Agroecology

Union Farmer Newsletter: September-October 2018

Canadians push for Food Sovereignty in National Food Policy Consultation • Agroecology – A concise visual comparison of food and agriculture systems based on industrial logic versus agroecological principles • Health Canada proposes 5-year phase out of neonicotinoids Read more

La Via Campesina – new publication calls for massive change in agro-food systems

<strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanHarare—</strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanToday, on the International Day of Action for Peoples' Food Sovereignty and against Transnational corporations, La Via Campesina officially launches its new publication "Struggles of La Via Campesina for Agrarian Reform and the Defense of Life, Land and Territories" that argues for a massive change in the current agro-food system, if we have to overcome the food, climate, poverty, financial, economic and democratic crises facing the planet and its people. Read more

A Food Policy for Canada

The NFU brief presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food promotes the idea that a food policy for Canada could usher in a holistic view of food and agriculture that would transform Canada’s farming, food processing and distribution system into one that makes food sovereignty a reality if the government decides to start building a food system that benefits Canadian farmers and consumers instead of accelerating down its current path which has only concentrated the power and wealth of multinational corporations and diminished the democratic space for elected governments. Read more

UNF mémoire sur la Politique alimentaire pour le Canada

Le mémoire de l'UNF présenté au Comité permanent de l'agriculture et de l'agroalimentaire de la Chambre des communes favorise l'idée qu'une politique alimentaire pour le Canada pourrait donner naissance à une vision holistique de l'alimentation et de l'agriculture qui transformerait l'agriculture, le traitement des aliments et le système de distribution du Canada en un seul rend la souveraineté alimentaire une réalité si le gouvernement décide de commencer à construire un système alimentaire qui profite aux agriculteurs et aux consommateurs canadiens au lieu d'accélérer son chemin actuel qui a seulement concentré le pouvoir et la richesse des sociétés multinationales et réduit l'espace démocratique pour les gouvernements élus. Read more

NFU calls on Canada to support study of Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition

The following is the text of the letter sent on April 26, 2017. Dear Minister MacAulay and Members of the Permanent Mission of Canada to the FAO Agencies: We are writing to you on behalf of the of Canada with regard to a very important issue that is currently being discussed at the United Nations Read more

System Change Grounded in Food Sovereignty at the 2015 Climate Talks in Paris

I participated in La Vía Campesina’s international delegation to the United Nations climate meeting (COP21) in Paris, France, from December 5 to 12,  2015.  It was evident that social movement activism is helping us move swiftly and peacefully away from fossil capitalism, with its climate crises, and toward a new social order that prioritizes food and energy sovereignty. Read more

OP ED Public research and extension key to adoption of farmer controlled pest management

<em<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanBy Ann Slater</em<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span In a report published in 2005 on Corporate Profits, the National Farmers Union (NFU) analyzed some of the mechanisms agribusiness corporations, including chemical and seed corporations, use to extract profits from our farms. Two of the mechanisms identified were "cost externalization" and "shifting knowledge". The current discussions in Ontario about the government's proposal to restrict the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments have brought these two mechanisms to mind. The move to widespread prophylactic use of neonicotinoid seed treatments, has provided the insecticide manufacturers with a ever-expanding market for their product over the past fifteen years. Many farmers have accepted the financial cost of the insecticides in return for some assurance that their crops will be protected from early season pests. Read more

Precautionary approach, support for farmers vital to neonic strategy, says NFU

<strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span(JANUARY 26, 2015, </strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanDENFIELD) – The National Farmers Union in Ontario has submitted comments on the discussion paper <em<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanPollinator Health – A Proposal for Enhancing Pollinator Health and Reducing the Use of Neonicotinoid Pesticides in Ontario. Read more

Save Seeds!

There is an exciting new initiative happening across Canada right now called The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security. All across Canada, there are Regional Seed Coordinators helping farmers increase their seed security through on-the-ground projects, trials, and funding opportunities. Read more

Farmer Profile: Prairie Gold Pastured Meats, Alberta

A profile of farmer and NFU member Blake Hall, from Prairie Gold Pastured Meats, Alberta. Read more