Michael’s Letter to the Premier

28. October 2011 by David.

Dalton McGuinty, Premier
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1

18^th October 2011

Premier of Ontario, Honorable Dalton McGuinty,

 

Choice is something that is inherent in our national identity.  People come to this country from all around the world because Canada is a place of liberty, and these are the values we hold most dear.

Yet, despite this, I have been fighting since 1994 for the right of men, women and children in Canada to be able to make the simplest and most important of all choices – what they eat.

Over the last 17 years I have made every effort to engage the authorities in a constructive dialogue about the issue of non-pasteurized milk in Ontario and Canada. In return my farm has been raided by armed officers, my family has been terrorized and I been dragged through the courts – first being acquitted and then being found guilty.

Today, farmers like me in Ontario and around the country are scared. We are scared that people with guns who claim to be acting in our best interests will snatch our livelihoods from us. We are scared that we will be tried for the “crime” of believing that informed consumers and citizens in our free country should be able to choose what they eat and drink.

This is why, on September 29^th, I began my hunger strike.

Today is day 19 without food. And whilst I am suffering and my body is weakening by the hour, I am resolutely determined that this will be the final chapter of this 17-year fight.

The right to buy food direct from a farmer is as old as our country. Yet, today, that right is being taken away from Canadians by a government that insists that only corporate Canada be responsible for feeding our citizens.  I respectfully call on you, Premier McGuinty, to meet with me in person, as soon as possible, to find a way of ensuring that this right is respected and that the government renounces in taking away the most fundamental of all our rights – that to choose what we eat.  The end of my hunger strike is dependent on it.

I am very hopeful that we will be able to resolve this issue, once and for all, by working together in an open and constructive way and I very much hope that the opportunity to do so comes soon.

Yours respectfully,

Michael Schmidt

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If You Eat, You Better Occupy Wall Street

26. October 2011 by David.

Dave Murphy

Founder of Food Democracy Now!

The recent carnage to the American people’s way of life began more than 30 years ago when the Reagan administration crafted deliberate policies that stopped enforcement of antitrust laws at the Department of Justice, encouraged an orgy of corporate mergers and launched a three decade assault on common sense government oversight. Since that time, politicians of both parties have embraced the radical notion of “free” markets that decoupled risk from accountability.

Occupy Wall Street was born out of a legitimate frustration with the collusion between Big Business and elected officials of the U.S. government. And nowhere is that collusion so great as in food and agricultural production where four firms control 84 percent of beef packing, 66 percent of pork production and one company, Monsanto, controls patents on more than 93 percent of soybeans and 80 percent of corn grown in the U.S.

Ironically, on the day that Occupy Wall Street launched, I was in San Francisco at a conference appropriately named “Justice Begins with Seeds” to discuss the problems of excessive corporate control over our food supply. The incredible growth in the use of genetically modified (GMO) seeds and the excessive corporate influence of biotech seed companies have in Washington was high on the agenda. Much like the ubiquitous credit default swaps of the mortgage crisis, which became toxic assets for the global economy, this new technology of GMO seeds is less than two decades old, but already appears in an estimated 75 to 80 percent of processed food that Americans eat everyday.

In 2011, an estimated 94 percent of soybeans, 88 percent of corn, 90 percent of cotton, 93 percent of canola and 95 percent of sugar beets produced in the U.S. contain GMOs. And since most items in the grocery store include common ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oils made from corn, soybeans, cottonseed and canola, with 8 out of every 10 bites of processed food, Americans are consuming genetically engineered foods without knowing it.

Despite a recent Reuters poll showing that 93 percent Americans support mandatory labeling of GMO foods, politicians in Washington and Monsanto lobbyists have so far blocked this basic right.

Even now, more than 50 countries around the world require labeling of GMOs, including citizens in the European Union, Japan, Russia and even China.

Food Democracy Now! recently released an exclusive, never before seen video taken in 2007 of then Senator Barack Obama promising a room full of more than 400 Iowa farmers and rural activists that if elected he would immediately work to label food that “has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they’re buying.”

Incredibly, President Obama made this comment during the Iowa caucus, in a mostly rural state with a leading agricultural economy, which he won by a wide margin and helped launch him to the White House. With the national conversation now raging about corporate influence it’s curious that he hasn’t kept his promise since taking office.

In another portion of the speech, more widely circulated, Obama offered the hope that his administration would differ vastly from the administrations before him.

“For far too long, you’ve had to listen to politicians tell you one thing out on the campaign trail, and then close the door and do another thing in Washington when they make rural policy. You’re sending your message, but sometimes you can’t get through because there’s a lobbyist who’s already on line,” professed Obama.

Four years later however, the shine of Obama’s victory has worn off, leaving many of us to wonder if this isn’t the most agribusiness friendly administration yet. The approval in one year of three new biotech crops (GMO alfalfa, sugar beets an ethanol corn) and a Roundup Ready bluegrass for lawns represents the same threat that financial deregulation and the resulting economic crash does to our food supply.

Even this week, more news of the Obama administration’s love affair with food and crop biotechnology is making the rounds, with an announcement last Monday that the Food and Drug Administration recommended the commercialization of GMO salmon (despite flawed scientific research). Currently the evaluation is under review at the White House Office of Management and Budget, but if the administration is as cavalier with GMO salmon as they have been with other GMO crops, the first genetically engineered animal could be a plate near you soon.

At the same time the Obama administration has decided to “plow ahead” with the indiscriminate approval of GMOs, a flood of recent studies have disproven several previous claims by the agricultural biotech industry, such as the perilous rise of superweeds, insects becoming resistant to the genetically inserted insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), and a disturbing report out of Canada that found that 93 percent of pregnant mothers tested had the genetically engineered Bt toxin in their blood, something biotech scientists claimed was impossible.

In the 1990s, when agricultural biotech companies wanted to make sure nothing got between them and profits, they rotated executives into high-ranking positions in government to help write the rules that govern approval of GMO crops.

In the most famous example, former Monsanto attorney and super lobbyist Michael Taylor oversaw biotechnology regulations at the Food and Drug Administration that placed rBGH, a synthetic hormone, in the milk supply, despite the objections of agency scientists, and implemented the policy declaring genetically engineered foods to be “substantially equivalent” to naturally bred seeds and animals, the main Catch 22 of why GMOs are not required to be labeled in the U.S.

Currently, Michael Taylor is back at the FDA as the Food Safety Czar. So much for closing the revolving door.

For everyone who eats, the events that brought down our banking system and the lack of accountability for those who rigged the rules in their favor should be lessons in the making. Today’s system of industrial agriculture has become too concentrated, while corporations and commodity groups are continually advocating for the same type of policies and practices that outsource the risk onto society while privatizing all the profit.

Rather than encourage a diversified portfolio in agriculture, the Obama administration and the USDA are doing everything in their power to put all of global agriculture’s eggs in the biotech basket.

If people and elected officials think the collapse of the global economy was a disaster, wait until it happens to our food supply. The truth is, if people really knew about the collusion behind what they were eating, both parties would be in the streets. For some reason, Obama has so far sided with chemical and biotech seed giants like Monsanto, who keep insisting that Americans should be dining in the dark. It’s time to remind President Obama of his promise, after all there’s nothing more important than the food that we eat and feed our families. And some things are worth fighting for.

 

Follow Dave Murphy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/food_democracy

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Guard Geese

26. October 2011 by David.

The geese these days are showing promise as ‘guard geese’, the role they were brought to Riverglen to play. Unfortunately, they seem to be intimidating some of the store customers. I have to say, we’ve never seen or herd of them attacking people. The hissing is new, but it hasn’t changed their general behaviour patterns. While they will follow you with their neck down, I always smile at the floomp floomp of their clumsy feet as they try to move quickly. I’ve never gotten closer than about a metre to them - and that includes when I open the doors to let them in and out of the barns! They won’t actually get too close to you. They will honk, they may fly up to you, they may follow you hissing, but just turn around and look at them. They’ll stop, cock their heads, and wander away as if nothing had happened. They’re fascinating to watch.

If you walk towards the geese, they’ll walk away from you!

 

After a full season’s training, I found it a challenge to roll up 11 rows of drip tape in a row. I mean really, they’re lightweight (although sometimes heavy with water), and only 200 feet long each. Not amongst the harder tasks at the farm. Oh well. Part of the joy of farm work is that there is a little of everything. The body learns motions and can speed things up only when there’s a lot of a given task, like hoeing, harvesting and hand weeding. I guess I’ll just have to accept that my arms can’t roll too many drip tapes in a row unless I want to start a daily drip tape rolling drill, and I definitely don’t! The worst part would be having to re-lay it each time, carefully around all the plants. Definitely a huge waste of time, and unnecessary wear and tear on the already fragile tapes. Don’t even think about it for next year’s interns David

 

It is hard to believe that this is your 20th and final basket of vegetables for the year. I send you a fond farewell, and thank you for supporting an amazing learning experience for farm interns.  It is extremely rewarding to interact with the people we are feeding at pick-up day, the market stand, the farm store, or events. Thank you for sharing your smiles with us!

 

-Heather

 

 

 

What’s in my Box? Week No.20 Swiss Chard: Hearty greens. Classic, simple, but probably the healthiest thing on this whole list. One of the best things you can do to your body is eat more greens. More greens! Scallions: Fresh, green onions for adding a little zest to any meal Potatoes: Choose between ‘Siegliende’ a german butterball type, or ‘Gold Rush’ a white fleshed russet type. Rutabaga: These are similar to turns, but they are both sweeter and zestier. Heather likes them raw, sliced in thin flakes. Onions: 3lbs or yellow onions. These will keep well in a dry location, so don’t feel rushed to eat them all at once Daikon radish: These are an Asian staple food. The Pumpkin: New England pie pumpkins for making soup, pie or a spooky decoration. Your choice! Golden beats: My favourite kind of beet, by far. They are so much sweeter and milder… Steamed, roasted or boiled. Good in soup too! I’m curious: Do you prefer golden beet tops or chard? Leeks: Just a few left, but we had enough to share with you! Well, I guess that’s it! This is the last week of regular CSA pickup. I hope you have enjoyed your vegetables this summer, and that we have provided you with a pleasant CSA experience.   We’ll keep you updated as we wrap up our season, collect your feedback, and prepare for next year, but you can expect to receive fewer emails from us during the colder months.   The gardening season is not over, however! Visit our farm store on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays and browse are surprisingly full display of fall produce. From now until we run out of food, 2011 CSA members get a free bunch of carrots with each purchase!   Members who have purchased a fall extension should keep an eye on their inbox: I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised…     Thank you!   -David

Joining us again next year?

Here’s a link to the registration form so you don’t miss out on the variety of great produce headed your way: Registration Form 2012  Early bird registration rebates apply until the end of October.

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We’re Still Open!

22. October 2011 by David.

It may be getting colder outside, but are garden is still full of delicious vegetables! Visit our farm store and its selection of fresh, biodynamic vegetables. These days you will find:

Orange and multi-coloured carrots, daikon radish, red and Chioggia beets, kale, green and rainbow swiss chard, yellow, russett and purple potatoes, yellow and red onions, chinese cabbage, spaghetti squash, buttercup squash, beta mix, spinach, salad mix and more!!!

We are open:

Tuesday & Thursday: 3pm to 6pm

Saturday: 8am to 4pm

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Canada is the only G8 country which does not allow the sale or distribution of raw milk

21. October 2011 by David.

 

 

Farmer’s hunger strike for raw milk goes on

 

Valerie Hauch Staff Reporter

Though weakened by a 19-day hunger strike, Durham dairy farmer Michael Schmidt has drawn his line in the sand — it’s milky, white and unpasteurized — and he intends to defend it to the death, even if it’s his own.

The 57-year-old farmer and advocate of organic raw milk held a news conference at Queen’s Park Tuesday and also read a letter he was delivering to Dalton McGuinty in which he stated that his hunger strike would continue, unless the premier agreed to meet with him in person as soon as possible to discuss the right of people to buy food directly from farmers.

When the Star asked if he was willing to continue the hunger strike until he died, Schmidt’s solemn response was “Yes.’’

“I will go right to the end. I wouldn’t do that if I wouldn’t have tried for the last 17 years to establish a dialogue. If there had been one gesture of dialogue … but there was none,’’ said Schmidt.

The dairy farmer is appealing a recent Ontario Court of Justice decision that convicted him of 15 provincial offences related to selling unpasteurized milk. The provincial government had appealed a lower court decision in 2010 that ruled in Schmidt’s favour, allowing him to continue his raw milk co-operative.

“I came from Germany,’’ said Schmidt, who immigrated here in 1983. “I have seen the aftermath of a situation where people didn’t rise up when there was still time to rise up … This is more serious than most people think,’’ he said.

“What I’m asking is not impossible,’’ he said. “I’m not asking that the laws be changed right away… I’m asking that the harassment of farmers be stopped, that people have a right to make a choice in the foods they eat and that we start a constructive dialogue.’’

Schmidt, who says he has lost more than 30 pounds since his hunger strike began, had been drinking one glass of raw milk a day in addition to water, but for the past 10 days has stuck to water.

Only farmers taking milk from their own cows are allowed to drink it unpasteurized. Canadian law requires milk sold to others to be pasteurized, quickly heated to at least 63C, to kill off pathogens.

Schmidt has argued that he is not selling raw milk but giving it to the cows’ owners, people in his co-operative who buy shares in the herd.

Canada is “the only G8 country which does not allow the sale or distribution of raw milk,’’ said Schmidt, who has a master’s degree in agriculture.

Instead of engaging in constructive dialogue with him and others in the co-op, Schmidt said, the government has done nothing but stonewall and have his farm raided “by armed officers. My family has been terrorized and I have been dragged through the courts.’’

Meanwhile, he says, there’s a growing underground market for raw milk that is potentially more dangerous because it’s unregulated.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1072160–farmer-s-hunger-strike-for-raw-milk-goes-on?bn=1 

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Chicken

19. October 2011 by David.

It’s chicken day! If you left a deposit for fresh chicken with us, come get your birds!

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Fall rhythms

18. October 2011 by David.

It is nice to see the farm rhythm changing over the course of the season. While we were once busy hoeing whenever we had a break from harvesting, the weeds are less of a concern now. That leaves a bit more time for basic farm maintenance, cleaning up after a busy season, and making time to do the chores during the day. An important use of days when we are not delivering CSA baskets is harvesting in bulk. Root crops can be brought in a day or two before delivery, and are stored in our cold room. The morning of your delivery, we’re out harvesting your fresh greens, and packaging up other items like onions and squash. Having a few items ready the day before also makes it feasible to finish your boxes in time with a team of two!

 

Wednesday last week was a nice warm sunny day, perfect for planting garlic and working the soil in the garden. David was busy ploughing some of the now empty fields after preparing the soil to plant garlic. Meanwhile, I was busy planting the garlic. We’ve high hopes that the garlic will do much better next year. It is planted in a section of the garden less prone to flooding. The cloves are down nice and deep so they won’t be pushed up to the surface by spring frosts. David used the discs on the tractor to make nice deep furrows to plant into. We dragged a wooden pallet to fill in the furrows and cover up the garlic. The final touch will be to mulch it with straw/hay which will help insulate the ground and simplify weeding next summer. May the garlic grow nicely for you next year!

 

Finally… ask David about his compost piles.  He is very proud of a pile he moved this weekend.  The winter pasture provides us with valuable compost.  This weekend he moved it into the field where the rest of the compost piles are, using the manure spreader to help mix it as he piled it. He was so excited he took a video.  Maybe he’ll post it for you!

 

Heather

 

 

What’s in my Box? Week No.19 Siberian Kale: Nasturtium, one of our cows, stole a bunch on the way out of the garden. Must be good. Leeks: A second little bunch to enjoy! Potatoes:  The base for nice thick soups, a warm comfort at this time of year. Rutabaga: Another Riverglen first, these delicious sweet pale yellow rutabagas (sometimes mislabelled as turnips in grocery stores and recipes) were a wonderful success. Celery: Same as last time, this celery is best for soups.  Don’t forget the tasty leaves for broth. Daikon radish: These nice long slender mild radishes can be a dish on their own. If you’ve had enough for the season these are worth a try, I promise.  You can always pickle them for later!

Joining us again next year?

Here’s a link to the registration form so you don’t miss out on the variety of great produce headed your way: Registration Form 2012  Early bird registration rebates apply until the end of October.

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Organic Week is Here!

17. October 2011 by David.

O

Organic Week is finally here! Please join Canadian Organic Growers in celebrating a truly unique and alternative food system. With nearly 4,000 farmers and 1,200 food processors and handlers with certification and thousands more farmers and gardeners using organic methods to raise ecologically-friendly crops and livestock, the organic movement in Canada is here to stay. Check out the Organic Week website at www.organicweek.ca for inspiration and to find out what’s going on in your area. ============================================================================================================================ Pick up a copy of today’s Globe and Mail to read the special Organic Week supplement containing the article below by Mathew Holmes, executive director of the Canada Organic Trade Association. The 100-year diet: making a difference with organic  When you ask people what’s special about organic food, they generally say organic farmers do not use toxic chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, hormones, antibiotics or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). That’s part of the picture, but there is much more to it. Organic agriculture offers compelling answers to the complex issues facing the world today—whether hunger, land sovereignty, environmental degradation or the threat of GMOs in the food chain. The organic movement started as farmers, scientists and consumers began to question the long-term legacy of the post-war intensification of chemical agriculture. Sadly, many of these concerns are just as real today as they were back then. But truly, what can a consumer do about unethical labour practices within the multinational food system; about the prevalence of cancer among farm workers; about the toxic impacts on our environment and wildlife from industrialized agriculture; about the unsustainable use of fossil-fuel-derived synthetic fertilizers which form the basis of modern agriculture; or about the GMOs and countless chemical additives we all eat without knowing it? It’s simple: you can support organic agriculture and help us grow a sustainable and positive alternative. A lot of people are talking about the “100-mile diet”—about supporting local farmers and local economies. This concept is really important, but it goes both ways: if your local PEI potato farmer is contributing to the toxins in your water that make thousands of fish wash up dead after a major rainfall, this is not a good relationship. If your local meat producer isn’t following humane animal welfare standards, what does that say about your community? If your Ontario corn and soy producer is increasing the number of GMOs that are contaminating and compromising the future of food as we know it, why would they deserve your support? Instead, let’s talk about the 100-year diet: about sustainable ecological agriculture that contributes to the resilience of our food system and food security, which increases the biodiversity and balance in our environment, and which contributes to the health and wellbeing of our children and our communities. This is what organic offers that truly sets it apart, and makes it worthy of supporting. It is time for Canada to re-imagine agriculture as something more than just a major trade that results in food. We need to find a way to bring agriculture, health and environment together—all three are unquestionably linked. Some governments have already done so: providing incentives for farmers who provide ecological goods and services to their communities and society in general. In Germany, for example, several water utilities pay farmers to switch to organic methods and certification because it costs less than removing conventional farm chemicals from water supplies. Makes sense, doesn’t it? In Italy, the government requires schools to provide children with organic foods to ensure they have the best possible start in life with nutritious food from local farmers. To make these sorts of changes here at home, it’s up to you to “go organic”. When you see the Canada Organic logo on a food label, you know that product meets Canada’s national organic requirements, overseen by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. As organic certification is built on top of all other food regulations and food safety requirements, organic is the most regulated and inspected food system in the country. But organic is not only that. When you see the Canada Organic logo on a food product, you know that product is from an alternative food system that is supporting farmers and processors who take the long-view of agriculture, health and environment. Choosing organic really does make a difference. ============================================================================================================================ Listen to the Organic Week rap, written and performed by VEssEL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CipiKrRxvUw ============================================================================================================================ Check out  the Organic Week article in Food & Drink Digital (pg.170-179) http://www.foodanddrinkdigital.com/magazines/5024 ============================================================================================================================

If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please send an email to office@cog.ca.

Canadian Organic Growers - 323 Chapel St, Ottawa, ON. K1N 7Z2
Phone: 613-216-0741 :: Toll-free: 1-888-375-7383 :: Fax: 613-236-0743 :: office@cog.ca

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Sunshine and warmth return

11. October 2011 by David.

I’m sure this little warm spell feels so much nicer due to the cold spell last week! We had our first cold morning harvests - days when we have to watch out for frost on the row covers. If the row covers are still frosty when we try to open them, they (apparently) can be ripped up and ruined very quickly. So we just have to wait for them to warm up a bit! Rubberized garden gloves help protect from freshly melted frost, and a spot of warm tea goes a long way. We’ve been making use of the new aprons (that don’t let water through) at the wash station, and some wonderful rubber gloves that go up to your shoulders. The gloves make all the difference when you are dealing with cold groundwater washing carrots and potatoes. However, by the end of the week I think I had shed four layers, and we had a wonderfully warm weekend - perfect for Thanksgiving!

 

Heather

 

The chickens chowing down on some carrot tops. They are being harvested October 19th, and CSA members will be getting them for $4.50 per pound. Drop by the store if you’d like to reserve one in advance.

What’s in my Box? Week No.18 Red Onions:  These slightly sweeter onions will add a bit of extra colour to your dish. Nappa Cabbage: Another spring/fall crop makes its comeback.  This time, the flea beetles have stayed away and even the outer-most leaves are in beautiful shape.  Cooked as you would any cabbage, or made into a nice crunchy salad.  Salad Mix or Spinach: Those of you that got spinach last week will have salad mix this week, and vise versa. This salad mix is lettuce greens and greens from the beet family.  Orange Carrots:  So easy to munch on, but it might be worth keeping some to make a nice spicy cake with. Butternut Squash: This a new variety of dwarf butternut squash called ‘Nutterbutter’ They didn’t do very good in the field, but maybe they’ll prove themselves on the plate. Let me know how it goes!  Cylindra Beets: These heirloom beets are selected for their storage ability, hearty flavour and their cylindrical shape. This helps speed up the cutting process for preserves.  Swiss Chard: A nice fresh full bed of Swiss chard is read to feed you.  Turtle Beans: This was another experiment, which turned out a whole lot better than the nutterbutter. These beans were vigorous and very low maintenance. Use these just as any dry bean, but careful not to over-cook them. Let me know how they taste! Worth doing again? Rutabagas, growing very nicely so far!

Joining us again next year?

Here’s a link to the registration form so you don’t miss out on the variety of great produce headed your way: Registration Form 2012

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