Policy Areas

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

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

Letter – Time to rebuild our meat processing system

Smaller, safer slaughter plants in each province would disperse threats to food security. If one plant was forced to close it would not disrupt the food chain across the entire country. Providing safe secure food from local farms to local consumers is entirely possible without putting meat packing workers at risk. Bigger is not always better.  Read more

Where Your Money Goes Matters

The National Farmers Union (NFU) and most Islanders were relieved when the federal and provincial governments took quick action to address COVID-19. The measures put in place helped curb the spread of the virus and saved many lives here in PEI and in other provinces and territories. The government spokespersons showed caring in addressing sincere Read more

COVID emergency funds can help build a more robust food system

The pandemic shines a spotlight on vulnerabilities in our food system, providing the opportunity to use emergency supports to create the foundation for a more robust and resilient food system. Read more

Meat packing concentration makes Canada’s food system vulnerable

The National Farmers Union (NFU) offers heartfelt condolences to family and friends of the Cargill beef packing plant worker who lost her life  to COVID-19 on April 20. The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing many vulnerabilities in Canada’s food system. The excessive concentration of ownership and centralization of beef processing has put the health of workers, Read more

COVID-19 shuts down half of Canada’s beef supply

A COVID-19 outbreak in a Cargill plant at High River, Alberta has shut down almost half of Canada’s beef supply, leaving many farmers with no place to sell their cattle. Nearly all beef produced in Canada is processed by three high-volume, high-throughput meat packing plants: Cargill’s High River facility, the JBS plant in Brooks, Alberta Read more

Letter to Ag Minister – NFU request for AgriStablity program changes

COVID-19 is now helping all Canadians to understand the value of a strong family farming sector. We are hopeful that all of government will now take steps to enable Canada’s family farms to thrive and plan for the future. Read more

Till, sow and harvest transformative ideas for the future!

Now is the moment to demand food sovereignty – #17April

17 April 2020 – the International Day of Peasants’ Struggle – La Via Campesina keeps alive the memory of #EldoradoDosCarajás. The COVID-19 crisis shows us that now is the moment to demand structural reforms of the agri-food systems at a global level. Read more