Safe Food and Sustainable Agriculture

Opposition to the proposed 2,316-acre quarry in Melancthon has spilled outside of  Dufferin County, as three organizations voice their concern for the pit's possible punch to food sustainability.

Sustain Ontario - the Alliance for Healthy Food and Farming, Food Secure Canada and the Toronto Food Policy Council (TFPC) issued a joint news release supporting efforts to stop The Highland Company's plan to transform farmland into an aggregate mine.

"Clearly this is an issue city people need to care about," Lauren Baker, co-ordinator of the Toronto Food Policy Council, said.

Read the whole story here.

By Jeff Alan

While passing by a small produce store recently, a random selection of “Ontario” fruits and vegetables caught my eye. Being a person who loves their blueberries, I was pleased to see that there were some (more expensive) of the berry under a sign proclaiming their nearby upbringing. Sitting there in their polite, plain green pints, calling me...

Now, being generally full of distrust I had that nagging feeling that perhaps these were not Ontario berries. “Isn't it a touch early?” Wanting to believe, I fought the doubt, money left the wallet and the berries came home.

A couple days later, an acquaintance of mine watched them pouring freshly-delivered U.S.A. blueberries from their clearly-labeled plastic clamshell containers into those plain-green baskets and putting them in the “Ontario” box. Seems I won't be shopping there anymore; this Little Guy™ is as much (or more) a liar as that Big Guy™.... Read more »

By Danny Beaton,

Turtle Clan Mohawk 

www.dannybeaton.ca

I am honored to be asked by the farmers of Melancthon/Mulmur Townships to join them in their struggle to protect their water and farmland from the proposed Mega Quarry by the Highland Company privately backed by Boston multi billion dollar hedge fund.  As a native/indigenous man of the Turtle Clan Mohawk Nation I have had a chance to listen to many community citizens of Dufferin County to learn of the concerns to the threat to farmland and clean water supply. ... Read more »

The Muskoday Organic Growers Co-op and Heifer International Canada think Saskatchewan First Nations could sharply reduce on-reserve unemployment by growing Saskatchewan's vegetables organically. At Muskoday First Nation near Prince Albert, organic production is already underway.

In 1999, the community launched an initiative to produce potatoes and harvested about 450 tonnes. The band-managed project obtained sufficient training grants to hire every employable welfare recipient in the community to work on the farm for six months. This was sufficient time to qualify for employment insurance, which in turn opened doors to further training.... Read more »

Edmonton... Twelve independent experts from across North America have been chosen to help create a world-class environmental monitoring system for Alberta’s oil sands.

“I am committed to ensuring we have a robust, credible, and transparent environmental monitoring, evaluation and reporting system in the province, beginning with the oil sands region,” said Rob Renner, Minister of Environment. “This extremely accomplished group of individuals, who have significant experience and wide-ranging expertise, will deliver on this important initiative.” ... Read more »