Cyberbullying Vegans Send Canadian Farmers Into Depression. Vegan activist cyberbullies have become a growing concern for Canadian farmers, who face aggressive accusations, criticisms and even physical threats online every day. For agricultural professionals already dealing with mental health issues like isolation, psychologists agree that cyberbullying puts farmers at risk for depression. So, when it comes to animal rights advocacy, where do we draw the line? 26-year-old Mylene Begin, a co-owner of Princy Farm in Quebec, told the Canadian Press that after starting an Instagram account for her farm, she received over 100 negative comments from vegan activists daily. “There was one that took screenshots of my photos, he shared them on his feed after adding knives to my face and writing the word 'psychopath' on my forehead," Begin said. “It made me so scared. ”Some agricultural experts argue that a lot of the cyberbullying they encounter from vegan activists has to do with misinformation and scare tactics.
The Food 53: People whose environmentalism is central to their food choices. John Bil cares about the fate of the planet. But he would like it very much if people stopped using the word "sustainable" to talk about seafood. "What are we trying to sustain? " asks Bil, the respected proprietor of Toronto's laid-back fish shop and restaurant, Honest Weight. "Are we trying to sustain the food system we've established? Are we trying to sustain the Earth itself? It's time, he says, for the conversation to broaden out, to include all of the other thorny issues around seafood, from appalling labour conditions to toxic farming environments.
Story continues below advertisement His knowledge of the industry is built on decades of experience, from oyster farming and shucking (with award-winning speed) to owning his own seafood shack in Malpeque Bay, PEI. "If we source our fish at the cheapest price point from the furthest-flung regions of the world, we are no longer employing people in our community or people that respect the same environmental concerns," he suggests. 'It is actually free': Montreal man gives away heaps of farm-fresh veggies every week.
When Michael Brodie first saw a man with a shaggy head of hair and beard giving away free organic vegetables down by Montreal's Lachine Canal last summer, he decided to pass. "He seemed very suspect to me, so I avoided it. " But that bearded man — 35-year-old Ben Williams — kept coming back, using a bike trailer to haul in hundreds of dollars worth of vegetables every week, laying out blankets covered in a colourful array of squashes, herbs, turnips, leeks, beets, leafy greens, bulbs of garlic, onions and potatoes. Seeing Williams there week after week offering free veggies, Brodie decided to give it a shot and, after a tough financial year, it couldn't have come at a better time. "It allowed me to have a better quality of food this summer than I probably would have had access to otherwise.
" Michael Brodie admits he found the idea of a man offering free vegetables in a Montreal park to be strange, but he eventually warmed up to the idea. From backyard gardening to farming for a cause. Sustainability Snapshot: The intersection between food supply and sustainability - Bullfrog Power. Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth | Environment.
Avoiding meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact on the planet, according to the scientists behind the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet. The new research shows that without meat and dairy consumption, global farmland use could be reduced by more than 75% – an area equivalent to the US, China, European Union and Australia combined – and still feed the world.
Loss of wild areas to agriculture is the leading cause of the current mass extinction of wildlife. The new analysis shows that while meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories and 37% of protein, it uses the vast majority – 83% – of farmland and produces 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. Other recent research shows 86% of all land mammals are now livestock or humans. “Agriculture is a sector that spans all the multitude of environmental problems,” he said. The new research has received strong praise from other food experts. What We Heard Report – The Proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations Consultation. Substituting Beans for Beef Would Help the U.S. Meet Climate Goals - The Atlantic. Ecoanxiety is an emerging condition. Named in 2011, the American Psychological Association recently described it as the dread and helplessness that come with “watching the slow and seemingly irrevocable impacts of climate change unfold, and worrying about the future for oneself, children, and later generations.”
It’s not a formal diagnosis. Anxiety is traditionally defined by an outsized stress response to a given stimulus. In this case, the stimulus is real, as are the deleterious effects of stress on the body. This sort of disposition toward ecological-based distress does not pair well with a president who has denied the reality of the basis for this anxiety.
For people who experience climate-related anxiety, this all serves as a sort of exacerbation by presidential gaslight. Like what? Helen Harwatt is a researcher trained in environmental nutrition, a field focused on developing food systems that balance human health and sustainability. Related Video. A taste of what’s to come: Inside the big revamp of Canada’s Food Guide - The Globe and Mail. In the 1958 short film Mystery in the Kitchen, Mr. Jones has scurvy, and is limping slowly from his tractor. Daughter Marilyn is anemic, and has trouble concentrating in class. Son Walt suffers from rickets. But the bowler-hat-wearing detective has solved the Jones family mystery. Poor diet and malnutrition are the cause, and Mrs. “Canada’s Food Rules?” In the nearly 60 years since Mystery in the Kitchen was first broadcast – produced by what was then known as Canada’s Department of National Health and Welfare Nutrition Division – the country’s eating habits have changed dramatically.
Now, 75 years after its first publication, the government is preparing to release a new version of Canada’s Food Guide – the first update since 2007 – expected to be made public early next year. The influence of the food guide is felt across the country, used by teachers, doctors and dietitians as the authority on healthy eating. Recent signals from Health Canada have the former group encouraged. Dr. Dr. 10 mega myths about farming to remember on your next grocery run. Most of us don’t spend our days plowing fields or wrangling cattle. We’re part of the 99 percent of Americans who eat food, but don’t produce it. Because of our intimate relationship with food, and because it's so crucial to our health and the environment, people should be very concerned about how it’s produced.
But we don’t always get it right. Next time you’re at the grocery store, consider these 10 modern myths about the most ancient occupation. 1. This myth is probably the most pervasive on the list. 2. Americans spend a considerably smaller percentage of their income on food than they did in the 1960s. Between 10 and 20 percent of the cost of food actually reaches the farmer. That’s not to say that food isn’t difficult for some American households to afford, and nutrition and obesity experts worry about the relatively high cost of nutrient-rich versus calorie-dense foods. 3. Driverless tractor proves agriculture can be high-tech Organic farms are not necessarily any less high-tech. 27 year-old who hasn’t woken up before 9:30am in 8 years thinks he could run farm if society crumbles - The Beaverton.
VANCOUVER – Despite never waking up with the sunrise in his entire life, local 27 year-old Jamie Pasternak believes that he could own and operate a farm if Canadian society ever collapsed into some sort of primitive anarchy. “I’ve always had a green thumb. When we had to grow beansprouts in grade 4 mine was the biggest,” said Pasternak, who has never shown interest in learning crop rotation, making his own fertilizer, or pickling fruits and vegetables. “I haven’t really had to grow anything since then, but I’ve probably still got the knack.” Pasternak says he’d also probably be able to tame and yoke beasts of burden, like horses and oxen, even though he knows nothing about breeding, birthing, or milking animals and has never once heard the word “geld” let alone performed the procedure. “Yup. I would be totally self-sufficient. I mean, how big could a farm be anyway?” At press time, Pasternak had called his mom to see if she could repair a small hole in his jeans.
Earthseed Detroit: Taraxacum Officinale - The Teeth of A Revolution. Spring is upon us and many leaves of green have finally emerged. It is a welcome time for those of us who were quite frankly tired of late snows, freezing weather, slush, and especially the dirty muddy dog tracks all through the house!!! Oh, sorry, that's MY plight with Riley. Anyway, now is the time of year that a lot of folks talk about spring cleaning and often one of those items to be cleaned is the body. While I don't agree that the body itself is toxic , I do think that we need support in cleansing our organs and keeping them operating in optimal shape. One of my favorite plants at this time of year is Taraxacum officinale, dent-de-lion, Tooth of the Lion, aka dandelion. Dandelions are so complex! If dandelions were people, they would live in the D. Dandelions seem to have quite a bad reputation.
Rise of the Dandelions Hell yeah!! Dandelion Food and Medicine Now, what else is cool about dandelions is that they are SO available! The Dandelion Experience - Speaking From My Own. LEAR (agricultural lands) Review – Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital / Alliance pour les espaces verts de la capitale du Canada. May 12, 2015 Below and attached are some questions sent to Council in advance of its meeting of May 13, 2015. Links to a number of background documents are below the letter. Erwin Dear Members of Council, Re: LEAR Review Update Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC) on May 7, 2015, approved without change the recommendations by staff regarding the terms of reference for a revived Advisory Committee for the Land Evaluation and Area Review (LEAR). On process, once again the audio record of this meeting is not available. Previous Council’s abolition, in April 2011, of synopsis minutes of committee meetings continues to hurt the democratic process.
On substance, without the benefit of the discussion but informed by information received from staff, I have the following questions: What is the purpose of this LEAR update? “… Agriculture areas now in the Official Plan were identified through a LEAR developed in 1997. On a page on the City’s web site, the study objectives are similarly vague: Judge dismisses case of woman who gave water to pigs headed to slaughter | World news. A judge in Canada has dismissed a case against a Toronto activist who gave water to pigs heading to the slaughter on a hot day, bringing an end to a two-year case that had become a rallying point for animal rights campaigners around the world. Anita Krajnc, 49, initially faced up to 10 years in prison after she dribbled water through the metal slats of a tractor-trailer carrying the pigs in 2015.
She continued to do so even after the driver ordered her to stop, leading the owner of the pigs to file police complaint. Krajnc – the founder of a group called Toronto Pig Save, whose mission is to “bear witness of suffering of animals in transport and at slaughterhouses” – pleaded not guilty to a charge of mischief, but asserted she had done nothing wrong in helping animals she believed were suffering. The crown countered that the pigs were the private property of the farmer and raised the possibility that Krajnc could have given the pigs something other than water.
Log In - New York Times. An Animal’s Place. By Michael PollanThe New York Times Magazine, November 10, 2002 The first time I opened Peter Singer’s “Animal Liberation,” I was dining alone at the Palm, trying to enjoy a rib-eye steak cooked medium-rare. If this sounds like a good recipe for cognitive dissonance (if not indigestion), that was sort of the idea.
Preposterous as it might seem, to supporters of animal rights, what I was doing was tantamount to reading “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” on a plantation in the Deep South in 1852. Singer and the swelling ranks of his followers ask us to imagine a future in which people will look back on my meal, and this steakhouse, as relics of an equally backward age. Eating animals, wearing animals, experimenting on animals, killing animals for sport: all these practices, so resolutely normal to us, will be seen as the barbarities they are, and we will come to view “speciesism”–a neologism I had encountered before only in jokes–as a form of discrimination as indefensible as racism or anti-Semitism. Untitled. Ikea Lab Releases Free Designs For A Garden Sphere That Feeds A Neighborhood | The Huffington Post.
Millions to fight food industry sway, from a snack bar CEO. NEW YORK (AP) — A $25 million pledge to fight the food industry's influence on public health is coming from a surprising source — the CEO of a snack bar maker. Kind founder Daniel Lubetzky says he's pledging his own money to create a group called "Feed the Truth" dedicated to revealing corporate influence in the nutrition field, with activities like education campaigns and investigative journalism. The move underscores the division between older "Big Food" companies and newer businesses that market themselves as wholesome alternatives aligned with health advocates. Kind, known for its fruit and nut bars, touts its use of "real" ingredients and has proven deft at mixing marketing with nutrition issues.
A public health and ethics expert not involved with the group says much depends on how it is set up, and that one tactic to neutralize potential critics is to engage them. Kind said the three advisers are not being paid, though it covered Nestle's travel costs for a meeting. Resetting the Table - Food Secure Canada’s 9th Assembly (Toronto - October 13-16, 2016) Bulk Barn has embraced the Zero Waste movement. In glorious news for zero wasters, Canada's largest bulk food chain will accept reusable containers and bags in all stores, starting the end of February. In one fell swoop, Bulk Barn has revolutionized grocery shopping in Canada. The largest bulk food retailer in the country has just announced that it will accept reusable containers in all stores, starting February 24, 2017. This is a monumental victory for the Zero Waste movement in Canada, since Bulk Barn has 260 locations across the nation, many of which are in small communities without access to other zero waste-friendly stores.
TreeHugger spoke with Jason Ofield, executive vice-president of the company, to learn more about this wonderful development. Ofield explained that it’s been a four-year struggle – three years spent convincing his father (Craig Ofield, president and CEO of the family business) that a pilot project was worth trying, and one year researching and developing the project with a team.
He told TreeHugger: The Matter of Meat: A history of pros and cons - Home | Ideas with Paul Kennedy. To learn more click on a 'cut' Eating meat: some say we've evolved to do it. It's in our DNA. It's how we got our big brains. Yet others, as far back as Pythagoras, have argued that eating meat is bad for our bodies, cruel to animals, and toxic to the planet. Oops... Your browser isn't capable of playing this media. Error 6 The Matter of Meat Quiz Who Said What? Famous quotes about meat1:57 Guests in this episode: Reading List: The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory by Carol J. Famous vegans: Some famous historical vegetarians: Pythagoras, Greek philosopher and mathematician Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist and inventor Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father of the United States Leo Tolstoy, Russian author Franz Kafka, Austro-Hungarian (Czech) author Nikola Tesla, Serbian American inventor Thomas Edison, American inventor Mohandas K.
Songs about Meat: Tofu & Greens (Denzal Sinclaire) (CC) Vegetables (The Beach Boys) What Do Tomatoes Have in Common with Cats? Plant a seed and watch it grow: Incubating farmers. I Tried Eating All My Meals With Edible Spoons, And It Was Devastating. The revolution will not be market gardenized: some thoughts on Jean-Martin Fortier | Small Farm Future.
Health Risks That Large Factory Farming Leaves Behind. How Americans pretend to love ‘ethnic food’ Farming, Native American style. Another Extinction: Words We Use to Describe the Natural World by Jack Turner. A new kind of packaging cuts food waste, replaces plastic, and — if you’re still hungry — it’s edible. This Melon Used To Sell For $24 A Slice. Should It Make A Comeback. 116 Organizations Creating a Sustainable Global Food System. Where Food Begins. Creating Healthy Soils with Holistic Management - Holistic Management International. We need regenerative farming, not geoengineering | Guardian Sustainable Business. Why You Should Always Buy the Bigger Vegetables at the Farmer's Market. 101 Facts That Should Make You Hopeful About the Future of Food. World agriculture: towards 2015/2030.
Bees. GMO. Health. Food security & food waste. Organic/biodynamic.