Agroecology

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 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="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</spanBy Ann Slater</em<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-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="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</span(JANUARY 26, 2015, </strong<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</spanDENFIELD) – The National Farmers Union in Ontario has submitted comments on the discussion paper <em<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-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

The CAPÉ: Cooperating for Local and Ecological Agriculture in Québec

The big barn-style building was jam-packed with about a hundred farmers, most of them in their early thirties or younger, absorbed in an in-depth workshop on greenhouse production of tomatoes and cucumbers. Read more

NFU calls for precaution and independent research in neonicotinoid review

<strong<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</span(December 17, 2013, St. Marys, ON) - </strong<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</spanThe National Farmers Union (NFU) is calling for aprecautionary five-year moratorium on the use of the neonicotinoid seed treatments for field crops and for independent research to be done. Such a moratorium would provide time to study the impacts of neonicotinoid insecticides on pollinators and the broader agricultural and natural ecosystems and to fully explore alternatives, including non-chemical alternatives. Read more