; The Tyranny of Rights; and his memoir, Journey of an Unrepentant Socialist.
For decades, Brewster and Cathleen published The Ram’s Horn, a monthly newsletter that connected the dots between news items from around the world, turning a scattering of events into a coherent picture by providing evidence and an analysis of food system developments that would inform and encourage grassroots activism towards food sovereignty. The Ram’s Horn was a unique chronicle of food system dynamics, and an expression of the Kneens’ generosity and faith in people’s ability to organize and create a better world for one another.
It is impossible to overstate Brewster’s contribution to food system analysis, his belief in people, or the impact of his and Cathleen’s commitment to working with communities, through food and farming, to make the world a better place. We remember him with deep gratitude.
