In a press conference in Ottawa this morning, Olivier de Schutter, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food didn’t hold back on his comments suggesting that Canada needs to develop and implement a national food strategy to close some of the gaping holes in Canada’s Food System. (You can read the full report here)
One of the things that I have been working on this winter is the issue related to “Enviropig”, a genetically modified pig developed at the University of Guelph to excrete less phosphorus in its manure.
It is clear that consumers do not want to eat genetically modified animals. There is also no labelling of GM foods in Canada. That means, if this GM pig is commercialized, consumers will have no choice but to start avoiding Canadian pork products.
My concern is that hog farmers will bear the brunt of this consumer backlash against GM pork and that hog farmers will be the ones struggling to make ends meet as the bottom drops out of the pork market in Canada.
Luckily, last week, the only pork industry player behind this GM pig pulled its funding. It looks like this GM pig is done!
Thanks to groups like the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) www.cban.ca and farmers and consumers from across Canada, can come together to stand up against the genetic engineering of our foods.
Here is the CBAN website that explains the background around these GM Pigs: www.cban.ca/enviropig
Above you will find footage from the April 2nd Press Conference announcing the end of “Enviropig”. It was my first press conference and I certainly enjoyed it.
Each year, Grazing Days prepares a “Financial Dashboard” to help make decisions about what directions the farm should be taking, and to help our customers better understand where the money they spend on beef goes. You can find the 2010/2011 Financial Dashboard here: http://www.grazingdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Grazing-Days-Summary-2010.pdf
The Agricultural Management Institute (AMI) is an organization that helps Ontario farmers explore new ways of thinking about farm business management. In February, AMI approached Grazing Days to see if we would be interested in featuring our “Dashboard” in a video that introduces other Ontario farmers to this management tool. We hope you like the resulting video!
The Executive Director (ED) will work with the Board and Executive of the NFU to successfully implement the policy directives of the membership. The ED will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the National Office of the NFU and work in a management role with the Director of Finance and Director of Policy and Research. The ED will take a leadership role in identifying emerging issues, setting priorities and maximizing the effectiveness of the resources of the NFU. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to take an active responsibility for the operations of a national not-for-profit organization. He or she will:
Great news everyone, Grazing Days is selling gift boxes of Grass-Fed Beef this holiday season. Finally the perfect gift for those hard-to-buy-for friends and relatives and just in time for some slow-cook comfort during the January and February cold.
Sign up now to gift a box of grass-fed beef. Just follow this link: http://www.grazingdays.com/our-food/our-beef-csa/gift-box/
Bill C-18, the “Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act” was tabled in the House of Commons in October. It is aimed at dismantling the single desk of the Canadian Wheat Board, the farmer owned and controlled organization that markets all of the Barley and the Wheat from the Canadian Prairies.
The Canadian Wheat Board is an amazing piece of infrastrucutre that puts power into the hands of Canadian grain farmers in a global grain market that is controlled by a few huge multinational corporations such as Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and Bunge to name a few. In a plebiscite in August of this year, 62% of wheat farmers and 51% of farmers voted in favour of the Canadian Wheat Board single desk, yet the Conservative Government is steamrolling ahead with Bill C-18 – aiming to have the bill become law by Christmas.
Today the National Farmers Union, released a call to action of Non-farmers to join farmers and act against the attack on the Canadian Wheat Board. Please click on the PDF below to find out the Seven Reasons why Non-Farmers should care…
This video is about the Grazing Philosophies that are practiced on a farm called Maplewood Farm in Highgate, Vermont. The types of things that Eric Noel, the farmer, is talking about in this video are very similar to the philosophies behind Grazing Days as well. Enjoy the video.
Thanks so much Jacqueline Jolliffe from Stone Soup Foodworks for sending me this video!
Grazing Days has been invited to bring a farmer’s perspective to the following discussion about Celebrating local food: Innovations and challenges! Hopefully we’ll see you there!
Celebrating local food: Innovations and challenges
Saturday October 15, 2011
464 Metcalfe St. (at Catherine)
10:00 – 15:00
With speakers from the NCC, Just Food, Centretown Community Health Centre, Community Shared Agriculture, and your input in discussion groups.
Appetizers and snacks provided by Zen Kitchen
Hosted by Paul Dewar, MP for Ottawa Centre
Space is limited, pleasure reserve by emailing paul.dewar@parl.gc.ca or calling 613.946.8682
Come one, come all to the Grazing Days Open House and Potluck!On Saturday, 24 September 2011, Grazing Days is hosting an Open House and Potluck at the farm in Manotick Station. Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend. The event is family friendly and if you know of people who might be interested in getting some Grazing Days Beef this year, please invite them along. If you are on facebook, please RSVP here.
Itinerary:
We have some fun things planned for Saturday afternoon / evening. Please feel free to participate in as much or as little as you would like! This open house is child friendly, although some of the activities are more child friendly than others…
15:00 Farm Tour and Pasture Walk – 6191 Mitch Owens Drive
Starting at the Grazing Days farm gate a tour will head through the Grazing Days pastures and soon to be pastures. As part of the tour, you’ll get a chance to see how the cattle get moved to fresh grass every day. If you attended the pasture walk last year, check out what has changed this year.
17:00 Potluck – 6191 Mitch Owens Drive
After the Farm Tour and Pasture Walk we will head back to the starting place for a potluck and good ol’ socializing! If you plan on bringing something in a crock-pot, please remember there is no electricity available at the farm.
19:00 Campfire at the farm – 6191 Mitch Owens Drive
Please join us for some more socializing and warmth around the farm campfire.
Directions to the Farm
If you are driving to the Farm, you can get directions by clicking on this link: Directions to Grazing Days, clicking on “Directions” in the Grazing Days Balloon and typing in your starting address.
Parking
Parking will be available in along the shoulder of Mitch Owens Road.
What to Bring
General:
All of the activities for the farm open house will be happening outside so please dress accordingly. Currently, the weather forecast is calling temperatures between 15°C and 21°C with a 70% chance of showers.
Potluck:
As the 2011 grazing season is quickly drawing to a close, Grazing Days would like to invite all those who interested in seeing the farm, taking pictures, scavenging for frogs and other critters, or finding out more about the farm to the Grazing Days Open House and Potluck on the 24th of September. This has been quite an exciting year for Grazing Days as we’ve more than doubled the number of cows on the farm. Come meet them all!
The exact happenings of the Open House and Potluck will be available next week sometime, but here are the basic details:
Please invite your friends and family to join us on what will be a fun-filled afternoon. We look forward to seeing you all here and sharing our passion with you.
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