But how secure is this reliance we all have on Californian food? Certainly for most Canadians and Americans, the distance food is travelling from California is almost laughable. But food miles aside, California has just endured its 3rd year of drought, leaving an already-fragile agricultural and seafood economy much more vulnerable.

We learn of the challenges facing California's water supply and how this is affecting food production and as we often do on Deconstructing Dinner, we spend considerable time deconstructing the media and how some of America's largest networks and newspapers like Fox News and the Wall Street Journal are communicating a pretty misleading and innacurate message about this drought and its impacts on Californian farmers. Since President Obama took office, Fox News has taken on an aggressive campaign to do whatever it possibly can to undermine the current presidency. In some cases, Fox has become full-on activists... helping organize and advocate protests, rallies and campaigns that challenge the President and his decisions. But within this dramatic change of tone at Fox News has been the blatant politicizing of issues that in many cases has Fox grasping with such intensity, that many gaping holes in their logic have presented themselves for some overdue deconstructing.

While the California drought and it's impact on farmers is a multi-faceted and complex issue, Fox has chosen to instead blame the drought on the President and a "two-inch fish"!

Guests

Pete Lucero, Public Affairs Officer, Bureau of Reclamation (Sacramento, CA) - The Bureau of Reclamation is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. The Bureau is in the 17 western states and the goal of reclamation is to provide water and power to those states. As for California, the Bureau operates 20 dams and resevoirs to help provide and deliver water for agriculture, urban use and maintaining natural habitat.

Doug Obegi, Staff Attorney, Western Water Project, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) (San Francisco, CA) - After working as a policy analyst for a national environmental group for several years, Doug earned a law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law. According to Doug, he has now landed his dream job, by working to help NRDC restore the Bay-Delta and protect its imperiled wildlife.

Zeke Grader, Executive Director, Institute for Fisheries Resources (San Francisco, CA) - Since 1992, Grader has served as Executive Director of the Institute for Fisheries Resources, an organization begun by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermenïs Associations. Zeke works to assure sustainable fisheries, including measures to protect against overfishing, decreasing bycatch, rebuilding depleted fish stocks and protecting and restoring fish habitats. He has served as the president of the western region of the old National Federation of Fishermen and the West Coast Fisheries Development Foundation, and he currently serves on the board of directors of the Marine Fish Conservation Network.

Other Voices

Sean Hannity - Commentator, Hannity (Fox News) (New York, NY) - Sean Hannity is a popular commentator through his nationally syndicated radio show. His television program airs weeknights at 9pm on the Fox News Channel.

Ainsley Earhardt - Correspondent, Fox News (New York, NY) - Earhardt joined the Fox network in 2007 and provides live news cut-ins during the overnight hours. Prior to her current position, Earhardt served as a morning/noon anchor for CBS affiliate, KENS-5 in San Antonio, Texas.

Devin Nunes - United States Congressman, 21st Congressional District (Tulare, CA / Washington D.C.) - Rep. Devin Nunes is a Congressman from the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley of California. He is currently serving in his fourth term in the House of Representatives.

Jon Stewart - Comedian, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (New York, NY) - Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the host of The Daily Show, a satirical news program airing on Comedy Central in the United States and on The Comedy Network in Canada.

Since the recent streak of municipal pesticide bans were put into place across Canada, the pesticide industry has been on the defence. Represented by trade association CropLife Canada, the public relations strategies used by the industry were front and centre at the association's September 2007 conference in Saskatoon, which Deconstructing Dinner host Jon Steinman attended.

But how is the media presenting those messages?

In this multi-part series, Deconstructing Dinner explores the messages coming from industry and Canada's regulatory bodies; it examines research on the pesticide and cancer connections; it digs deep into the care that agricultural migrant workers receive when working within our borders; and it challenges one of the most frequently used arguments -- "Without pesticides, the world would go hungry!"

Part II
Part II was sparked in light of CropLife Canada becoming engaged in an aggressive and defensive campaign since the Province of Ontario announced in April 2008 that they would legislate a province-wide ban on the non-essential use of 250 pesticides. That ban came into place on April 22 of this year and other provinces who have not already banned non-essential pesticides are thinking of doing the same. One of those provinces being pressured to enact such a ban is British Columbia where the Canadian Cancer Society is putting pressure on the province to do so. The issue has become somewhat of an election one in light of the upcoming May 12th provincial election and is likely what sparked CropLife to hold a meeting with other pesticide industry supporters on April 23 in the City of Richmond.

This episode explores the latest messages from CropLife including an exclusive unheard interview between Host Jon Steinman and CropLife's Lorne Hepworth - recorded in September 2007 at CropLife's annual conference. Richard Wiles (Environmental Working Group) and M. Jahi Chappell (Cornell University) were invited to respond to questionable remarks made by Hepworth during that interview.

Guests

Lorne Hepworth, President, CropLife Canada (Toronto, ON) - Lorne Hepworth has been President of CropLife Canada (formerly Crop Protection Institute of Canada) since 1997, having previously (1992-93) served as Vice President. CropLife Canada is the trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of plant science innovations - pest control products and plant biotechnology - for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings. Member companies include Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, DuPont and Syngenta among others.

Richard Wiles, Executive Director, Environmental Working Group (Washington, D.C.) - Richard Wiles co-founded EWG with Ken Cook in 1993 and now supervises all staff. He is a former senior staff officer at the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Agriculture, where he directed scientific studies, including two that resulted in landmark reports: Regulating Pesticides in Food: The Delaney Paradox and Alternative Agriculture. Wiles is a leading expert in environmental risks to children, and under his direction, EWG has become one of the most respected environmental research organizations in the United States. EWG's exposure and risk assessment methods are recognized as state of the art, and have been used by the EPA and the National Research Council. Wiles holds a BA from Colgate University and an MA from California State University at Sacramento.

M. Jahi Chappell, Postdoctoral Associate, Science & Technology Studies, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) - Jahi is the co-author of "Organic Agriculture and the Global Food Supply" published in June 2007 in the journal Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. The University of Michigan study has received widespread attention. When the paper was being researched, Jahi was a PhD student in ecology, specializing in the intersection of conservation and food issues. His interest lay in analyzing how conservation policy could effectively be advanced to prevent the rapid loss of biodiversity, which Jahi indicates is, today, similar to the extinction rate that wiped out the dinosaurs. Jahi is now engaged in postdoctoral studies at Cornell University.

Other Voices

Samuel Epstein - Professor Emeritus, Occupational & Environmental Medicine, University of Illinois School of Public Health (Chicago, IL)

Arzeena Hamir - Coordinator, Richmond Food Security Society (Richmond, BC)

Ben West - Healthy Communities Campaigner, Western Canada Wildnerness Committee (Vancouver, BC)

Harold Steves - City Councillor, City of Richmond (Richmond, BC)

Robert Wright - Field Development Manager - Eastern Canada, Syngenta Crop Protection Canada (Guelph, ON)

Marian Stypa - Regulatory and Biological Development, Syngenta Crop Protection Canada (Guelph, ON)

Sustainable Agriculture at Fleming College (Deconstructing Dinner in our Schools IV)
Deconstructing Dinner is excited to share with our listeners an amazing new agriculture program for new farmers being offered at Fleming College in Lindsay, Ontario. The proposed curriculum touches on many of the areas of focus that Deconstructing Dinner has shared since the show was launched in 2006. The Sustainable Agriculture program appears like an ideal way for any unexperienced and interested new farmers to be introduced to many of the critical pieces necessary to launch a profitable and sustainable farm business.

The Local Grain Revolution XI (Sailing Grain Year 2)
Another exciting weekend has come and gone for the Kootenay Grain Community Supported Agriculture project. Between October 15-18, 2009, a fleet of 11 sailboats made their way from the city of Nelson to the Creston Valley of British Columbia to once again pick up a cargo of locally grown grains and transport it back to Nelson. Launching today's episode, we recap the second year of this exciting stage in the evolution of this local grain project that Deconstructing Dinner has been documenting now for over 2 years.

Guests

Matt Lowe, co-founder, Kootenay Grain CSA (Nelson, BC) - When not volunteering his time for the CSA, Matt Lowe is the Assistant Coordinator in the produce department at the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative and a Climate Change Campaigner for The West Kootenay EcoSociety.

Helen Knibb, coordinator, Sustainable Agriculture, Fleming College (Lindsay, ON) - Helen grew up in rural England and worked on farms there. After arriving in Canada, Helen led the program in museum management and worked on curriculm development. Her passion for farming and rural life led her to purchase a farm and later conceive the Sustainable Agriculture program.

Tom Hutchinson, instructor, Sustainable Agriculture, Fleming College (Indian River, ON) - Tom has been teaching courses in sustainable agriculture at Trent University for over 20 years. He is a member of the Sustainable Agriculture program advisory committee. He breeds Cotswold sheep, heritage poultry and pigs and has done extensive work with heritage breeds and seeds. He is the director of Rare Breeds Canada.

Sue Chan, instructor, Sustainable Agriculture, Fleming College (Lakefield, ON) - Sue Chan has been developing the Sustainable Agriculture modules around the principles of sustainable agriculture (soils, soil amendments, composting, weed management). She is an apiarist and studied agriculture at McGill University.

The Weston A. Price Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets. Dr. Price's research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods and the vital fat-soluble activators found exclusively in animal fats.

The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism. It supports a number of movements that contribute to this objective including accurate nutrition instruction, organic and biodynamic farming, pasture-feeding of livestock, community-supported farms, honest and informative labeling, prepared parenting and nurturing therapies.

Today's broadcast features a lecture delivered by the president of the Foundation - Sally Fallon Morell. Sally was recorded in October 2008 by the E.F. Schumacher Society based in Massachusetts.

Guests

Sally Fallon Morell - president and treasurer, Weston A. Price Foundation (Washington D.C.) - Sally Fallon Morell is a journalist, chef, nutrition researcher, homemaker, and community activist. She is the author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. This well-researched, thought-provoking guide to traditional foods contains a startling message: Animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels.

In 1983, the vendors launched what is now a self financed cooperatively governed group of local producers, processors and artisans that has grown to over 200 vendors. The model is a unique one that ensures the market stays true to its roots as a food-focused venue.

With the rising demand for locally produced foods, the market has outgrown its current space and over the past 8 years has been working towards moving to a better location. That move is now expected to take place in June 2010.

Market management believes the new Seaport Market will be an ecological and cultural showpiece linking the Province's urban and rural economies in a seamless community focused on local food and sustainable principles. The market will be open six days a week at Pier 20, the busiest tourist entry point in the province, and it will be at the heart of the cultural, social and community centre that is emerging in the Halifax Seaport Development.

The building itself is expected to be the highest rated LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building on the eastern side of North America.

Guests

Fred Kilcup - general manager, Halifax Farmers' Market (Halifax, NS) - The Halifax Farmer's Market has been operating since 1750, and is the oldest farmer's market in North America. With approximately 150 weekly vendors and up to 9,000 visitors on a busy day, it is a vibrant and bustling shopping environment.

Gordon Michael - executive director, Farmers' Market Investment Co-operative - (Halifax, NS) - The FMIC is seeking to raise $2.25 million from the people of Nova Scotia to help fund the new Seaport Market. The model is a unique example of how local food projects can receive funding from the public at large.

Richard Rand - farmer, Foxhill Cheese - (Port Williams, NS) - Fox Hill Farm, a sixth generation family farm nestled in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, is home to Fox Hill Cheese House. Specializing in aged and specialty cheddar, plain and herbed havarti and gouda, quark and quark dips, fresh curds, feta, Parmesran (a Parmesan style cheese), natural yogurt, and gelato.

Jude Major - farmer/pet baker, Katie's Farm - (Clam Harbour, NS) - A micro producer of Certified Organic Treats for pets. Katie's Farm is Canada's first Certified Organic bakery for pets. And it's the only operation to grow its own ingredients.

Jogi Mullner - baker (Nova Scotia) Jogi and his wife are immigrants from Germany and bake breads and blackforest squares in true German style.

Sass Minard - member, The Grainery Food Co-op - (Halifax, NS) - The Grainery Food Co-Operative is a non-profit, volunteer run organization dedicated to making local and organic food affordable and available to Halifax communities.

Peter Darnell - owner, Indian Point Marine Farms - (Indian Point, NS) - Indian Point Marine Farms Ltd. has been growing mussels in the waters of Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia since 1982. They are a small family-owned business.

Bill McKibben - author, Deep Economy - (Ripton, VT) - In March 2007 McKibben published Deep Economy: the Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future. It addresses what the author sees as shortcomings of the growth economy and envisions a transition to more local-scale enterprise. Bill was interviewed in 2007 on Corporate Change Radio and a segment from that show is featured here.

Pedal-Powered Groceries
Martin Gunst is an active cyclist in Vancouver. Throughout the summer of 2009, Martin joined Kevin Cooper in a unique project that offered bicycle delivery services to customers at Vancouver farmers' markets. Known as Marketcargo, the project also assisted the UBC Farm and an urban agriculture business with their bicycles and heavy-duty trailers. Martin then went on to launch Grocer Gunst - a bicycle delivery service for freshly harvested biodynamic produce from three Demeter certified farms in the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan: Biota Farm in Abbotsford, Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm in Chilliwack, and Harveys' Orchards in Cawston.

Tom Stearns on Hardwick, VT
Hardwick is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont. The population is approx. 3,400 and has become a unique model of a small community that is sustaining a number of innovative agricultural and food security businesses. In September 2009, Tom Stearns of Hardwick's High Mowing Organic Seeds joined Deconstructing Dinner's Jon Steinman at an event in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Tom shared the history of Hardwick and the future of food security work both there and throughout North American communities.

Guests

Martin Gunst - founder, Grocer Gunst (Vancouver, BC) - Martin grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and moved to British Columbia to attend the University of British Columbia (UBC). At 21 years old, Martin is a student of philosophy, economics, and Spanish. He loves good food, local economies, and active transportation. He's proud to be the only biodynamic produce distributor in Vancouver offering services to his neighbours.

Tom Stearns - president, High Mowing Organic Seeds - (Hardwick, VT) - Tom launched High Mowing Organic Seeds in 1996 with just 28 varieties. After tilling up a portion of his backyard and turning his shed into a seed packing area, he had no trouble selling the seed he grew that first year. Suddenly, what had started as a hobby became a practical business pursuit as Tom realized the growing and unmet demand for organic seed. This demand allowed Tom to expand the business beyond his backyard, renting parcels of land to produce the seed he was selling through a hand-made catalog. By 2001, business had grown to such an extent that Tom began to contract with other local farms to grow seed, in addition to continuing to produce seed himself on High Mowing's own 5 acres.

Canadian Beef Consolidated Further
Deconstructing Dinner examines the recent takeover of Canada's largest beef packing plant - Lakeside Packers, located in Brooks, Alberta. The plant maintains a capacity to process 4,700 head of cattle each day (that translates to a whopping 43% of all beef processed in Canada... from one facility!). The takeover leaves Alberta-based XL Foods with 51% control of Canadian beef and leaves just two companies controlling 83%.

In light of the recent and largest meat recall in Canadian history, we now know just how much of an impact that a tainted product from one company (Maple Leaf Foods) can have on Canada's food supply. The idea of any further consolidation in the meat packing sector, would, understandably, leave an already shaky Canadian public quite concerned.

To learn more about how this takeover might impact Canada's beef producers and the beef-eating public, we hear from the Compeititon Bureau's Denis Courriveau and the National Farmers Union's Fred Tait.

Backyard Chickens V (Farming in the City VII)
Since March 2008, The Farming in the City series has been incorporating a focus on urban backyard chickens.

If the thought of two companies controlling 83% of Canadian beef produced from only five plants turns you off of industrial protein, there is of course the increasingly popular alternative of finding some protein in your backyard. While digging up insects may be an option, backyard chickens might be easier, and for Vancouver residents, much easier! On March 5, Vancouver's city council unanimously approved a change to the city's bylaw that has long prohibited backyard chickens. Vancouver is now preparing itself for a backyard chicken revolution.

We also hear from the familiar and entertaining Bucky Buckaw, as he responds to listener questions on whether chickens can be trained to do tricks!

Guests

Fred Tait - Manitoba Coordinator, National Farmers Union (NFU) (Rossendale, MB) - Fred and his wife have raised beef cattle all of their life on their farm in Rossendale, Manitoba (southwest of Portage la Prairie). The NFU "works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada". The National Farmers Union is the country's only voluntary, direct-membership national farm organization. Less than two weeks before Fred spoke to Deconstructing Dinner, he was in Ottawa speaking to the Standing Committee on Agriculture on the state of Canada's beef producers.

Denis Corriveau - Senior Competition Law Officer, Industry Canada - Competition Bureau - (Gatineau, QC) - The Competition Bureau is an independent agency that, according to their web site, "contributes to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice." Headed by the Commissioner of Competition, the Bureau is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act. The basic operating assumption of the Competition Bureau is that competition is good for both business and consumers.

Jeff Nield - Operations Manager, FarmFolk/CityFolk (Vancouver, BC) - FarmFolk/CityFolk Society is a non-profit society that works with farm & city to cultivate a local, sustainable food system. They develop and operate projects that provide access to & protection of foodlands; that support local, small scale growers and producers; and that educate, communicate and celebrate with local food communities.

Bucky Buckaw - Host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (Boise, ID) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers.

As outlined by the event's organizers, "We live in an unprecedented, contradictory era. Hunger soars amid record harvests. At the same time, community-based democratic movements on every continent are showing the way toward a world without hunger. They are proving that it is possible to reconnect farming with ecological wisdom by enhancing soils and yields while empowering citizens to meet universal human needs for both food and dignity. In such a dark and disorienting time, solutions are still evident. The only real problem we have to worry about is despair arising from feelings of powerlessness. As we dig to the roots of the global crisis, we protect against despair and find our own power. Only then can we perceive how our individual and group actions can dissolve the forces that brought us here and plant the seeds of lasting solutions."

Deconstructing Dinner recorded the event's keynote address, delivered by well-known democracy advocate, Frances Moore LappÃ.

Voices

Frances Moore LappÃ, co-founder, Small Planet Institute (Boston, MA) - Frances Moore Lappà is a democracy advocate and world food and hunger expert who has authored or co-authored sixteen books. She is the co-founder of three organizations, including Food First: The Institute for Food and Development Policy and more recently, the Small Planet Institute. In 1987, she received the Right Livelihood Award. Her first book, Diet for a Small Planet, has sold three million copies and is considered to be the first book to present a modern-day approach to more conscientious eating.

Her most recent books include Hope's Edge, written with her daughter Anna LappÃ, about democratic social movements worldwide and Getting a Grip: Clairty, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad.

Nelson Urban Acres
Nelson Urban Acres is bringing fresh produce closer to home. They are a multi-plot urban farm in Nelson, British Columbia that launched into operation in 2009 based on the SPIN farming model. Co-founders Paul Hoepfner-Homme and Christoph Martens are working backyard gardens within the city using low-impact, organic farming techniques to grow fresh produce. This year they have been growing a variety of vegetables throughout the season for Nelson's community markets. Deconstructing Dinner checks in with Paul to learn of the challenges and opportunities learned from trying to make living as an urban farmer.<

Massachusetts Avenue Project
The Massachusetts Avenue Project hosts the Growing Green Program, a youth development and urban agriculture program about increasing healthy food access and revitalizing the Buffalo community through urban farming, healthy nutrition, environmental stewardship and social enterprise. In addition to its urban farm, Growing Green also hosts a youth enterprise, a farm to school initiative, a mobile market and runs various workshops related to urban agriculture.

Guests/Voices

Paul Hoepfner-Homme - urban farmer, Nelson Urban Acres (Nelson, BC) - Paul is 28 years old and was fortunate to grow up in a gardener's oasis uncharacteristic of the norm in suburban Oakville, Ontario. His mother, a passionate gardener, transformed the lawns into a thriving landscape consisting of native plants and shrubs, vegetables and berries. Being raised in this environment gave Paul an early appreciation for what grows out of the ground. During university he developed a passion for sustainability when he read the novel Ishmael, and upon completing his computer science degree he made it his mission to learn how to live sustainably. This passion led him to enrol in a 7-month internship at Everdale, an organic farm in Ontario, where he gained valuable skills and knowledge in operating an organic vegetable farm. In 2008 he moved to the Kootenay region of British Columbia and took a Permaculture Design course in Winlaw where he gained a deeper understanding of growing food in relationship with ecosystems.

Diane Picard - executive director, Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) (Buffalo, NY) - Diane has been with MAP since 1997. She was instrumental in opening the Neighborhood Outreach Center in 1998 and she currently directs Growing Green. She received a Masters of Social Work from Boston University, specializing in Program Planning and Community Organizing. Her undergraduate degree in International Agriculture and Development from Cornell University prepared her to teach agriculture and art at a rural secondary school in Botswana, where she served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1986-1988. Diane is devoted to grassroots community-building as a means of making positive change.

As far as the North American local food movement is concerned, it's not a concept that has yet been coined in any notable way. The Kootenay Grain CSA (community supported agriculture) project located in the Kootenay region of British Columbia is now changing that.

Community Supported Agriculture is most often a model exclusively serving individual eaters (shareholders), whereby the eater invests in their food at the beginning of the season, providing the farmer with much-needed revenues up front when expenses are highest. The CSA model guarantees the farmer a market and secures the eater with whatever the harvest unearths. While eaters might not be used to such an idea, it's not a stretch for most eaters to commit to such a model. Retailers on the other hand are in a different position as the volumes used by bakeries, grocers and restaurants are substantially higher, requiring a much more significant investment. At the April 2009 meeting of the Kootenay Grain CSA, farmers and steering committee members discussed how businesses might be incorproated into the CSA project and the discussion that ensued was fascinating to say the least. Could this mark the beginning of a new model? Deconstructing Dinner sat in on the meeting to find out.

Sprouting Grain

When shareholders in Canada's first CSA for grain received over 80 pounds of five varieties of whole grains in late 2008, many were left wondering what to do with it all. In comes Lorraine Carlstrom, a Nelson, B.C., resident who saw an opportunity to share her experience and create some part-time employment at the same time. Lorraine offered a series of workshops to CSA shareholders and on this episode, we listen in on a class on the ins and outs of sprouting grain. As Lorraine points out, sprouting grain has significant health benefits.

Voices

Lorraine Carlstrom, Chapter Leader, Weston A. Price Foundation (Nelson, BC) - Lorraine is a member of the Kootenay Grain CSA and a chapter leader of the Weston A. Price Foundation - a nonprofit, charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established parameters of human health and identified characteristics of what he saw as optimum human diets. Dr. Price's research sought to demonstrate that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods. The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism.

Matt Lowe, co-founder, Kootenay Grain CSA (Nelson, BC)
Brenda Bruns, co-founder, Kootenay Grain CSA (Creston, BC)
Drew and Joanne Gailius, farmers, Full Circle Farm (Canyon, BC)
Keith Huscroft, farmer, Huscroft Farm (Lister, BC)
Roy Lawrence, farmer, Lawrence Farm (Creston, BC)
Wayne Harris, farmer, Mountain Valley Farm (Lister, BC)
Abra Brynne, foodshed animator (Nelson, BC)
Jenny Truscott, miller (Creston, BC)
...and others

Whopper Virgins
Since early December, controversy has been strirring in newspapers and on Internet blogs about a recent marketing gimmick launched by Miami-based global fast-food giant Burger King (BK). The marketing ploy is called Whopper Virgins and is being waged via www.whoppervirgins.com as well as a series of television ads directing people to that site.

So what is all the controversy?

BK hired PR firm Crispin-Porter and Bogusky to take a film-crew and travel the globe. The purpose? To introduce BK's flagship Whopper hamburger to people in some of the world's most far-flung places. The film, which is posted on the Whopper Virgins web site, shows Inuit of Greenland, Transylvanian farmers of Romania, and the Hmong of Thailand as the subjects for the Whopper feeding experiment.

It was hoped that Americans would be fascinated to see the reactions of such 'foreign' people tasting this homogenous staple of American fast-food - the hamburger.

Deconstructing Dinner comments on these latest efforts by Burger King and presents a reworked version of their 7-minute film. We hope that our version tells a more revealing and accurate depiction of why Whopper Virgins has generated so much controversy.

Backyard Chickens IV (Farming in the City VI)
Since March 2008, The Farming in the City series has been incorporating a focus on urban backyard chickens.

Raising poultry within an urban setting provides eggs, fertilizer, garden help and meat with a minimal environmental footprint. Having suffered decades of disconnection from our food, bringing the farm into the city (and in this case animals), can provide a much needed dose of agriculture and food awareness. It's this very disconnection that has allowed for the appalling conditions now found in factory egg and chicken barns.

On this Part IV, we meet the producers of what is perhaps the first feature-length documentary film about the growing backyard chicken movement. Since its release in late 2008, Mad City Chickens has screened at a number of North American film festivals and will be available on DVD in early 2009.

Guests

Tashai Lovington & Robert Lugai - Producers, Mad City Chickens (Madison, WI) - Tashai & Robert collaborate to form Tarazod Films. When not producing films, Tashai is a Program Producer and NLE Editor for a Madison-area television station. Robert is the Education Director and Program Coordinator for a Madison-area television station.

These and past recordings of the meetings of the Grain CSA provide a listening and learning opportunity not often found within media... and of the hours and hours of audio that Deconstructing Dinner has recorded of the CSA's meetings, this episode will feature some of the more compelling discussions and debates that took place not long after the completion of the CSA's year one. These segments will introduce the CSA's decision to triple in size and incorporate more businesses into the project and in doing so introduce yet another interesting model that has since been called RSA, or, Retail Supported Agriculture.

Voices

Matt Lowe, co-founder, Kootenay Grain CSA (Nelson, BC)
Brenda Bruns, co-founder, Kootenay Grain CSA (Creston, BC)
Drew and Joanne Gailius, farmers, Full Circle Farm (Canyon, BC)
Keith Huscroft, farmer, Huscroft Farm (Lister, BC)
Roy Lawrence, farmer, Lawrence Farm (Creston, BC)
Wayne Harris, farmer, Mountain Valley Farm (Lister, BC)
Abra Brynne, foodshed animator (Nelson, BC)
...and others

Deconstructing Dinner features three segments produced by the National Radio Project's Making Contact and Vancouver Co-op Radio's (CFRO) Redeye.

The segments include a lecture of Raj Patel - author of Stuffed and Starved, an interview with the University of Regina's Annette Desmarais on the topic of food sovereignty and an interview with freelance journalist Frances Russell on the current state of The Canadian Wheat Board and the Canadian government's efforts to strip the Board of its single-desk marketing of western Canadian wheat.

Voices

Raj Patel, author, Stuffed & Starved (Berekley, CA) - Raj Patel has worked for the World Bank, interned at the WTO, consulted for the UN and been involved in international campaigns against his former employers. Currently a researcher at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and a visiting scholar at the Center for African Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, his education includes degrees from Oxford, the London School of Economics & Cornell University. He's also a researcher with the Land Research Action Network. His thoughts on food, hunger, and globalization have appeared in a number of US and international news sources, including the Los Angeles Times and The Guardian.

Annette Desmarais, professor, justice studies, University of Regina (Regina, SK) - Justice Studies Prof Annette Desmarais' area of research includes food sovereignty, or, the right of peoples to define their own food systems and not have them be determined from the outside, by the forces of global capitalism. Her related research interests include globalization and agrarian change. She is currently involved in an ongoing research project with the Via Campesina, an international peasant and farm movement, to develop an international research framework for all future study of the group. She is a member of the advisory board of the Journal of Peasant Studies, as well as the Canadian Association of Food Studies, and has published the book La Via Campesina: Globalization and the Power of Peasants, which has been translated into French and Spanish.

Frances Russell, freelance journalist (Winnipeg, MB) - Frances Russell is a Winnipeg-based freelance journalist and author. She is a regular contributor to the Winnipeg Free Press and is the author of two books. Her career as a journalist and columnist spans nearly 40 years. From 1981 to 1999, she wrote a tri-weekly column on national and provincial politics for the Winnipeg Free Press. Prior to this, she worked as a reporter and political columnist with The Winnipeg Tribune, The Vancouver Sun, The Globe and Mail and United Press International in Ottawa. During this time she also provided occasional columns and commentary for CBC-TV, CBC Radio, CBC Newsworld, The Ottawa Journal, The Edmonton Journal, The Toronto Star, Canadian Forum Magazine and Time Canada Magazine.

The major foods that have been genetically engineered consist of canola, corn, soy and cotton, and it has long been suggested that genetically engineering all commercially used plants, trees and animals, is the future of our food system. In a world where it seems everything is being privatized, such a prospect comes as expected, because when a company genetically engineers a living organism, they can then patent that lifeform and thereby own that lifeform.

Some notable news in the world of genetically engineered food has bubbled to the surface over the past six months that confirms that the future is shaping up to be a genetically modified one. This episode will examine the recent arrival of genetically engineered sugar into the North American food supply and will discuss the steps being taken to introduce genetically engineered alfalfa, genetically engineered trees and perhaps the most controversial... genetically engineered wheat.

Guests

Lucy Sharratt, coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) (Ottawa, ON) - Lucy Sharratt has extensive experience as a researcher and campaigner with organizations concerned about genetic engineering and global justice issues. She worked as Coordinator for the International Ban Terminator Campaign in 2005/6 (the international moratorium on Terminator at the United Nations was upheld and strengthened in this phase of the campaign). Lucy was the Coordinator of the Safe Food/Sustainable Agriculture Campaign at the Sierra Club of Canada and worked as a researcher for the BioJustice Project of the Polaris Institute in Ottawa. Lucy also worked as Project Manager for Voices from the South, a project of the Working Group on Canadian Science and Technology Policy, which focused on issues raised by genetic engineering in the Global South.

Other Voices

Carl Casale, vice-president strategy & development, Monsanto Corporation (St. Louis, MO)

E. Ann Clark, associate professor, Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph (Guelph, ON)

Other Audio

Bucky Buckaw - Host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (Boise, ID) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers.

In September 2008, Deconstructing Dinner's Andrea Langlois visited The Blue Raven Permaculture Farm on Salt Spring Island British Columbia. Farmers and Instructors Brandon and Patti Bauer escort Andrea around the farm and describe the principles of permaculture as they apply on their particular parcel of land. We then travel to San Francisco, California and then off to Devon, England where we take a glimpse at two more of the many examples of how permaculture is being adopted worldwide as a new way of cultivating food, shelter and energy and doing so while maintaining a harmonious relationship with their surroundings. Instead of working against nature as agriculture and other systems so often do, permaculture seeks to work within it.

Guests

Brandon & Patti Bauer, farmers/instructors, The Blue Raven Permaculture Farm (Salt Spring Island, BC) - The Blue Raven Permaculture Farm is located on 5 acres near Mt. Maxwell Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island. Brandon and Patti have been teaching Permaculture and developing their site since 2002.

Voices

Kevin Bayuk, urban permaculture designer (San Francisco, CA) - Kevin Bayuk rents an apartment in the Haight Ashbury district of San Fransicso. He also grows a large amount of his own food, actively composts, raises ducks and captures rainwater- total urban permaculture. One might think you need to own a large plot of land in the country to create an abundant food growing system, but Kevin proves this theory wrong on a number of counts.

Additional Audio

Permaculture: Farms for the Future, Rebecca Hosking (Devon, England)

2008 marked the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Food and human rights are not oftened placed together in the same dialogue, however, Article 25 of the Declaration states: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food..."

One concept that originates from the idea of a "right to food" is that of food sovereignty; whereby people have the right to determine what foods are available to them. The right to food and food sovereignty are undermined every day both here and abroad. The recent spike in the global food crisis is a clear indicator of this.

Looking at food through a human rights lens was the subject of a dialogue that took place on August 29, 2008 at the United Nations in New York City. Titled "The Human Right to Food and the Global Food Crisis", the event was sponsored by The Office of the High Commisioner for Human Rights, the Department of Public Information, the NGO Committee on Human Rights and the Permanent Missions of Cuba and Malawi.

Voices

Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, United Nations (New York, NY) - Since being appointed in March 2008, De Schutter has been reporting to the General Assembly of the United Nations and the Human Rights Council. He is a specialist in human rights and works for the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and the College of Europe in Poland. He's currently a Visiting Professor at Columbia University in New York.

Flavio Valente, Secretary General, FIAN International (Rome, Italy) - FIAN (FoodFirst Information Action Network), is an international human rights organization that for more than 20 years has advocated for the realization of the right to food. FIAN is represented in over 50 countries and has consultative status to the United Nations. Their headquarters are in Heidelberg, Germany.

Joia Mukharjee, Policy Director, Partners in Health (Boston, MA) - PIH was founded in 1987 to deliver health care to the residents of the mountainous Central Plateau of Haiti. In the 20 years since then, they have expanded into many more sites in the country and have launched initiatives in Peru, Lesotho, Russia, Rwanda, Guatemala and Malawi.

Karen Hansen-Kuhn, Policy Director, ActionAID USA (Washington D.C.) - ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency whose aim is to fight poverty worldwide. Formed in 1972, they have helped over 13 million of the world's poorest and most disadvantaged people in 42 countries. The International headquarters are in Johannesburg South Africa.

Sanjay Reddy, Assistant Professor of Economics, Barnard College at Columbia University (New York, NY) - Reddy also teaches in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, where he teaches courses on world poverty and on development economics.

Norway, British Columbia V ("Organic" Salmon?)
The presence of open net-cage salmon farms are an ongoing and contentious debate off the coast of British Columbia and around the world where such farms exist. Norway, Chile, Scotland and Canada are some of the most notable locations for these controversial operations.

By all accounts these farms are industrial factory farms with many of the sites in Canada being home to half a million fish in a surface area no larger than a football field. The farms interact directly with the marine environment raising concerns over their concentrated accumulations of waste, disease and parasite transfer between the cultured and wild fish, animal welfare concerns, and the list goes on.

So when salmon eaters around the world are slowly being introduced to salmon labelled as "organic", we certainly need to inquire into what exactly that means? Salmon after all are most commonly recognized as a wild food... and is wild food not as organic as any?

Co-operatives: Alternatives to Industrial Food VI
This edition of our ongoing series on the co-operative model features a production produced by New York City's Christine Black titled "Will Work for Food - the Park Slope Food Co-op". The Co-op is one of the last remaining member-run food cooperatives in the United States and Christine's half-hour production appeared on Pacifica Radio's weekly radio show Sprouts - Radio From the Grassroots.

Guests

Shauna MacKinnon - markets campaigner, Living Oceans Society (Vancouver, BC) - Before earning her Masters in Geography at the University of Guelph, Shauna worked on salmon farming issues for a New York City foundation, which later led to work developing funding strategies for small B.C. NGOs. Her research and work interests have focused on the economic development opportunities that are being created through more local and organic food systems. In her current position Shauna works with retailers and the public to bring attention to how our food choices really can make a difference.

In October 2008, host Jon Steinman spoke with wildlife biologist Alexandra Morton who was in the midst of taking the Province of British Columbia and Marine Harvest Canada to B.C. Supreme Court. Morton was challenging the ongoing regulation of the industry by the Province, arguing that the Province is not constitutionally permitted to do so. Instead, it was argued that the Federal government is responsible for regulating salmon farms.

Justice Christopher Hinkson came to his decision on February 9, 2009. Morton was victorious. Deconstructing Dinner invites Morton back onto the show to share the outcomes of that decision and what has transpired since then. Also lending their thoughts to the B.C. Supreme Court decision is Otto Langer - a former federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) biologist who applauds the decision but remains highly skeptical of the DFO's capability to now manage the farmed salmon fishery.

The episode also examines a perplexing letter sent to Deconstructing Dinner not long after our January 2009 episodes. As part of those January episodes, Deconstructing Dinner shared recordings from our October 2008 tour of a salmon farm site and hatchery owned by Marine Harvest - the largest salmon farming company in the world. It appears the company was not happy with those broadcasts and subsequently sent a letter to us outlining a number of rather odd requests.

Guests/Voices

Otto Langer - former Biologist, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Richmond, BC) - Otto is a 32-year veteran of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada who quit his job in 2001 after becoming unhappy with the direction the department was heading. He then became the Director of the Marine Conservation Program for the David Suzuki Foundation and one of DFOïs most outspoken critics. Otto is now retired. He is considered one of Canadaïs leading authorities on the issue of open net cage salmon farming. Otto also authored a chapter in the book, "Stain Upon the Sea: The Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery" (2001).

Alexandra Morton - Scientist/Researcher, Raincoast Research Society (Echo Bay, BC) - While studying orca whales up until the 1990s, Alexandra watched as the salmon farming industry appeared in the Broughton Archipelago where she calls home. As she observed the arrival of industrial salmon farms, the whales she studied disappeared. She believed the cause was salmon farms, and when 10,000 pages of letters to all levels of government failed to elicit meaningful response, Alexandra realized that she would have to scientifically prove that salmon farming had driven out the whales and caused epidemic outbreaks of bacteria, viral and parasitic infections in wild salmon. By partnering with international scientists and in some cases commercial fishermen, Alexandra has documented the loss of the whales, thousands of escaped farm salmon, lethal outbreaks of sea lice, and antibiotic resistance near salmon farms.

Bill Harrower - Manager of Regional Operations for Aquaculture Development, Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands - (Courtenay, BC) Aquaculture is a significant contributor to the provincial economy, and most aquaculture jobs are located in coastal communities. Farmed salmon is B.C.'s largest agricultural export product. Bill Harrower has worked with the Department since the 1980s.

Barb Addison - Manager, Big Tree Creek Hatchery, Marine Harvest Canada (Sayward, BC) - Big Tree Creek is one of five hatcheries currently being managed by the company. It's in the process of a $3-million expansion.

The closure of the farms has resulted in a wave of opposition across the country from organizations, unions and individuals who see the farms as playing an important rehabilitative role, they further the growing interest across the country to support local agricultural infrastructure, they produce food for their own operations, and they hold the potential to become even greater models of economic, environmental and social sustainability.

Deconstructing Dinner was not granted an interview with Minister Van Loan, and judging by the questionable reasons provided for the prison farms closure, it's not surprising the Minister was not interested to explain and defend those reasons.

In early June 2009, Deconstructing Dinner's Jon Steinman visited Kingston, Ontario, home to two of the six farms set to close over the next two years. After viewing the perimeter of Kingston's Frontenac Institution, Jon is convinced that the farm is almost certainly the largest urban farm in Canada (see image below). He sat down across from the Kingston Penitentiary with Andrew McCann - a vocal opponent of the announced closures, to learn more about the situation and the efforts underway to stop the closures.

Guests

Andrew McCann - Urban Agriculture Kingston (Kingston, ON) - Andrew connects scholarship with community development through his work on global and local food systems. He is turning his masters thesis into a book which visions collaboration between the polarized worlds of "sustainable local food" and "agricultural biotechnology". Cultural and environmental history underpin his writing, as well as his paid work in Kingston's food system where he has been a CSA (Community Support Agriculture) market gardener, lab tech on the Canadian Potato Genome Project, and initiator of the National Farmers' Union's Food Down the Road: Toward a Sustainable Local Food System for Kingston and Countryside. He recently helped found the Kingston Urban Agriculture Action Committee which has been working with the City of Kingston to develop a progressive municipal policy on community gardens and urban farming. Andrew also instructs Sustainable and Local Food for all Canadians - an on-line distance education course offered by St. Lawrence College.

Dianne Dowling - Farmer Dowling Farm (Kingston, ON) - Dianne farms with her husband Peter on Howe Island - located in the entrance to the St. Lawrence River. The dairy farm is also home to a vegetable CSA operated by their daughter and her partner. Dianne is the Vice-President of the National Farmers Union of Ontario's Local 316, representing farmers in Frontenac and Lennox-Addington counties and the city of Kingston.

Contrary to the more voluntary means through which some North Americans have adopted and supported more energy efficient and ecological food choices, in 1989, Cubans had little choice. As a result of the Soviet collapse, Cubans were plunged into a situation whereby conventional models of farming had to be abandoned for more organic models.

Deconstructing Dinner correspondent Andrea Langlois travelled to Cuba where she met with Fernando Funes Monzotà - the son of one of the most recognized founders of the Cuban organic agriculture movement - Dr. Fernando Funes Sr. His son has followed in his footsteps and is presently completing his Ph.D on more diversified mixed farming systems at the University of Matanzas.

As the past 17 years has proven to be a regeneration of more biodiverse and ecological food production in Cuba, there has, in tandem, also been an increase in the attention paid to biological systems. Just as the circumstances pushing Cuba to more ecological food production have too begun to impact us here in North America, the second half of today's episode will introduce us to some of our smaller friends, who are, and will increasingly, become more important to the production of our food; insects.

In March 2008, Deconstructing Dinner recorded a workshop titled "Predator, Pollinator, Parasite"; hosted at the 2008 conference of the Certified Organic Associations of BC.

Guests

Fernando Funes Monzotà - Researcher, University of Matanzas (Matanzas, Cuba) - Fernando Funes is the son of celebrated agricultural figure Dr. Fernando Funes Sr., whose organic farming association was awarded the Right Livelihood Award (otherwise known as the alternative Nobel) in 1999. Fernando Funes Monzote has since followed in his footsteps after graduating in 1995 from the University of Havana. Since then he has worked in one of the research institutions in Cuba's Ministry of Agriculture, and after 13 years of research, is just about finished his Ph.D thesis at the University of Matanzas. His research is on mixed farming systems as part of the University's pasture and forage research institute.

Deborah Henderson - Director, Institute for Sustainable Horticulture, Kwantlen University College (Surrey, BC) - Deborah is dedicated to the potential for integrated efforts in conservation biological pest control and sustainable landscaping. Dr. Henderson, along with Kwantlen University College's School of Horticulture and the Institute for Sustainable Horticulture established a Conservation Biological Control trial Garden, or "Bug Garden" which will be a valuable resource to provide class materials and a living lab for students to practice horticulture activities and study plants, pests, and beneficial insects and the relationship between them.

Deconstructing Dinner in our Schools III (Ryerson University)
The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, in partnership with Ryerson's School of Nutrition and the Centre for Studies in Food Security, offers a post-degree Certificate in Food Security. This unique program is offered nowhere else in the world, and can be completed entirely through the convenience of distance education. The Certificate in Food Security introduces students to topics of hunger and poverty, food policy and programs, community development, urban food security and global nutrition. The schools teaching team is recognized internationally in the field and having lived and worked around the globe, they understand the challenges of implementing food security in Canada and the developing world.

Backyard Chickens VII (Farming in the City IX)
On part VII of our ongoing Backyard Chickens series (a sub-series of Farming in the City, Bucky Buckaw of Radio Boise shares his wisdom on the topics of swine flu and approaching neighbours about your backyard chicken plans, and he introduces listeners to the smallest chicken in the world - the Serama.

Guests/Voices

Cecilia Rocha, Director, Centre for Studies in Food Security at Ryerson University (Toronto, ON) - Cecilia Rocha, PhD in Economics, is an Associate Professor in the School of Nutrition of Ryerson University where she teaches Food Policy and Economics of Food Security. Dr. Rocha is a Research Associate of the Reference Centre for Food and Nutrition Security in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dr. Rocha is very active in initiatives involving collaboration between academia and practitioners in the area of food security in Canada and in Brazil. She has volunteered as a member of the Oxfam-Canada Food and Trade Policy Working Group (2003-2005), is a member of the Toronto Food Policy Council (since 2006), and the coordinator of the Betinho Project, a partnership between the CSFS, the Stop Community Food Centre, Toronto Food Policy Council, FoodShare Toronto, and a number of volunteers from the Brazilian community in Canada. Her current research interests include assessing the social efficiency of food security initiatives and programs, the role of civil society in governance for food security, and food security issues among immigrant groups in Toronto. Dr. Rocha is also the Director of the CIDA-UPCD project Building Capacity in Food Security in Brazil and Angola, and is a collaborator in the CIDA-UPCD project Urban Food Security and HIV-AIDS in Southern Africa, led by the Southern African Research Centre at Queen's University.

Bucky Buckaw - Host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (Boise, ID) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers.

Sailing Vegetables in Puget Sound
Part VII of The Local Grain Revolution series featured a full episode on the sailing of locally-grown grains from the Creston Valley of British Columbia to the City of Nelson. A fleet of four boats transported 5,000 pounds of the grains. Shortly after the grains were unloaded in Nelson, sailor Jay Blackmore embarked on another journey, however, this time, on-line. He was keen to find other intrepid communities who were too exploring the practice of sailing food. Sure enough, Jay came across Dave Reid of the Sail Transport Company in Seattle, Washington. For less than a year now, Dave has been in the early stages of creating a business around the idea of sailing vegetables from farms neighbouring Puget Sound and delivering them to customers in Seattle. Dave spoke to Deconstructing Dinner over the phone and shared his exciting business model of a fossil-fuel free distribution system for zucchinis, tomatoes, and many other fresh vegetables.

The Local Grain Revolution VIII (Sourdough Waffles)
Since March 2008, Deconstructing Dinner has featured The Local Grain Revolution - a series tracking the evolution of Canada's first community supported agriculture (CSA) project for grain. On this eighth episode, we listen in on a workshop hosted by a member of the CSA, Lorraine Carlstrom. Just as the project has already spawned involvement from many individuals and businesses in the region, Lorraine recognized yet another gap needing to be filled... education in the kitchen. When the 180 CSA members received their 80+lbs of whole grains in December 2008, many members were left wondering what to do with them. Lorraine stepped forward to offer classes to teach members how to use their grains. Among those offered, Deconstructing Dinner recorded one of her first... sourdough waffles.

Guests/Voices

Dave Reid, Founder, Sail Transport Company (Seattle, WA) - The concept behind Sail Transport Company (STC) is to use wind and tidal power coupled with human ingenuity, skills and labor to provide a reliable system of trade and transport that is fossil fuel independent. Dave Reid first learned to sail Mirrors in Peterhead Bay Scotland in the 80's. He designed the model for STC after realizing that rock climbing was too dangerous, engines were too complicated and processed food didn't taste very good. Dave is involved with other groups such as Seattle Peak Oil Awareness, SCALLOPS, and Sustainable Ballard.

Lorraine Carlstrom, Chapter Leader, Weston A. Price Foundation (Nelson, BC) - Lorraine is a member of the Kootenay Grain CSA and a chapter leader of the Weston A. Price Foundation - a nonprofit, charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established parameters of human health and identified characteristics of what he saw as optimum human diets. Dr. Price's research is seend to have demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods. The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism.

Recorded in May 2008, Pigshit! is a three-part documentary about the social, economic and environmental impacts of the factory hog farming industry in Quebec. The production features environmental activists, voices from citizen's coalitions, and vintage tunes from Quebec's past.

Pigshit! was produced by CKUT's Charlotte Scott.

Guests

Holly Dressel, Author (Montreal, QC) - Holly sits on the board of directors of the Sierra Club of Canada, is a best-selling author of books on environmental subjects, and has co-authored two books with David Suzuki: "From Naked Ape to Super Species" and "Good News for a Change". Holly was born in the U.S., immigrating to Canada in the 1970s. She has worked with aboriginal groups and Nobel Prize winners alike, all around the world. She works closely with several First Nations groups, including the Quebec Cree and Mohawk, and is also actively involved in Quebec environmental issues, including industrial farming, water privatization, forest use and more. Holly lives outside Montreal with her extended family on an organic farm.

Denise Proulx, Author, Porcheries! (Montreal, QC) - Denise is the author of Porcheries! - The Unintended Pork Culture of Quebec, which vehemently denounces and details the health impacts, environmental, social, political and economic consequences of industrial hog factories. Denise believes Quebec has taken an agricultural turn for the worse. Her journalistic work specializes in environment, agriculture and social development. Denise is also associated researcher and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Education at UQAM.

Benoit Girouard, President, Union Paysanne (St. Hyacinthe, QC) - Union Paysanne advocates for an agricultural focus on food sovereignty in order to provide people with a healthy and diverse supply of food while respecting nature, soil, animals, the environment and communities. They seek to maintain a healthy standard of living for farmers.

Daniel Green, Scientific Advisor, Sierra Club of Canada (Montreal, QC) - Sierra Club Canada is a member-based organization that empowers people to protect, restore and enjoy a healthy and safe planet.

Tony King, Cathleen Edwards, and Patricia Woods, community members

The Packaged Foods Exposed series takes a look at the largest food manufacturers in the world. What products fall under their banners; how has their influence shaped economic policy, society and culture; how have they affected the environments they operate in; and what relationships do they foster within the countries they are located?

This series places corporations in a critical light, hoping to provide a more balanced image to the advertising and PR campaigns launched by some of the most influential food corporations on the planet.

In this third episode of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, we take a look at the second largest food manufacturer in the world, and the largest in North America - Kraft Foods.

The first half of the broadcast will look at the company's previous ownership by tobacco giant Altria/Philip Morris, and fast track to today because since March 30, 2007, Kraft is now an independent company. Many eaters around the world are still unaware that between 1988 and 2007, support for Kraft products was support for the tobacco industry.

Within the second half of the show, Kraft's marketing strategies will be placed under a critical light following our discovery of an advertisement that was rolling in lies. Other highly questionable Kraft marketing campaigns will also be explored.

Guests

Bryan Hirsch - Organizer, Corporate Accountability International (Boston, MA) - Formerly INFACT, Corporate Accountability International is a membership organization that protects people by waging campaigns that challenge irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions around the world. For 30 years, Corporate Accountability International and our members have scored major victories that protect people's lives by forcing corporations like Nestlï, General Electric and Philip Morris/Altria to stop abusive practices. Kraft Foods has long been boycotted by the organization, but since its recent spin off from Philip Morris, the boycott has now been dropped.

Audio Clips

Making a Killing (2001) - Corporate Accountability International / AndersonGold Films - A powerful organizing tool in the fight for social justice and tobacco control. This documentary exposes Philip Morris/Altria's deadliest abuses. It reveals the burning truth about how the tobacco giant uses its political power, size and promotional expertise to spread tobacco addiction internationally, leaving in its wake a trail of death and destruction.

Part II
On September 8, Soil Matters hosted a members potluck and discussion. Deconstructing Dinner's Jon Steinman facilitated the discussion where members shared their experiences of becoming part of a CSA. How has joining a farm changed eating patterns? How has working on the farm reshaped our connection to food? What changes should be made to the administration and functioning of the CSA for next year?

Marion Nestle - "The Ethics of Food Marketing"

Marion Nestle is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, in the department that she chaired from 1988 through 2003. She also holds appointments as Professor of Sociology in NYU's College of Arts and Sciences and as a Visiting Professor of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture at Cornell University. Her degrees include a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition, both from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on the politics of food with an emphasis on the role of food marketing as a determinant of dietary choice. She is the author of "Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health" (University of California Press, 2002) and "Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism" (University of California Press, 2003), and is co-editor of "Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Food and Nutrition" (McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2004). Her new book, "What to Eat," was published in May, 2006.

In November 2006, Princeton University hosted a 5-part conference, exploring the broad and compelling issues and ethical dilemmas surrounding food production in the U.S. and the choices individuals make regarding the food they eat. Marion Nestle was invited to speak on "The Ethics of Food Marketing". We hear segments from her presentation.

On May 10, Deconstructing Dinner recorded Ann speak at an event hosted by the Kootenay Local Agricultural Society. Ann's talk dealt with the topic of genetically engineered food, and she sought to demonstrate the "spectacular failures" of these technologies, which are now pervasive throughout the North American food supply.

Topics Covered:

• The May 14, 2009 joint statement from wheat producers supporting commercialization of GM wheat
• The questionable groups communicating to Canadian wheat farmers
• The formalization of Dow's NAFTA challenge against the Canadian Government
• Challenging the genetically engineered promises of "higher yields", "reduced biocide use", "feeding the world", "saving the soil", "farmers would make more money"
• Misleading promises of Bt Corn
• Seemingly manipulated research findings on consumer preferernces of GM vs. conventional corn
• The disinformation communicated by Canada's largest agricultural publication, The Western Producer
  

Voices

Dr. E. Ann Clark, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph (Guelph, ON) - Ann received a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and a Masters of Science in Agronomy both from the University of California at Davis. Ann later went on to earn a Ph.D. in Crop Production and Physiology from Iowa State University. Her specific research interests are in organic and pasture production systems, and in risk assessment in genetically modified crops. She has authored 14 books or book chapters, 25 refereed journal publications, given 51 presentations at conferences and symposia, and 150 extension and technical papers or presentations. She currently teaches or team teaches 7 undergraduate courses, and together with Paul Voroney in Land Resource Science, coordinates the Major in Organic Agriculture at Guelph.

To help speak to the organization's interest to prepare for the future, Jon's talk focused on the rapidly changing perspectives of food and farming among Canada's urban populations. The talk was not void of the critical approach that Deconstructing Dinner uses when covering the many issues addressed on the show and used as a foundation for the talk was a magazine-style publication titled the Real Dirt on Farming - a tool designed to communicate agricultural education to Canada's urban populations. While Jon commended the effort put into the publication, there was much to be found within deserving of a critical eye.

Rally for Farms, Farmers & Food Security
On April 18, the Farms, Farmers & Food Security rally was held in front of the British Columbia Legislature in Victoria. The intention of the rally was to raise awareness of the many underreported concerns around food and agriculture leading up to British Columbia's May 12 provincial election. Members of the three major political parties were invited, and The Green Party and NDP were both in attendance. The BC Liberals were not. Event co-organizer Jordan Marr ensured the rally was recorded for Deconstructing Dinner listeners.

Guests

Tom Henry, Editor, Small Farm Canada (Metchosin, BC) - Small Farm Canada is a national magazine promoting small-scale farming as a legitimate and viable endeavour. The magazine's editorial position is that the lives of small-scale farmers and their families are worthy, complex and rich in possibility, and that the communities serving small-scale farmers are unique and dynamic. Tom farms on Vancouver Island.

Voices

Jordan Marr - Farmer (Sooke, BC) - In 2006 Jordan graduated from a bachelor program in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia, and then apprenticed for seven months on an organic farm in Nova Scotia. Jordan now farms in East Sooke.

Brent Warner - , White Loaf Ridge Management (Saanich, BC) - White Loaf Ridge Management Company (WLR) is an independent contractor that was born out of interest on the part of owner Charlie Touchette, to satisfy the agricultural industry with educational and business development opportunities in order to nurture the livelihood of families who operate farms. Brent spent 20+ years working for British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture & Lands and serves as the interim Executive Director of Farmers' Markets Canada.

Linda Geggie - Food Policy, LifeCycles Project Society (Victoria, BC) - LifeCycles is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating awareness and initiating action around food, health, and urban sustainability in the Greater Victoria community. We work proactively to promote and create personal, shared and community gardens, research, and educational activities and youth skills development programs.

But how is the media presenting those messages?

In this multi-part series, Deconstructing Dinner explores the messages coming from industry and Canada's regulatory bodies; it examines research on the pesticide and cancer connections; it digs deep into the care that agricultural migrant workers receive when working within our borders; and it challenges one of the most frequently used arguments -- "Without pesticides, the world would go hungry!"

Part II
Part II was sparked in light of CropLife Canada becoming engaged in an aggressive and defensive campaign since the Province of Ontario announced in April 2008 that they would legislate a province-wide ban on the non-essential use of 250 pesticides. That ban came into place on April 22 of this year and other provinces who have not already banned non-essential pesticides are thinking of doing the same. One of those provinces being pressured to enact such a ban is British Columbia where the Canadian Cancer Society is putting pressure on the province to do so. The issue has become somewhat of an election one in light of the upcoming May 12th provincial election and is likely what sparked CropLife to hold a meeting with other pesticide industry supporters on April 23 in the City of Richmond.

This episode explores the latest messages from CropLife including an exclusive unheard interview between Host Jon Steinman and CropLife's Lorne Hepworth - recorded in September 2007 at CropLife's annual conference. Richard Wiles (Environmental Working Group) and M. Jahi Chappell (Cornell University) were invited to respond to questionable remarks made by Hepworth during that interview.

Guests

Lorne Hepworth, President, CropLife Canada (Toronto, ON) - Lorne Hepworth has been President of CropLife Canada (formerly Crop Protection Institute of Canada) since 1997, having previously (1992-93) served as Vice President. CropLife Canada is the trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of plant science innovations - pest control products and plant biotechnology - for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings. Member companies include Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, DuPont and Syngenta among others.

Richard Wiles, Executive Director, Environmental Working Group (Washington, D.C.) - Richard Wiles co-founded EWG with Ken Cook in 1993 and now supervises all staff. He is a former senior staff officer at the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Agriculture, where he directed scientific studies, including two that resulted in landmark reports: Regulating Pesticides in Food: The Delaney Paradox and Alternative Agriculture. Wiles is a leading expert in environmental risks to children, and under his direction, EWG has become one of the most respected environmental research organizations in the United States. EWG's exposure and risk assessment methods are recognized as state of the art, and have been used by the EPA and the National Research Council. Wiles holds a BA from Colgate University and an MA from California State University at Sacramento.

M. Jahi Chappell, Postdoctoral Associate, Science & Technology Studies, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) - Jahi is the co-author of "Organic Agriculture and the Global Food Supply" published in June 2007 in the journal Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. The University of Michigan study has received widespread attention. When the paper was being researched, Jahi was a PhD student in ecology, specializing in the intersection of conservation and food issues. His interest lay in analyzing how conservation policy could effectively be advanced to prevent the rapid loss of biodiversity, which Jahi indicates is, today, similar to the extinction rate that wiped out the dinosaurs. Jahi is now engaged in postdoctoral studies at Cornell University.

Other Voices

Samuel Epstein - Professor Emeritus, Occupational & Environmental Medicine, University of Illinois School of Public Health (Chicago, IL)

Arzeena Hamir - Coordinator, Richmond Food Security Society (Richmond, BC)

Ben West - Healthy Communities Campaigner, Western Canada Wildnerness Committee (Vancouver, BC)

Harold Steves - City Councillor, City of Richmond (Richmond, BC)

Robert Wright - Field Development Manager - Eastern Canada, Syngenta Crop Protection Canada (Guelph, ON)

Marian Stypa - Regulatory and Biological Development, Syngenta Crop Protection Canada (Guelph, ON)

It is an honour to conicidentally feature two of Canada's finest on this broadcast. Both are recipients of The Right Livelihood Award (the "Alternative Nobel").

Water, The Blood of the Earth
Water has long been taken for granted throughout the Global North. We use it in seemingly ever-increasing ways without thinking much about where it comes from, where it goes, and how much water was used to produce the many products/services we use daily. The food system is just one of these significant users of water, and the current state of water around the world is of significant concern. The Council of Canadians' National Chairperson, Maude Barlow, believes water is the greatest ecological and human rights crisis of our time. In March 2008, Deconstructing Dinner recorded her speak in Castlegar, British Columbia. This segment will mark the beginning of a more concentrated focus on water issues on shows to come.

Monsanto Pays Percy Schmeiser
Saskatchewan Farmer, Percy Schmeiser, spent between 1998 and 2004 standing up to one of the most influential agricultural companies in the world - Monsanto. While it was Monsanto that took Schmesier to court on that occasion, the roles were reversed on Wednesday March 19, 2008, when Monsanto found itself being taken to court by Schmeiser.

It was the first case between Monsanto and Schmeiser that led to the 2004 Supreme Court of Canada Decision that ruled in favour of Monsanto. While the decision assured that regardless of contamination, a farmer cannot grow patented seeds, Schmeiser recognized that if the company is indeed the owner of the plant, then they should be liable for the damages that their property causes others.

There is yet no legal precedent in Canada that has determined who maintains the liability for damages caused by patented plants. Monsanto does however accept moral responsiblity for what are known as "volunteers" (unwanted plants appearing on farmers fields). The company employs a program that offers to remove volunteer plants from farmers fields.

In October 2005, Schmeiser's farm was visited yet again by Monsanto, and again, in the form of their RoundUp Ready Canola. Schmeiser took advantage of the company's removal program, but discovered that they would only remove the plants if he signed a release form that contained a confidentiality clause, which he disapproved of. What followed led to an out of court settlement on March 19, 2008, and Monsanto paid Schmeiser the $660 it cost him to have the plants removed.

Tune in to this broadcast to hear an exclusive interview with Percy by CFCR's Don Kossick (Making the Links Radio) - the only media standing outside the courthouse on that momentous day. Also learn of the interesting dialogue between Host Jon Steinman and Monsanto's Public Affairs Director, Trish Jordan.

Guests/Voices

Percy Schmeiser, Farmer, www.percyschmeiser.com (Bruno, SK) Schmeiser is a 77-year old farmer who, along with his wife Louise, have received global recognition for their passion and devotion to standing up for the rights of farmers. In December 2007, the Schmeisers were awarded the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the "Alternative Nobel"). "I have always campaigned on the right of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed. This is what I have been doing for the last 50 years. I will continue to support any efforts to strengthen the rights of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed."

Maude Barlow, National Chairperson, Council of Canadians (Ottawa, ON) - The Council of Canadians is Canada's largest public advocacy organization. Barlow is also the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project, which is working internationally for the right to water. She serves on the boards of the International Forum on Globalization and Food and Water Watch, as well as being a Councillor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council. Maude is the recipient of six honorary doctorates, the 2005/2006 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship Award, and the 2005 Right Livelihood Award (known as the "Alternative Nobel") for her global water justice work. She is also the best-selling author or co-author of sixteen books, including Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop Corporate Theft of the World's Water and the recently released Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water.

Mountain Valley Farm is a working example of an organic dairy farm that is quickly recognizing the economic potential of tapping into the growing public interest in organic and locally produced food. The farm is one of many models in Canada that is moving in a much different direction than most of the industrial food system. For the Harris family, this 'direction' is already proving itself to be socially and environmentally rewarding, and as they've gradually begun to recognize since the launch of their Kootenay Alpine Cheese business - economically rewarding too!

On this episode we take a tour of the farm and their new cheesemaking facility, and we'll hear from Wayne Harris on the challenges and opportunities found from operating a small-scale organic dairy.

Rounding off the show, a segment from a talk recorded in Burnbay, B.C. in October 2007 at an event hosted by Health Action Network Society (HANS). Speaker Mark McAfee is the founder of Organic Pastures Dairy Company (OPDC) - the first raw milk dairy with certified organic pasture in the State of California. Since the 1950s, McAfee Farms have been leading advocates of "nature-friendly farm practices". Organic Pastures is one of the few remaining family-owned and operated dairies in California.

Guests

Wayne and Denise Harris, Farmer, Mountain Valley Farm / Kootenay Alpine Cheese (Lister, BC) - Towering over Mountain Valley pastures is the magnificent Thomson Mountain range, and it's alpine meadows and forested slopes maintain a sentinel over this dairy farm. The farm is situated in the heart of the Kootenays, on benchland above the Creston Valley, 10 minutes from the Idaho border and 4 hours from the Alberta border. Mountain Valley uses no pesticides, GMO's or chemical fertilizer on the land. They nurture and replenish the soil through many sustainable management practices, including the application of composted manure from the farm and whey from their new cheesemaking facility. The health of the herd is maintained following organic practices, with no hormones being used. They are certified organic with Pacific Agricultural Certification Society and also belong to Kootenay Local Agricultural Society whose mandate is to foster local, sustainable agriculture.

Voices

Mark McAfee, Founder, Organic Pastures Dairy Company (Fresno, CA) - Founder of Organic Pastures Dairy, Mark is internationally recognized as an expert in raw milk production, and has spoken in over fifteen states and three countries on the subject. He invented the first dietary supplements made from fresh raw colostrum, and secured their certification from the FDA and DHS. Mark created and published the first international raw milk safety standards at www.rawusa.org.

In late March 2009, the University of Guelph announced that a number of programs at the school would be cut in response to budgetary challenges. Among those proposed cuts was Canada's only organic agriculture degree program. While the number of enrolled students in the program is small in comparison to the University's entire Agricultural College (the largest in the country), there is of course a rapidly growing interest in organic food and the values and principles such food espouses. Understandably, the proposed cancellation of the program concerned many students and a number of rallies were held alongside intense vocal opposition.

Deconstructing Dinner invited two students to share their concerns with the proposed cuts.

Host Jon Steinman also delivers an in-depth analysis of the University's proposal. While the demand for organic food has skyrocketed to the point where demand is far outstripping supply, Jon seeks to understand why a University and its President would be unable to recognize the economic, social and environmental potentials of maintaining one of the most promising futures within the food system. What was discovered was a telling story of a convergence of non-organic interests going well beyond the walls of the University of Guelph.

Guests

Silvie Fojtik, Third-Year Student, Water Resources & Engineering, University of Guelph (Guelph, ON) - Water Resources Engineering combines elements of other disciplines such as Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Planning and Geography in a unique combination ideally suited to addresses society's concerns and needs surrounding water. Silvie participated in desigining a water resource system for the University's newly established Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming.

Erin Carlson, Second-Year Student, Organic Agriculture, University of Guelph (Guelph, ON) - Erin hails from Summerland, BC, where her family grows cherries. The Major in Organic Agriculture at Guelph is available within the 4-year B.Sc.(Agr) degree program at the University. Diploma or degree students may also elect specific courses from within the organic repertoire available at Alfred, Guelph, and Kemptville campuses. Interdisciplinary research programs approach questions ranging from composting and nutrient management, to crop breeding, weed control, and marketing, and offers research positions to undergraduate as well as graduate students.

Wayne Harris, Farmer, Mountain Valley Farm / Kootenay Alpine Cheese (Lister, BC) - Towering over Mountain Valley pastures is the magnificent Thomson Mountain range, and itïs alpine meadows and forested slopes maintain a sentinel over this dairy farm. The farm is situated in the heart of the Kootenays, on benchland above the Creston Valley, 10 minutes from the Idaho border and 4 hours from the Alberta border. Mountain Valley uses no pesticides, GMO's or chemical fertilizer on the land. They nurture and replenish the soil through many sustainable management practices, including the application of composted manure from the farm and whey from their new cheesemaking facility. The health of the herd is maintained following organic practices, with no hormones being used. They are certified organic with Pacific Agricultural Certification Society and also belong to Kootenay Local Agricultural Society whose mandate is to foster local, sustainable agriculture.

Voices

Alastair Summerlee, President, University of Guelph (Guelph, ON) - Summerlee became the 7th President of the University of Guelph on July 15, 2003. Summerlee, whose career as a scholar, professor, researcher and administrator spans nearly 30 years, joined the University of Guelph faculty in 1988 as a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. He was named an associate dean of the Ontario Veterinary College in 1992, dean of graduate studies in 1995, associate vice-president (academic) in 1999, and provost and vice-president (academic) in 2000.

Over the past few years, Deconstructing Dinner has involved itself with the Nelson, B.C. based networking group, Community Food Matters. Like many similar community food security groups operating throughout North America, Community Food Matters is made up of organizations, businesses and individuals interested in enhancing the local food system.

On March 24, 2009, Deconstructing Dinner, alongside Community Food Matters, hosted an event designed to stimulate awareness and collaboration within the community. For those outside of the community, the event acts as a model of how other North American communities concerned with local food security could gather once a year and share their work and future plans.

What resulted from the March 24 event was an amazing snapshot of the capacity of just one community seeking to tackle the difficult but critical task of fostering a viable local food system.

Funding for this project has been provided by the Community Food Action Initiative, in cooperation with Interior Health

Backyard Chickens VI (Farming in the City VIII)
The familiar and entertaning Bucky Buckaw has some important perspectives on the tradition of giving chicks to children on Easter

Voices

John Alton - Community Farm (Nelson, BC)

Florence Christophers - Nelson CARES Society (Nelson, BC)

Paul Hoepfner-Homme - Nelson Urban Acres (Nelson, BC)

Paul Craig - Sharing Backyards (Nelson, BC)

Jesse Phillips - Canning (Nelson, BC)

Joe Karthein - Community Futures Central Kootenay (Nelson, BC)

SueAnne Smith - Ellison's Market (Nelson, BC)

Nadiv & Chets-Rashone - Preserved Seed Cafe / Mount Sentinel Farm (Nelson, BC)

Valerie Sanderson - Backyard Chickens (Nelson, BC)

Abra Brynne - Foodshed Animator (Nelson, BC)

Robert Agnew - Upper Columbia Co-operative Council (Crawford Bay, BC)

Jay Blackmore & David Oosthuizen - Kootenay Lake Sailing Association (Nelson, BC)

Jennie Barron - Central School Garden (Nelson, BC)

Bucky Buckaw - Host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (Boise, ID) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers.

On March 24, 2009, Deconstructing Dinner, alongside Community Food Matters, hosted an event designed to stimulate awareness and collaboration within the community. For those outside of the community, the event acts as a model of how other North American communities concerned with local food security could gather once a year and share their work and future plans.

What resulted from the March 24 event was an amazing snapshot of the capacity of just one community seeking to tackle the difficult but critical task of fostering a viable local food system.

This episode marks part one of two episodes featuring recordings compiled at the event.

Funding for this project has been provided by the Community Food Action Initiative, in cooperation with Interior Health

Voices

Abra Brynne - Kootenay Local Agricultural Society (KLAS) (Nelson, BC)

Suzanne Miller - Kootenay Organic Growers Society (KOGS) (South Slocan, BC)

Aimee Watson - Kaslo Food Security Project (Kaslo, BC)

Matt Lowe - Kootenay Grain CSA (Nelson, BC)

Gail Southall - Creston Valley Food Action Coalition (Creston, BC)

John Alton - West Kootenay Eco Society (Nelson, BC)

Laura Sacks - Soil Matters CSA (Tarrys, BC)

Laura Gareau - Nelson Food Cupboard Society (Nelson, BC)

Jesse Phillips - Oso Negro Coffee (Nelson, BC)

Sandi McCreight - Kootenay Food Strategy Society (Castlegar, BC)

Colleen Matte - Earth Matters (Nelson, BC)

Tara Stark - Interior Health (Nelson, BC)

Michelle Beneteau - Kootenay Country Store Co-operative (Nelson, BC)

Frank & Libby Ruljancich - Growing Through the Seasons (Deer Park, BC)

Conversation Voices: Florence Christophers (Nelson CARES Society), Ryan Martin (Hume Hotel / Best Western), Brenda Hyshka (Aurora Gardens), Marilyn James (Sinixt Nation), Geoffrey Austin (Fisherman's Market), Robert Agnew (Upper Columbia Co-operative Council), Nadiv (Preserved Seed Cafe / Mount Sentinel Farm)

Foxglove Farm on Salt Spring Island is a working 120-acre historic organic farm. The farm currently produces strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, asparagus, melons, greens, roots, a wide range of annual Mediterranean vegetables, as well as a new orchard of diverse varieties of peach, plum, apple, pear, quince, persimmon, and cherry.

Beyond Foxglove's status as just a farm, the site is also home to The Center for Art, Ecology & Agriculture, which was established to demonstrate and interpret the important connections between farming, land stewardship, food, the arts, and community well being.

In February 2009, Michael was hosted in Nelson by the Kootenay Local Agricultural Society. As he addressed the Nelson audience, Michael communicated a long list of ideas that he believes all communities must adopt to ensure that we can "feed the future before our choices are narrowed for us". He concluded his talk with a descriptive glimpse into the images and stories that fill his 2005 book, "Fields of Plenty".

Kootenay Co-op Radio recorded his talk.

In light of the recent and largest meat recall in Canadian history, we now know just how much of an impact that a tainted product from one company (Maple Leaf Foods) can have on Canada's food supply. The idea of any further consolidation in the meat packing sector, would, understandably, leave an already shaky Canadian public quite concerned.

To learn more about how this takeover might impact Canada's beef producers and the beef-eating public, we hear from the Compeititon Bureau's Denis Courriveau and the National Farmers Union's Fred Tait.

Backyard Chickens V (Farming in the City VII)
Since March 2008, The Farming in the City series has been incorporating a focus on urban backyard chickens.

If the thought of two companies controlling 83% of Canadian beef produced from only five plants turns you off of industrial protein, there is of course the increasingly popular alternative of finding some protein in your backyard. While digging up insects may be an option, backyard chickens might be easier, and for Vancouver residents, much easier! On March 5, Vancouver's city council unanimously approved a change to the city's bylaw that has long prohibited backyard chickens. Vancouver is now preparing itself for a backyard chicken revolution.

We also hear from the familiar and entertaining Bucky Buckaw, as he responds to listener questions on whether chickens can be trained to do tricks!

Guests

Fred Tait - Manitoba Coordinator, National Farmers Union (NFU) (Rossendale, MB) - Fred and his wife have raised beef cattle all of their life on their farm in Rossendale, Manitoba (southwest of Portage la Prairie). The NFU "works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada". The National Farmers Union is the country's only voluntary, direct-membership national farm organization. Less than two weeks before Fred spoke to Deconstructing Dinner, he was in Ottawa speaking to the Standing Committee on Agriculture on the state of Canada's beef producers.

Denis Corriveau - Senior Competition Law Officer, Industry Canada - Competition Bureau - (Gatineau, QC) - The Competition Bureau is an independent agency that, according to their web site, "contributes to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice." Headed by the Commissioner of Competition, the Bureau is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act. The basic operating assumption of the Competition Bureau is that competition is good for both business and consumers.

Jeff Nield - Operations Manager, FarmFolk/CityFolk (Vancouver, BC) - FarmFolk/CityFolk Society is a non-profit society that works with farm & city to cultivate a local, sustainable food system. They develop and operate projects that provide access to & protection of foodlands; that support local, small scale growers and producers; and that educate, communicate and celebrate with local food communities.

Bucky Buckaw - Host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (Boise, ID) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers.

The project has inspired a wave of support from the communities of Nelson and Creston, including support from the Kootenay Lake Sailing Association. In September 2008, a group of sailors approached the CSA and offered to sail as much of the grain as they could from the Creston Valley to Nelson along Kootenay Lake. In less than a month, four sailboats had committed to the weekend excursion and Deconstructing Dinner's Jon Steinman joined the crew of the Kelpie so that listeners could, at the very least, take an audible part in the exciting fossil-fuel free mission.

Voices

Matt Lowe, Climate Change Campaigner, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Nelson, BC) - The West Kootenay EcoSociety promotes ecologically and socially sound communities while protecting species and ecosystems in the Southern Columbia Mountains ecoregion. Matt is the co-founder of the grain CSA.

Jay Blackmore, Sailor, Kootenay Lake Sailing Association (Nelson, BC) - When Jay first heard about the CSA, he was eager to become part of this exciting initiative. He quickly gathered a group of sailors who will be sailing the grains from the Creston Valley to Nelson on the weekend of October 25, 2008.

David Oosthuizen, Sailor, Kootenay Lake Sailing Association (Nelson, BC) - David was the skipper of the Kelpie.

Roy Plummer, Volunteer (Fruitvale, BC)

Jon Steinman, Producer/Host, Deconstructing Dinner (Nelson, BC)

Keith Huscroft, Farmer, Huscroft Farm (Lister, BC)

Cecile Andrews, Author, Slow is Beautiful (Seattle, WA)

Drew Gailius, Farmer, Full Circle Farm (Canyon, BC)

Music

Earl Hamilton, Musician/Educator (Nelson, BC) - Earl was invited to author a song in honour of the Creston Grain CSA. He has since been recorded performing "Close to Home" in the studios of Kootenay Co-op Radio and performed the song live on the shores of Nelson just after the grain had arrived via sailboat from the Creston Valley. Earl was joined by Norman Richard

As skills and knowledge are replaced by fossil fuel dependent systems and technologies, this aging demographic represents a significant threat to the future of Canada's food supply.

Where are Canada's future farmers, and how does anyone interested in farming get involved?

In March 2008, Host Jon Steinman travelled to Sidney, B.C. to attend the annual conference of the Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia (COABC). On this broadcast, we listen in on one workshop titled, "Starting Your Organic Farm".

Write to a Farmer Who Inspires You
As the age demographic among farmers continues to change, so too is the population distribution between Canada's urban and rural communities. As the population increasingly becomes concentrated within cities, Canada's urban populations have become far more removed from the source of their food than ever before. One symptom of this change in population distribution has been a seeming loss of appreciation for the all-important grower and producer of food - the farmer. This didn't sit well with Nelson, British Columbia resident Paul Edney who launched an event in collaboration with Nelson's Kootenay Country Store Co-operative. The event was titled "Write to a Farmer who Inspires You".

Guests/Voices

Robin Tunnicliffe, Farmer/Co-owner, Feisty Field Organic Farm / Saanich Organics (Victoria, BC) - Saanich Organics is a community of farmers from small, certified organic farms who work together: Three Oaks Farm, Northbrook Farm, and Robin's Feisty Field Organic Farm. Feisty Field grows a variety of fruits and vegetables near Prospect Lake within the city limits of Victoria. Robin is currently completing a Masters degree at the University of Victoria on the value of local agriculture.

Paul Edney, Author/Director, We Are What We Do (Nelson, BC) - Paul is the Canadian director of the International We Are What We Do movement. He authored the Canadian version of Change the World for Ten Bucks, which outlines fifty simple, everyday actions that everyone can do to make a difference, such as: take public transport, decline plastic bags where possible, plant a tree, and write to someone who inspires you. Change the World for Ten Bucks aims to create a global community of people who are what they do. It started in the UK, and has launched in Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Canada. Worldwide, over 400,000 copies are in print!

Deconstructing Dinner's Jon Steinman delivered two lectures throughout the week and was invited to be a part of an evening panel on the topic of biofuels. In November 2007, the show aired its Biofuel Boom series and this formed the basis for Jon's panel presentation. This broadcast features recordings of the panel from February 4, 2009.

Voices

David Bressler, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB) - David's general area of research is the industrial application of chemical, thermal and biological systems for the catalytic conversion of conventional biomass streams to platform chemicals, fuels and value-addedd commodities. Biofuels are a major focus of his research. David is also the Chair of the Management Committee of Agri-Food Discovery Place which is the department's pilot facility.

Alex McCalla, Professor Emeritus in Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis (Davis, CA) - Alex is an expert in international trade and has directed the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department at the World Bank, has chaired the Technical Advisory Committee of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, and was a founding member and co-convenor of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium. Since graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1966, Alex has served in many roles at the University of California at Davis.

Jon Steinman, Producer/Host, Deconstructing Dinner (Nelson, BC) - Outside of his role with Deconstructing Dinner, Jon also sits on the board of the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative and is involved in Community Food Matters - a coalition of Nelson-area residents who are inspired to foster a more food-secure community.

As outlined by the event's organizers, "We live in an unprecedented, contradictory era. Hunger soars amid record harvests. At the same time, community-based democratic movements on every continent are showing the way toward a world without hunger. They are proving that it is possible to reconnect farming with ecological wisdom by enhancing soils and yields while empowering citizens to meet universal human needs for both food and dignity. In such a dark and disorienting time, solutions are still evident. The only real problem we have to worry about is despair arising from feelings of powerlessness. As we dig to the roots of the global crisis, we protect against despair and find our own power. Only then can we perceive how our individual and group actions can dissolve the forces that brought us here and plant the seeds of lasting solutions."

Deconstructing Dinner recorded one of the event's featured speakers, Palagummi Sainath.

Voices

Palagummi Sainath, Rural Affairs Editor, The Hindu (Mumbai, India) - Once described by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen as ïone of the worldïs foremost experts on poverty and hungerï, Palagummi Sainath is a dedicated development reporter and photojournalist. He spends the majority of his year with the village people of Indiaïs rural interior on which he reports. As the current rural affairs editor of The Hindu and author of the highly acclaimed Everybody Loves a Good Drought: Stories from Indiaïs Poorest Districts, his writing on the impacts of globalization on Indiaïs rural poor, and particularly farmer suicides, has raised public awareness and influenced both policy in India and the development debate in general. His unflinching coverage of the negative impacts of neoliberal policy on Indiaïs poorest populations has earned him over 30 awards including Amnesty Internationalïs Global Human Rights Journalism Prize and the Raymond Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication.

As outlined by the event's organizers, "We live in an unprecedented, contradictory era. Hunger soars amid record harvests. At the same time, community-based democratic movements on every continent are showing the way toward a world without hunger. They are proving that it is possible to reconnect farming with ecological wisdom by enhancing soils and yields while empowering citizens to meet universal human needs for both food and dignity. In such a dark and disorienting time, solutions are still evident. The only real problem we have to worry about is despair arising from feelings of powerlessness. As we dig to the roots of the global crisis, we protect against despair and find our own power. Only then can we perceive how our individual and group actions can dissolve the forces that brought us here and plant the seeds of lasting solutions."

Deconstructing Dinner recorded the event's keynote address, delivered by well-known democracy advocate, Frances Moore LappÃ.

Voices

Frances Moore LappÃ, co-founder, Small Planet Institute (Boston, MA) - Frances Moore Lappà is a democracy advocate and world food and hunger expert who has authored or co-authored sixteen books. She is the co-founder of three organizations, including Food First: The Institute for Food and Development Policy and more recently, the Small Planet Institute. In 1987, she received the Right Livelihood Award. Her first book, Diet for a Small Planet, has sold three million copies and is considered to be the first book to present a modern-day approach to more conscientious eating.

Her most recent books include Hope's Edge, written with her daughter Anna LappÃ, about democratic social movements worldwide and Getting a Grip: Clairty, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad.

With over 3,000 people swarming upon the farmers and producers, the success of the market was a clear sign of the healthy potential for an increase in local food production on Vancouver Island.

Guests

Dirk Becker, Farmer/Activist, Compassion Farms (Lantzville, BC) - Dirk farms organically on 2.5 acres. He uses farming as a means to inspire others to reconnect with the land of which we are a part. Dirk is a member of the Food Sustainability Sub-Committee of the Mid-Island Co-op. He hosts a weekly radio program on CHLY Nanaimo - Heart and Mind, Tuesday, 1-2pm.

Arata Tanaka, Baker, Flour, Water, Salt Breads (Mill Bay, BC) - In 2006, Arata was permitted to build a wood-fired brick oven on the property of Merridale Estate Cidery. He sells his bread at Vancouver Island markets.

Betty Benson, Farmer, Cedar Valley Poultry (Nanaimo, BC) - The Benson family has been supporting agriculture in the Nanaimo area since 1948. Betty now raises organic Chickens and Turkeys and recently launched an adopt-a-turkey program.

Bob Handel, Farmer, Happy Beef (Nanaimo, BC) - Maintaining a small herd of cattle, according to their customers, Bob and Gerry Handel sell some of the finest tasting beef on Vancouver Island.

Maureen Drew, Partner, Artisan Edibles Fine Food Company (Parksville, BC) - Artisan Edibles condiments and preserves blend the best flavours of Vancouver Island and the world. Their mission is to develop flavourful condiments using Vancouver Island's natural bounty.

Stan Reist, Co-Owner, Flying Dutchman (Nanaimo, BC) - Supplies bees, bee-keeping supplies and honey sales from the Mountains and Valleys of Vancouver Island.

Craig Evans, Landscape & Garden Coordinator, Providence Farm (Duncan, BC) - A working organic farm dedicated to restoring the spirit and skills of those with physical, mental, and emotional challenges.

Sharon Vansickle, Sharon's Kitchen Crafts (Nanaimo, BC) - Sharon produces a wide-range of condiments and preserves and offers canning workshops to area-residents.

Lorelai Andrew, Food Sustainability Sub-Committee, Mid-Island Co-op (Nanaimo, BC)

In October 2008, host Jon Steinman was toured around a salmon farm along with delegates of the 2008 conference of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation. The tour was sponsored by the Province of British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture & Lands and the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA).

The farm is owned by Marine Harvest Canada and located off the shore of East Thurlow Island - about a 45-minute boat ride from Campbell River, BC. The farm is home to 500,000 Atlantic salmon.

On this part III of a multi-part series on salmon farming along the BC coast, Steinman poses some probing questions to the tour guides.

Helping balance the positive and promotional role of the BCSFA and the Province, the episode will also hear from Alexandra Morton of the Raincoast Research Society. Morton is one of the most vocal critics of open-net salmon farms and played a pivotal role in helping introduce the long-standing and contested debate of whether or not salmon farms are harming wild salmon populations.

Morton was given the opportunity to respond to the comments made on the tour by the guides. Of interest are the number of startling discrepancies that were discovered between what conference delegates were told versus what Morton has discovered through her research.

It was a timely tour to embark upon as it was only days earlier when Morton was in BC Supreme Court in Vancouver challenging the legal and constitutional authority of the Province to regulate salmon farms in the marine environment. Morton, alongside a group of petitioners, argue that the regulating of salmon farms in BC waters should constitutionally be within the purvue of the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. This episode will introduce this case, which is currently awaiting a decision.

Guests/Voices

Alexandra Morton - Scientist/Researcher, Raincoast Research Society (Echo Bay, BC) - While studying orca whales up until the 1990s, Alexandra watched as the salmon farming industry appeared in the Broughton Archipelago where she calls home. As she observed the arrival of industrial salmon farms, the whales she studied disappeared. She believed the cause was salmon farms, and when 10,000 pages of letters to all levels of government failed to elicit meaningful response, Alexandra realized that she would have to scientifically prove that salmon farming had driven out the whales and caused epidemic outbreaks of bacteria, viral and parasitic infections in wild salmon. By partnering with international scientists and in some cases commercial fishermen, Alexandra has documented the loss of the whales, thousands of escaped farm salmon, lethal outbreaks of sea lice, and antibiotic resistance near salmon farms.

Paula Galloway - Member and Community Relations, British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) (Campbell River, BC) - The BC Salmon Farmers Association was established in 1984. The Association is the voice of the province's salmon farming industry, a forum for communication, a vehicle for lobbying, and a point of contact for stakeholders and the public. Prior to her role with the BCSFA, Paula worked with EWOS - an international feed company serving the aquaculture industry. EWOS is owned by Norway's Cermaq.

Bill Harrower - Manager of Regional Operations for Aquaculture Development, Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands - (Courtenay, BC) Aquaculture is a significant contributor to the provincial economy, and most aquaculture jobs are located in coastal communities. Farmed salmon is B.C.'s largest agricultural export product. Bill Harrower has worked with the Department since the 1980s.

Barb Addison - Manager, Big Tree Creek Hatchery, Marine Harvest Canada (Sayward, BC) - Big Tree Creek is one of five hatcheries currently being managed by the company. It's in the process of a $3-million expansion.

In October 2008, host Jon Steinman was toured around a salmon farm along with delegates of the 2008 conference of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation. The tour was sponsored by the Province of British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture & Lands and the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA).

The farm is owned by Marine Harvest Canada and located off the shore of East Thurlow Island - about a 45-minute boat ride from Campbell River, BC. The farm is home to 500,000 Atlantic salmon.

On this part III of a multi-part series on salmon farming along the BC coast, Steinman poses some probing questions to the tour guides.

Helping balance the positive and promotional role of the BCSFA and the Province, the episode will also hear from Alexandra Morton of the Raincoast Research Society. Morton is one of the most vocal critics of open-net salmon farms and played a pivotal role in helping introduce the long-standing and contested debate of whether or not salmon farms are harming wild salmon populations.

Alexandra was given the opportunity to respond to the tour guide's comments on the tour. Of interest are the number of startling discrepancies that were discovered between what conference delegates were told versus what Morton has discovered through her research.

It was a timely tour to embark upon as it was only days earlier that Alexandra Morton was in BC Supreme Court in Vancouver challenging the legal and constitutional authority of the Province to regulate salmon farms in the marine environment. Morton, alongside a group of petitioners, argue that the regulating of salmon farms in BC waters should constitutionally be within the purvue of the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. This episode will introduce this case, which is currently awaiting a decision.

Guests/Voices

Alexandra Morton - Scientist/Researcher, Raincoast Research Society (Echo Bay, BC) - While studying orca whales up until the 1990s, Alexandra watched as the salmon farming industry appeared in the Broughton Archipelago where she calls home. As she observed the arrival of industrial salmon farms, the whales she studied disappeared. She believed the cause was salmon farms, and when 10,000 pages of letters to all levels of government failed to elicit meaningful response, Alexandra realized that she would have to scientifically prove that salmon farming had driven out the whales and caused epidemic outbreaks of bacteria, viral and parasitic infections in wild salmon. By partnering with international scientists and in some cases commercial fishermen, Alexandra has documented the loss of the whales, thousands of escaped farm salmon, lethal outbreaks of sea lice, and antibiotic resistance near salmon farms.

Paula Galloway - Member and Community Relations, Britih Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) (Campbell River, BC) - The BC Salmon Farmers Association was established in 1984. The Association is the voice of the province's salmon farming industry, a forum for communication, a vehicle for lobbying, and a point of contact for stakeholders and the public. Prior to her role with the BCSFA, Paula worked with EWOS - an international feed company serving the aquaculture industry. EWOS is owned by Norway's Cermaq.

Bill Harrower - Manager of Regional Operations for Aquaculture Development, Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands - (Courtenay, BC) Aquaculture is a significant contributor to the provincial economy, and most aquaculture jobs are located in coastal communities. Farmed salmon is B.C.'s largest agricultural export product. Bill Harrower has worked with the Department since the 1980s.

Barb Addison - Manager, Big Tree Creek Hatchery, Marine Harvest Canada (Sayward, BC) - Big Tree Creek is one of five hatcheries currently being managed by the company. It's in the process of a $3-million expansion.

While the structure of the industry has not changed much over the past three years, public opposition has remained strong. Catherine Stewart of the Living Oceans Society believes this opposition has been pivotal in keeping the growth of the industry at bay. Stewart suggests that this static growth is much to the chagrin of the Liberal governement who had announced that the industry would increase 10-fold when they came into power in 2001.

As part of the Norway, British Columbia series, highlights will include a tour of an Atlantic salmon hatchery near Campbell River and a salmon farm off the shores of East Thurlow Island. Featured throughout the series will be interviews with industry, government, and conservation groups. The controversy surrounding the placing of an 'organic' label on a package of salmon will be explored alongside the prospects of genetically-engineered salmon entering into BC waters.

On this Part II, we'll learn of expansion plans at one of the hatcheries of Marine Harvest Canada - the largest aquaculture company operating in BC. As the industry has been running into many barriers to get new farm sites approved, we'll examine whether this expansion is a sign that the industry is getting prepared to grow? With an election looming, activists believe that a re-elected Liberal government will pave the way for a string of rubber-stamped site approvals. There are currently many applications before the Province requesting amendments to production limits and along with the history of over-production violations within the industry, open-net salmon farm opponents like the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR), are deeply concerned.

The broadcast will also explore the Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) outbreak that has caused massive restructuring in Chile's salmon farming industry. With the virus popping up in Scotland in January 2009, British Columbians should be left to wonder whether ISA will hit BC next?

Guests

Catherine Stewart - Salmon Farming Campaiagn Manager, Living Oceans Society (Vancouver, BC) - Living Oceans Society is Canadaâs largest organization focusing exclusively on marine conservation issues. They are based in Sointula, a small fishing village on the Central Coast of British Columbia. Prior to her role with Living Oceans, Catherine worked with Greenpeace for seventeen years, holding the positions of Regional Director and oceans and forests campaigner.

Clare Backman - Environmental Compliance and Community Relations, Marine Harvest Canada (Campbell River, BC) - Marine Harvest is one of the world's largest aquaculture companies and is based in Norway. Their Canadian division is the largest aquaculture company operating in the Province of British Columbia. With 75 farm licenses, the company produces more than half (55%) of the total production of farmed salmon in BC.

Barb Addison - Manager, Big Tree Creek Hatchery, Marine Harvest Canada (Sayward, BC) - Big Tree Creek is one of five hatcheries currently being managed by the company. It's in the process of a $3-million expansion.

Other Voices

Jay Ritchlin - Director Marine and Freshwater Conservation, David Suzuki Foundation (Vancouver, BC)

Ian Roberts - Communications, Marine Harvest Canada (Campbell River, BC)

Bill Harrower - Manager of Regional Operations for Aquaculture Development, Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands - (Courtenay, BC)

Deconstructing Dinner launches our 2009 season of programming with a restrospective and forward-looking presentation by Brent Warner of Farmers' Markets Canada. Brent was recorded in October 2008 speaking to delegates of the annual conference of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation (CFWF) held in Courtenay, British Columbia.

Voices

Brent Warner - Interim Executive Director, Farmers' Markets Canada (Sidney, BC) - FMC has been created to help connect Canadian consumers to their local farmers and to address the needs of farmers' markets across the country. Brent is a former Industry Specialist in Agritourism/Direct Marketing with British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture & Lands. Brent is a horticulturalist who has also served as the Secretary of the North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association.

Since early December, controversy has been strirring in newspapers and on Internet blogs about a recent marketing gimmick launched by Miami-based global fast-food giant Burger King (BK). The marketing ploy is called Whopper Virgins and is being waged via www.whoppervirgins.com as well as a series of television ads directing people to that site.

So what is all the controversy?

BK hired PR firm Crispin-Porter and Bogusky to take a film-crew and travel the globe. The purpose? To introduce BK's flagship Whopper hamburger to people in some of the world's most far-flung places. The film, which is posted on the Whopper Virgins web site, shows Inuit of Greenland, Transylvanian farmers of Romania, and the Hmong of Thailand as the subjects for the Whopper feeding experiment.

It was hoped that Americans would be fascinated to see the reactions of such 'foreign' people tasting this homogenous staple of American fast-food - the hamburger.

Deconstructing Dinner comments on these latest efforts by Burger King and presents a reworked version of their 7-minute film. We hope that our version tells a more revealing and accurate depiction of why Whopper Virgins has generated so much controversy.

Backyard Chickens IV (Farming in the City VI)

Since March 2008, The Farming in the City series has been incorporating a focus on urban backyard chickens.

Raising poultry within an urban setting provides eggs, fertilizer, garden help and meat with a minimal environmental footprint. Having suffered decades of disconnection from our food, bringing the farm into the city (and in this case animals), can provide a much needed dose of agriculture and food awareness. It's this very disconnection that has allowed for the appalling conditions now found in factory egg and chicken barns.

On this Part IV, we meet the producers of what is perhaps the first feature-length documentary film about the growing backyard chicken movement. Since its release in late 2008, Mad City Chickens has screened at a number of North American film festivals and will be available on DVD in early 2009.

Guests

Tashai Lovington & Robert Lugai - Producers, Mad City Chickens (Madison, WI) - Tashai & Robert collaborate to form Tarazod Films. When not producing films, Tashai is a Program Producer and NLE Editor for a Madison-area television station. Robert is the Education Director and Program Coordinator for a Madison-area television station.

Agritourism
While many farmers see the role of agritourism as a further insult to the dismal state of farming today, some farmers have recognized it as the only way to stay in business. DKT Ranch on Vancouver Island is one of those farms that has successfully remained in the business of farming by diversifying their operation to offer more than just food. Host Jon Steinman visited with DKT's Dan and Maggie Thran.

Red-Fleshed Apples
First introduced into North America in 1840, according to Salt Spring Island's Harry Burton, red-fleshed apples are the "apple of the future". Apple Luscious Organic Orchard on Salt Spring Island grows 23 varieties of red-fleshed apples and in September 2008, correspondent Andrea Langlois visited with Burton at the Salt Spring Island Apple Festival.

Voices/Guests

Edgar J. Smith, President, Natural Pastures Cheese Company (Courtenay, BC) - Dating back over 90 years, the Smith family's Beaver Meadow Farms eventually morphed into Natural Pastures Cheese Company. Today, the businesses uses only fresh milk produced on a number of select Vancouver Island farms, which practice sustainable farming and animal stewardship. The farms are classified as Heritage Dairy Farms.

Paul Sutter, Master Cheesemaker, Natural Pastures Cheese Company (Courtenay, BC) - Born in 1972 in Sonenntal Switzerland where he spent much of his time on his grandfather's dairy farm. In 1991 he earned his certification as a Master Cheesemaker and in 1995 responded to a job posting in a Swiss newspaper and moved to Canada to become a cheesemaker. Paul joined Natural Pastures in 2002.

Dan Thran, Farmer, DKT Ranch, (Courtenay, BC) - Owned and operated by Dan and Maggie Thran, DKT is an 80 acre farm which was purchased by Dan's parents in 1927. His parents turned it into a dairy farm in the early 1940s and the farm was passed on to Dan in the early 1970s. Since then, the farm has primarily become a beef operation along with raising pasture-raised poultry, lamb and eggs.

Harry Burton, Farmer, Apple Luscious Organic Orchard, (Salt Spring Island, BC) - This young orchard on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia is situated on 5 acres of land. Located on a slightly south facing slope, the orchard was created from scratch on land logged in 1980, with the first apple trees planted in 1986. It consists of about 300 trees of mostly apples, but also plums, pears, cherries and Asian pears. Harry helps organize the Salt Spring Apple Festival.

Other Voices

The beer industry is always a fascinating one to take a look at, as beer was one of the first industrialized food and beverage products. The focus for the first segment of this episode will be on the recent global shortage of hops - the key flavouring component of most beers. At the March 2008 Certified Organic Associations of BC conference, Host Jon Steinman sat down with brewer and farmer Rebecca Kneen of Sorrento, BC's, CrannÃg Ales. CrannÃg is Canada's only Certified Organic farmhouse microbrewery and growing on the farm are some of the hops that end up in their beers. In 2002, Kneen published a manual on small-scale organic hop growing and she is extremely excited at the attention the manual has received since the hops shortage hit home.

We also listen in on a workshop hosted at the COABC conference by Biodynamic farmer and egg producer Karl Hann. Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that treats the farm as a unified and individual organism, emphasizing balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants and animals as a closed, self-nourishing system. Hann's presentation was titled "The Good, The Bad and The Balance". He explored the importance of microorganisms in the soil and uses the biodynamic farming philosophy to convincingly illustrate how disruptive and destructive most dominant farming practices are today.

Voices/Guests

Rebecca Kneen, Craft Brewer / Farmer, CrannÃg Ales (Sorrento, BC) - Crannograve;g Ales is Canada's only Certified Organic farmhouse microbrewery, one of only a handful of such breweries in the world. They brew unfiltered, unpasteurized ales using only organic ingredients, some of which come right from their own farm - Left Fields. Located on the farm is a hopyard, which is home to over seven varieties of hops. The hopyard forms the basis for ongoing research into organic small-scale hop production.

Karl Hann, Farmer, Biota Farm (Abbotsford, BC) - Karl is a biodynamic farmer and egg producer. He was a Green Party candidate for the Abbotsford riding during the 2004 federal election. Karl was born and raised in Romania and has been living and farming in Canada for over 20 years.

Of course the responsible thing to do is to remain skeptical and question any new diet craze that hits our culinarily confused culture. As for Omega-3s, it appears some critical information has evaded the radar of North American media and hence the eating public.

In a fascinating book by Author Susan Allport, the history, science and hype surrounding Omega-3s is laid out for all to see. Titled "The Queen of Fats - Why Omega-3s Were Removed From the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them", Allport reveals that our collective understanding of these vital fatty acids is way off.

According to Allport, lacking in exposure has been Omega-6s, another family of essential fatty acids that compete with Omega-3s. And so if both are in competition, why is it we never hear about the 6s?

In October 2007, CBC's The National aired a segment on the increasing confusion surrounding Omega-3s and questioned how much fish new and expecting mothers should be consuming. After a read through The Queen of Fats, it appears that not only has the CBC deepened this collective confusion, it has equally encouraged the further pillaging of our already vulnerable oceans.

Unlike most media coverage on diet and nutrition, this episode will not so much suggest what you should or should not be eating, but will instead look to capture how our lifestyles and the industrialization of our food has had devastating impacts on our health.

We also hear segments from a September 2007 interview between Host Jon Steinman and Cargill Canada President, Len Penner.

Guests/Voices

Susan Allport, Author, The Queen of Fats (Katonah, NY) - An award-winning writer for publications such as the New York Times and Gastronomica, Susan Allport has spent the past decade exploring how food shapes behavior and health. In 2006, University of Calfornia Press published her book The Queen of Fats: Why Omega-3s Were Removed from the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them.

JoAnne Buth - President, Canola Council of Canada (Winnipeg, MB) - A national trade association representing producers, input suppliers, processors and marketers of canola and its products.

Len Penner - President, Cargill Canada (Winnipeg, MB) - One of Canada's largest agricultural merchandisers and processors with interests in meat, egg, malt and oilseed processing, livestock feed, salt manufacturing, as well as crop input products, grain handling and merchandizing. The company is a subsidiary of Cargill Limited based in the United States. In February 2007, Deconstructing Dinner ran a 2-part series on the operations of the company.

Kootenay Harvest Revival III
On this Part VI of the series, we continue with recordings from the Kootenay Harvest Revival - an event hosted by Deconstructing Dinner, the Nelson-Creston Grain CSA and All Seasons CafÃ. The two-day event was held to celebrate the CSA's monumental harvest of grain and to use the success of the project as a "catalyst for a local food revolution."

Day 1 of the event heard from a series of speakers who shared the history of food production in the Kootenay regions of British Columbia. By exploring what was once possible to grow and produce in the area, it was hoped that the event would inspire visions of what the soil is currently able to provide both now and into the future. Certainly the Grain CSA is one of those projects unearthing the potential of the region.

On Part III of the Revival recordings, we listen to Deconstructing Dinner Host Jon Steinman address the audience of 270. Moving on to day 2 of the event, we arrive at the All Seasons Cafà where a celebratory brunch and dinner was joined by a series of short presentations. Those presentations included CSA co-founder Matt Lowe, CSA farmer Roy Lawrence and board member of the West Kootenay EcoSociety Russell Precious who read some passages by poet and essayist Wendell Berry.

Voices

Roy Lawrence, Farmer, Lawrence Farm (Creston, BC) - Roy is a third-generation farmer. He has long farmed using conventional methods but sees the CSA as an opportunity to transition to growing naturally.

Russell Precious, Board of Directors, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Sunshine Bay, BC) - After graduating with a BA in Asian History at UBC and UC Berkeley, Russell studied organic farming with pioneer organic farmer and teacher, John Harrison. Subsequently he co-founded the Naam vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver (still running after 35 years); an organic fruit stand & wholesale fruit operation; Quadra Foods Market on Quadra Island and Capers natural foods stores in Vancouver. In 1993 he was finalist for both the regional Entrepreneur of the Year and Van Citys Ethics in Action awards. In 1999 he was one of three first recipients of the B.C. Organic Pioneers Award. He most recently joined the Board of Directors at the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative.

Matt Lowe, Climate Change Campaigner, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Nelson, BC) - The West Kootenay EcoSociety promotes ecologically and socially sound communities while protecting species and ecosystems in the Southern Columbia Mountains ecoregion. Matt is the co-founder of the grain CSA.

Jon Steinman, Producer/Host, Deconstructing Dinner (Nelson, BC)

Music

Earl Hamilton, Musician/Educator (Nelson, BC) - Earl was invited to author a song in honour of the Kootenay Harvest Revival, and he was recorded performing Close to Home in the studios of Kootenay Co-op Radio in September 2008. Earl was joined by Norman Richard, Jeannie Sittig and Marcella Edwards.

Kootenay Harvest Revival II
On this Part V of the series, we explore the second in a three-part series of recordings from the Kootenay Harvest Revival - an event hosted by Deconstructing Dinner, the Nelson-Creston Grain CSA and All Seasons CafÃ. The two-day event was held to celebrate the CSA's monumental harvest of grain and to use the success of the project as a "catalyst for a local food revolution."

Day 1 of the event heard from a series of speakers who shared the history of food production in the Kootenay regions of British Columbia. By exploring what was once possible to grow and produce in the area, it was hoped that the event would inspire visions of what the soil is currently able to provide both now and into the future. Certainly the Grain CSA is one of those projects unearthing the potential of the region.

On this Part II of the Revival recordings, we hear from author and farmer Luanne Armstrong who spoke on finding one's sense of self through place. "In this day in age, we need to think about where we live, not only where we live and how we connect to it but how we look after it so it can look after us," says Luanne. She also described what the word "farmer" means to her. Also on this broadcast; CSA farmer Keith Huscroft, actor/writer/historian Richard Rowberry and the music of Bessie Wapp.

Voices

Luanne Armstrong, Author, Blue Valley: An Ecological Memoir (Boswell, BC) - Luanne Armstrong is a novelist, freelance writer, editor, and publisher. She is deeply interested in writing about place and nature. Her recent book, Blue Valley, An Ecological Memoir, is about growing up in the Kootenay region of B.C. and was published in 2007 by Maa Press. Luanne has taught Creative Writing at the Univeristy of British Columbia (UBC), Langara College, and in venues across Canada. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing from UBC and a Ph.D in Education from UBC. She presently lives on her organic heritage farm on the east shore of Kootenay Lake.

Keith Huscroft, Farmer, Huscroft Farm (Lister, BC) - Keith is a fourth-generation farmer. His great-grandparents were the first white settlers in the Creston Valley and his farm has been in operation for about 100 years. Keith takes all measures to ensure no inputs are required on his farm. He uses mixed farming practices and fertilizes using only animal and green manures. He is one of a shrinking number of farmers farming with horses instead of fossil-fuel dependent technologies.

Richard Rowberry, Actor, The Nelson Theatre Company (TNT) (Nelson, BC) - Richard Rowberry is the Artistic Director of The Nelson Theatre Company (TNT). He trained "eons" ago at The National Theatre School of Canada and has worked as an arts administrator, actor, writer, and director throughout his life. He has written five plays based on local history, including Frank And The Elephants, which won the Sybil Cooke Award (Play for Young Audiences) at the 2004 Canadian One Act Play Competition.

Russell Precious, Board of Directors, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Sunshine Bay, BC) - After graduating with a BA in Asian History at UBC and UC Berkeley, Russell studied organic farming with pioneer organic farmer and teacher, John Harrison. Subsequently he co-founded the Naam vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver (still running after 35 years); an organic fruit stand & wholesale fruit operation; Quadra Foods Market on Quadra Island and Capers natural foods stores in Vancouver. In 1993 he was finalist for both the regional Entrepreneur of the Year and Van Citys Ethics in Action awards. In 1999 he was one of three first recipients of the B.C. Organic Pioneers Award. He most recently joined the Board of Directors at the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative.

Music

Bessie Wapp, Musician/Performer (Nelson, BC) - Since 1995, Bessie Wapp has been busy performing and recording with Eastern European music ensemble Zeellia. Bessie Wapp is a two-time Jessie nominated musician, actor, designer, and stilt dancer who studied visual art and music before becoming a Co-Director of stilt-dance theatre company Mortal Coil in 1993. Bessie Wapp has worked with The Electric Company, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Caravan Theatre, and the Vancouver Moving Theatre among others.

Kootenay Harvest Revival I
On this Part IV of the series, we explore the first in a two-part series of recordings from the Kootenay Harvest Revival - an event hosted by Deconstructing Dinner, the Nelson-Creston Grain CSA and All Seasons CafÃ. The two-day event was held to celebrate the CSA's monumental harvest of grain and to use the success of the project as a "catalyst for a local food revolution."

Day 1 of the event heard from a series of speakers who shared the history of food production in the Kootenay regions of British Columbia. By exploring what was once possible to grow and produce in the area, it was hoped that the event would inspire visions of what the soil is currently able to provide both now and into the future. Certainly the Grain CSA is one of those projects unearthing the potential of the region.

On this Part I of the Revival recordings, we pay respect to the original inhabitants of the region - the Sinixt people, who, while not agriculturalists, understood the bounty of the land more than any other human population who has inhabited the area. Also to explore are one of the first groups of white settlers to inhabit the region; the Doukhobors - a spiritual Christian sect who also holds a rich history of living off the land.

The event acts as an exciting model for other communities wishing to inspire a more localized food system.

GE-Free Zones IV
Acting as a pinnacle to our GE-Free Zones series, on November 3, 2008, the City of Nelson, B.C., officially became Canada's third GE-Free zone. In a unanimous decision by the City Council, a resolution was adopted that expresses opposition to the "cultivation of GE plants and trees". Deconstructing Dinner was on hand to record the monumental decision.

Voices

Eileen Delehanty-Pearkes, Author, The Geography of Memory (Nelson, BC) - A fifth-generation Californian, Eileen Delehanty Pearkes has been a resident of Canada since 1985. She has lived in Nelson, B.C., since 1994. She has published numerous essays and articles exploring the connection between nature and the human imagination, as well as The Geography of Memory, her first book.

JJ Verigin, Executive Director, Union of Spritual Communities of Christ (Doukhobors) (Grand Forks, BC) - The Doukhobor movement emerged in 18th century Russia as a Christian peasant reaction to the excessive opulence and ritualistic authority of the Orthodox Church. In the early 20th century, a large number of them arrived in the interior of British Columbia where a large population still reside.

Russell Precious, Board of Directors, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Sunshine Bay, BC) - After graduating with a BA in Asian History at UBC and UC Berkeley, Russell studied organic farming with pioneer organic farmer and teacher, John Harrison. Subsequently he co-founded the Naam vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver (still running after 35 years); an organic fruit stand & wholesale fruit operation; Quadra Foods Market on Quadra Island and Capers natural foods stores in Vancouver. In 1993 he was finalist for both the regional Entrepreneur of the Year and Van Citys Ethics in Action awards. In 1999 he was one of three first recipients of the B.C. Organic Pioneers Award. He most recently joined the Board of Directors at the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative.

Kim Charlesworth, Steering Committee, GE-Free Kootenays (Nelson, BC) - Kim is a founding member of GE-Free Kootenays. She sits on the Board of Directors for the West Kootenay EcoSociety and is currently running for Nelson City Council in the 2008 municipal elections.

Gord McAdams, Municipal Councillor, City of Nelson (Nelson, BC)
Gord has worked as an Ecologist for BC's Ministry of Water, Air and Land Protection. In 2005, he was fired for bringing confidential government documents to the BC Supreme Court in support of a court action brought by the West Kootenay EcoSociety. On December 11, the Campaign for Open Government and the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association presented Gord with the Whistleblower Award for 2007. Gord is running for Mayor of Nelson in the 2008 municipal elections.

Music

Bessie Wapp, Musician/Performer (Nelson, BC) - Since 1995, Bessie Wapp has been busy performing and recording with Eastern European music ensemble Zeellia. Bessie Wapp is a two-time Jessie nominated musician, actor, designer, and stilt dancer who studied visual art and music before becoming a Co-Director of stilt-dance theatre company Mortal Coil in 1993. Bessie Wapp has worked with The Electric Company, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Caravan Theatre, and the Vancouver Moving Theatre among others.

Fastforward to October 20, when campaign spokesperson Kim Charlesworth requested from the cities of of Nelson and Castlegar that both councils adopt a GE-Free resolution and become a GE-Free zone. Deconstructing Dinner recorded the presentations.

Also on this episode - an exclusive interview with Percy Schmeiser and his wife Louise. Host Jon Steinman spoke with the Schmeisers about the couple's well-being throughout the heavy-handed intimidation exerted by Monsanto during their legal battle between 1998-2004. Percy also shared his thoughts about the GE-Free campaign.

Guests/Voices

Percy & Louise Schmeiser, Farmer, www.percyschmeiser.com (Bruno, SK) Schmeiser is a 77-year old farmer who, along with his wife Louise, have received global recognition for their passion and devotion to standing up for the rights of farmers. In December 2007, the Schmeisers were awarded the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the "Alternative Nobel"). "I have always campaigned on the right of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed. This is what I have been doing for the last 50 years. I will continue to support any efforts to strengthen the rights of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed."

Andy Morel, Spokesperson, GE-Free Kootenays (Rossland, BC) - Andy is on the steering committee of GE-Free Kootenays. He recently ran as the Green Party candidate for BC Southern Interior in the 2008 federal election.

Kim Charlesworth, Spokesperson, GE-Free Kootenays (Nelson, BC) - Kim is on the steering committee of GE-Free Kootenays. She is currently running for city council in the City of Nelson.

In January 2008, Deconstructing Dinner launched the first in a series of episodes that began tracking the evolution of a campaign that is working towards creating a region that declares itself free of genetically-engineered plants and trees.

The first region in North America to become a GE-Free Zone was Mendocino County, California, back in 2004. Soon after, Powell River, British Columbia, became Canada's first. The Southern Gulf Islands of B.C. have also declared themselves a GE-Free zone, and since November 2007, a group in the interior of the province has been working towards becoming the third such region in the country.

As Deconstructing Dinner has long covered the topic of genetically-modified organisms (G.M.Os) or genetically-engineered (G.E.) foods, Host Jon Steinman has lent his knowledge and experience to the campaign. Since November 2007, Jon has compiled many audio recordings of the campaign with the hope that other regions and municipalities throughout North America can use these recordings as a resource and tool if they too are wishing to create GE-Free regions.

This series will hear from campaigners and politicians from Mendocino County and Powell River in order to learn how their GE-Free zones are holding up. We'll also explore recordings from the October 20th presentations to the Cities of Castlegar and Nelson, British Columbia, both of whom are, as this broadcast goes to air, contemplating the passing of a GE-Free resolution.

On this episode, we listen in on the July 10, 2008, official campaign launch of the GE-Free Kootenays campaign. Featured at the event was the most vocal and well-known critic of genetically-engineered foods, Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser.

This broadcast will extend into next week's show when we will hear the continuation of Percy's speech alongside a short presentation by GE-Free Kootenays spokesperson, Andy Morel. You can also expect an exclusive interview with Percy and his wife Louise.

Voices

Percy Schmeiser, Farmer, www.percyschmeiser.com (Bruno, SK) Schmeiser is a 77-year old farmer who, along with his wife Louise, have received global recognition for their passion and devotion to standing up for the rights of farmers. In December 2007, the Schmeisers were awarded the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the "Alternative Nobel"). "I have always campaigned on the right of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed. This is what I have been doing for the last 50 years. I will continue to support any efforts to strengthen the rights of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed."

Corky Evans, MLA Nelson-Creston, "New Democratic Party of British Columbia" (Winlaw, BC) - Corky Evans was elected as the MLA for Nelson Creston in 1991, and was re-elected in 1996. He was once again elected to represent his constituents on May 17, 2005. Corky has ten years experience as an MLA, during which time he served in many cabinet portfolios, including Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. He most recently served as Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Lands.

Since March 2008, The Local Grain Revolution series has been following the evolution of Canada's first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project for grain. A total of 180 members and one business from the communities of Nelson and Creston, British Columbia, are blazing a trail towards a local grain economy.

On this Part III of the series, Host Jon Steinman sits in on the July 14 meeting of the CSA steering committee with the hope that audio recordings from the meeting can help guide other communities towards launching a similar project.

Jon also visits with David Everest, who came forward in late 2007 to become the Nelson-based miller. When members receive their grain in late October, David will make himself and his mill available each week to turn member's grains into flour.

With so many people in the community coming forward to lend a hand to the formation of this local food system, perhaps the most exciting has been the group of sailors who have come forward and offered to sail the grain from the southern shores of Kootenay Lake to Nelson. This will take place between October 24-26 and will reduce the fossil fuels required to transport the grain. Perhaps this effort will lay the foundation for a fossil-fuel-free transportation corridor between the two communities. We hear from one of the sailors on this broadcast.

Guests/Voices

David Everest, Nelson Grain CSA Miller, Nelson-Creston Grain CSA (Nelson, BC) - In late 2007, David heard about the CSA and quickly came forward to lend a hand. When Nelson-based CSA members receive their grain in late October, David has volunteered to mill their grain into flour on a weekly basis. This will give members readily available access to fresh milled flour.

Jay Blackmore, Sailor, Kootenay Lake Sailing Association (Nelson, BC) - When Jay first heard about the CSA, he was eager to become part of this exciting initiative. He quickly gathered a group of sailors who will be sailing the grains from the Creston Valley to Nelson on the weekend of October 25, 2008.

Keith Huscroft, Farmer, Huscroft Farm (Lister, BC) - Keith is a fourth-generation farmer. His great-grandparents were the first white settlers in the Creston Valley and his farm has been in operation for about 100 years. Keith takes all measures to ensure no inputs are required on his farm. He uses mixed farming practices and fertilizes using only animal and green manures. He is one of a shrinking number of farmers farming with horses instead of fossil-fuel dependent technologies.

Abra Brynne, Foodshed Animator (Nelson, BC) - Abra is a familiar voice on Deconstructing Dinner as she is involved in a number of local food projects and businesses in the southern interior of British Columbia.

Roy Lawrence, Farmer, Lawrence Farm (Creston, BC)
Drew Gailius, Farmer, Full Circle Farm (Canyon, BC)
Jenny Truscott, Miller (Creston, BC)
Donna Carlyle, Kootenay Employment Services (Creston, BC)
Brenda Bruns, Administrator, Nelson-Creston Grain CSA (Creston, BC)
Matt Lowe, Administrator, Nelson-Creston Grain CSA (Nelson, BC)
Cindy Olivas, Baker, Kootenay Bakery Cafe Co-operative (Nelson, BC)
Gail Southall, Coordinator, Creston Valley Food Action Coalition (Creston, BC)

The conference was titled "The Power of Partnerships - The New Bio-Economy: Accelerating Change/Achieving Prosperity". Attending the conference were executives and members of the most influential agricultural corporations in Canada, including among others; Agricore, Viterra, Cargill, Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, E.I. du Pont, Nufarm, and Syngenta. A large contingent of bureaucrats from Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada were in attendance, including two Conservative Members of Parliament (David Anderson, Carol Skelton).

Deconstructing Dinner will be featuring a number of recordings and interviews compiled at the conference, and will bring on panels of guests to respond to the messages coming out of Canada's conventional agriculture sector.

On this broadcast, we listen in on segments from the Keynote Speaker Juan Enriquez. Juan's presentation was titled "As the Future Catches You: How Genomics & Other Forces are Changing your Life, Work, Health & Wealth". Joining the program to comment and challenge remarks made during this presentation will be Terry Pugh (National Farmers Union), and Jeffrey Smith (Institute for Responsible Technology).

Guests

Juan Enriquez - Chairman/CEO, Biotechonomy (Boston, MA) - Author, businessman, and academic, is recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on the economic and political impacts of life sciences. Biotechonomy LLC is a life sciences research and investment firm. He was the Founding Director of the Harvard Business School Life Sciences Project, and author of "As the Future Catches You: How Genomics & Other Forces are Changing Your Life, Work, Health & Wealth".

Terry Pugh - Executive Secretary, National Farmers Union (NFU) (Saskatoon, SK) - The NFU works on the non-partisan development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the basic food-producing unit in Canada. To help realize this goal, the NFU and its members work to create, expand, and safeguard orderly marketing and supply-management systems. NFU members believe that individual farmers must work collectively to assert their interests in an agricultural industry increasingly dominated by multi-billion-dollar corporations.

Jeffrey Smith - Executive Director, Institute for Responsible Technology (Fairfield, IA) - The IRT was founded in 2003 by Jeffrey Smith to promote the responsible use of technology and stop GM foods and crops through both grassroots and national strategies. Jeffrey is the author of "Seeds of Deception", and the recently-released "Genetic Roulette - The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods".

Voices

Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Foods / MP Battlefords-Lloydminster - Conservative Party of Canada (Brightsand Lake, SK) - Gerry Ritz was first elected to the House of Commons in 1997, and re-elected Member of Parliament for Battlefords-Lloydminster in 2000, 2004 and 2006.

Wayne Easter, MP Malpeque, Liberal Party of Canada (North Wilitshire, PEI) - Wayne Easter is the Liberal Party's critic on Agriculture and Agri-Food. He represents the riding of Malpeque which is the central part of Prince Edward Island. He was first elected as the MP in 1993 and has been relected ever since

Tony Martin, MP Sault Ste. Marie, New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) - Tony Martin was first elected Member of Parliament for the Riding of Sault Ste. Marie on June 28th, 2004. As M.P., Tony serves as the critic for FedNor, Human Resources Development, Social Development and Policy, and Child Care.

Kate Storey, Candidate Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette, Green Party of Canada (Grandview, MB) - Kate Storey ran as the GPC candidate for Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette in the 2006 federal election. That year she was elected to the Green Party federal council and to the Shadow Cabinet. Kate serves as party critic for Sustainable Agriculture and Prairie issues.

Listen to a few broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner, and choosing food may suddenly become an intimidating adventure. Of course there are alternatives to the industrial food system.

Enter the co-operative model of operating a business. Long an example in Canada of how people can assume control over our needs and resources, co-operatives is the focus of this ongoing series.

How does a co-operative differ from a traditional business? A co-operative is owned and democratically controlled by the people who use the services or by those working within the co-op. A co-op is operated for the benefit of members and members have a say in decisions affecting the co-op.

Part V
The Common Ground Food Co-op in Urbana, Illinois is a very promising and inspiring sign that communities can indeed come together and build or expand upon their very own co-operative grocery store.

The urban area of Urbana-Champaign, Illinois has a population of around 200,000, but up until recently did not have a natural food store easily accessible to the public. There was however, an underground food co-operative in the basement of a church operating for over 30 years. In late August 2008, the Common Ground Food Co-op surfaced and it now sits above ground in a brand new building.

At a time where the economy in the United States is being hit hard and loans are a hard thing to come by, the Common Ground Co-op implemented an innovative financing model that sought close to half of its financial support from members themselves. Certainly a sign of a supportive community wishing to take greater control over their local food supply.

Guests

Jacqueline Hannah, General Manager - Common Ground Food Co-op (Urbana, IL) - Jacqueline has worked in retail and service management for over fifteen years and after my her first job working for a corporate bookstore chain, she has worked exclusively for independently owned shops. She pursued joining the co-op staff because she wanted to work somewhere that was truly in line with her ideals; where community always came before profit and where it was believed that fiscally sustainable business is not only possible when putting people and the planet first, but that its actually the way to thrive.

Clint Popetz, Board Chair - Common Ground Food Co-op (Urbana, IL) - Clint has been involved with the co-op since 2000, and has previously served as a Tuesday night coreworker, an outreach liaison at the farmerïs market, a store operations coordinator, a facilitator for coordinator meetings, and a bread baker. Through his role as board chair he hopes to help build a strong and stable future for the co-op, helping to increase the level of empowerment and accountability within our organization in order to create a co-op that can achieve its goals of spreading the joy of good food and cooperation to a larger and more diverse community.

Food and human rights are not oftened placed together in the same dialogue, however, Article 25 of the Declaration states: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food..."

One concept that originates from the idea of a "right to food" is that of food sovereignty; whereby people have the right to determine what foods are available to them. The right to food and food sovereignty are undermined every day both here and abroad. The recent spike in the global food crisis is a clear indicator of this.

Looking at food through a human rights lens was the subject of a dialogue that took place on August 29, 2008 at the United Nations in New York City. Titled "The Human Right to Food and the Global Food Crisis", the event was sponsored by The Office of the High Commisioner for Human Rights, the Department of Public Information, the NGO Committee on Human Rights and the Permanent Missions of Cuba and Malawi.

Voices

Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, United Nations (New York, NY) - Since being appointed in March 2008, De Schutter has been reporting to the General Assembly of the United Nations and the Human Rights Council. He is a specialist in human rights and works for the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and the College of Europe in Poland. He's currently a Visiting Professor at Columbia University in New York.

Flavio Valente, Secretary General, FIAN International (Rome, Italy) - FIAN (FoodFirst Information Action Network), is an international human rights organization that for more than 20 years has advocated for the realization of the right to food. FIAN is represented in over 50 countries and has consultative status to the United Nations. Their headquarters are in Heidelberg, Germany.

Joia Mukharjee, Policy Director, Partners in Health (Boston, MA) - PIH was founded in 1987 to deliver health care to the residents of the mountainous Central Plateau of Haiti. In the 20 years since then, they have expanded into many more sites in the country and have launched initiatives in Peru, Lesotho, Russia, Rwanda, Guatemala and Malawi.

Karen Hansen-Kuhn, Policy Director, ActionAID USA (Washington D.C.) - ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency whose aim is to fight poverty worldwide. Formed in 1972, they have helped over 13 million of the world's poorest and most disadvantaged people in 42 countries. The International headquarters are in Johannesburg South Africa.

Sanjay Reddy, Assistant Professor of Economics, Barnard College at Columbia University (New York, NY) - Reddy also teaches in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, where he teaches courses on world poverty and on development economics.

On this exciting part II of the series, Host Jon Steinman travels along with the first CSA tour, where members and farmers met for the first time. Members were given the opportunity to see the grain that would soon become their bread, cakes or pasta.

So long as the will and effort of a community chooses to make it happen, this broadcast captures just how easily we can all work together to resurrect local food systems.

Voices

Matt Lowe, Climate Change Campaigner, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Nelson, BC) - The West Kootenay EcoSociety promotes ecologically and socially sound communities while protecting species and ecosystems in the Southern Columbia Mountains ecoregion. Matt is the co-founder of the grain CSA.

Roy Lawrence, Farmer, Lawrence Farm (Creston, BC) - Roy is a third-generation farmer. He has long farmed using conventional methods but sees the CSA as an opportunity to transition to growing naturally.

Keith Huscroft, Farmer, Huscroft Farm (Lister, BC) - Keith is a fourth-generation farmer. His great-grandparents were the first white settlers in the Creston Valley and his farm has been in operation for about 100 years. Keith takes all measures to ensure no inputs are required on his farm. He uses mixed farming practices and fertilizes using only animal and green manures. He is one of a shrinking number of farmers farming with horses instead of fossil-fuel dependent technologies.

Tammy Hardwick, Manager, Creston & District Museum (Creston, BC) - Much of Creston's history is rooted in agriculture, however, much of this history is now found indoors at the Creston museum.

This series will explore what risks accompany the loss of such diversity while on the other hand, expose the many farmers and organizations preserving Canada's heritage varieties of food and protecting our food supply from the control of multinational interests.

Part I
On Part I, we resurrect Red Fife Wheat, perhaps the most important wheat variety to Canadians. Red Fife fed Canadians for 40 years, yet disappeared as more export-oriented varieties and hybrids took its place. But Red Fife is making a comeback, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency doesn't like it. Is this a chance for the people of Canada to reclaim control over our cultural heritage and challenge the industrial food system? Sharon Rempel thinks so.

We also learn more about heirloom (heritage) vegetables. Growing heirlooms is an exciting way to try new and unusual tastes, shapes and colours. But more than that it is an effort to maintain the genetic diversity of our food crops. Many varieties have disappeared forever and there is interest in keeping these older varieties in circulation. Heirlooms, unlike some hybrids, are not grown for their ability to withstand shipping and chemicals or their uniform look at market. They are grown for taste.

Audio recorded by Marinko Jareb (St. Catharines) and Andrea Langlois (Victoria)

Guests

Sharon Rempel - Agronomist, Grassroot Solutions, (Victoria, BC) - Sharon's expertise lies in organic production, seed conservation, 'on farm' wheat breeding and heritage crops. Sharon was the founder of "Seedy Saturdays" - community seed exchanges held each year across the country. Sharon is the Director of the Heritage Wheat Project. Her most recent project was Canada's first ever Bread and Wheat Festival, held in Victoria on October 27, 2007.

Linda Crago, Farmer, Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm (Wellandport, ON) - At Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm, Linda's specialty and passion is Heirloom vegetables. Linda offers a tremendous selection of heirloom tomato transplants (over 200 varieties), heirloom pepper and eggplant transplants and more. She operates a CSA program, supplies restaurants, and offers mail order across Canada. Linda grows more than 1000 varieties of veggies on an intensively planted piece of land, and does so organically.

Music

Phil Vernon - Musician, Ãthm Music (Salt Spring Island, BC) - The broadcast marks the radio debut of "Red Fife Wheat" - a new song recorded just days before this broadcast first aired. The creator of the song is Phil Vernon, a musician based on Salt Spring Island, BC. Phil has lent his musical farming talents to the program on a number of previous occasions.
Note: This recording is only a demo.

Many forms of urban agriculture have existed for thousands of years.

As practical and environmentally responsible as growing food within a city can be, the art of gardening has seemingly disappeared in many urban settings. As current farming practices are proving to be unsustainable in the long-term, urban agriculture is looked upon by many as being a critical shift that needs to take place if we are to ensure a level of food security in the near and distant future.

Since March 2008, The Farming in the City series has been incorporating a focus on urban backyard chickens.

Raising poultry within an urban setting provides eggs, fertilizer, garden help and meat with a minimal environmental footprint. Having suffered decades of disconnection from our food, bringing the farm into the city (and in this case animals), can provide a much needed dose of agriculture and food awareness. It's this very disconnection that has allowed for the appalling conditions now found in factory egg and chicken barns.

Episode III
Since Part I of the series introduced a backyard chickener defying a municipal bylaw, a Nelson couple has too joined the ranks of Christoph Martens. Not long after Steve and Hazel took up urban backyard chickening themselves, they sought the experience of Martens to teach them the art of slaughtering. Host Jon Steinman returned to Martens home to record the evening meal!

And lending his voice once again to the series is Bucky Buckaw and his Backyard Chicken Broadcast. Produced in Boise, Idaho at Radio Boise, Bucky hosts weekly segments on backyard chickening. His experience and knowledge can help guide any urbanite wishing to set up backyard chickens. On this third episode of the series, we listen in on three Bucky segments on the topic of eggs.

Guests/Voices

Christoph Martens - Backyard Chicken Farmer (Nelson, BC) - Christoph has spent the last three years working towards greater self-sufficiency. He grows food year-round on his small city property and discovered that chickens are, among other benefits, an ideal pest management tool. He accomodates chickens, ducks and rabbits. Christoph believes the long-standing notion that city-life should be separated from farming has "run it's course" and it's time to move on from this "pseudo-royalty".

Steve and Hazel - Backyard Chicken Farmers (Nelson, BC) - Steve and Hazel are rookie backyard chicken enthusiasts who now house chickens within a city that does not allowe them

Bucky Buckaw - Host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (Boise, ID) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens, as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers. He shares fascinating chicken lore from the millennia that will fascinate even those with no interest in birds.

Launching this episode, we travel to Cuba - a country that has over the past 10 years become of increasing interest to those around the world interested in more ecological models of producing food.

Contrary to the more voluntary means through which some North Americans have adopted and supported more energy efficient and ecological food choices, in 1989, Cubans had little choice. As a result of the Soviet collapse, Cubans were plunged into a situation whereby conventional models of farming had to be abandoned for more organic models.

Deconstructing Dinner correspondent Andrea Langlois travelled to Cuba where she met with Fernando Funes Monzotà - the son of one of the most recognized founders of the Cuban organic agriculture movement - Dr. Fernando Funes Sr. His son has followed in his footsteps and is presently completing his Ph.D on more diversified mixed farming systems at the University of Matanzas.

As the past 17 years has proven to be a regeneration of more biodiverse and ecological food production in Cuba, there has, in tandem, also been an increase in the attention paid to biological systems. Just as the circumstances pushing Cuba to more ecological food production have too begun to impact us here in North America, the second half of today's episode will introduce us to some of our smaller friends, who are, and will increasingly, become more important to the production of our food; insects.

In March 2008, Deconstructing Dinner recorded a workshop titled "Predator, Pollinator, Parasite"; hosted at the 2008 conference of the Certified Organic Associations of BC.

Guests

Fernando Funes Monzotà - Researcher, University of Matanzas (Matanzas, Cuba) - Fernando Funes is the son of celebrated agricultural figure Dr. Fernando Funes Sr., whose organic farming association was awarded the Right Livelihood Award (otherwise known as the alternative Nobel) in 1999. Fernando Funes Monzote has since followed in his footsteps after graduating in 1995 from the University of Havana. Since then he has worked in one of the research institutions in Cuba's Ministry of Agriculture, and after 13 years of research, is just about finished his Ph.D thesis at the University of Matanzas. His research is on mixed farming systems as part of the University's pasture and forage research institute.

Deborah Henderson - Director, Institute for Sustainable Horticulture, Kwantlen University College (Surrey, BC) - Deborah is dedicated to the potential for integrated efforts in conservation biological pest control and sustainable landscaping. Dr. Henderson, along with Kwantlen University Collegeïs School of Horticulture and the Institute for Sustainable Horticulture established a Conservation Biological Control trial Garden, or "Bug Garden" which will be a valuable resource to provide class materials and a living lab for students to practice horticulture activities and study plants, pests, and beneficial insects and the relationship between them.

Fred Eaglesmith
Deconstructing Dinner has long incorporated music into many of our episodes. From Phil Vernon's tunes about Percy Schmeiser, Biotechnology and Terminator Seeds, to Terry Winchell's Pesticide Song and Todd Butler's Farmer Dan, there is clearly no shortage of tunes out there that help add to our weekly content.

In the second half of this episode, we meet with one musician who has long been writing pieces about farming and rural life in Southern Ontario and that is well-known bluegrass performer Fred Eaglesmith. The Juno Award winner has been compared to such icons as Woody Guthrie and Bruce Spingsteen and is the only Canadian musician to have ever held a #1 spot on the Bluegrass charts in the United States. His song John Deere has been played on the show before, and Host Jon Steinman finally had the opportunity to sit down with Fred in person and learn more about his personal history with farming and what inspires some of the heartfelt content making its way into his songs. A few tunes in particular do a great job at capturing the many crises facing Canadian farmers today. And while farmers did once flock to hear Fred perform, the messages in his music are unfortunately confirmed by those who attend his shows today. To use a title of one of Fred's songs, "Things is Changin'", because farmers are no longer in regular attendance at his shows. As Fred puts it, there are hardly any farmers left!

Cross-Canada Trike Tour IV
On May 7, 2008, Darrick Hahn and Sinisa Grgic departed Victoria from the 0-Mile mark of the Trans-Canada Highway and embarked on a cross-Canada journey to raise awareness of Deconstructing Dinner. The pair are travelling by recumbent tricycles (or trikes).

This third installment of the Cross-Canada Trike tour begins at the Quebec border and takes us through to their final destination of Newfoundland.

Guests

Fred Eaglesmith - Musician, Fred Eaglesmith (Port Dover, ON) - Country-folk singer/songwriter Fred J. Eaglesmith was one of nine children born to a farming family in rural southern Ontario. Often employing his difficult upbringing as raw material for his heartland narratives, he issued his self-titled debut LP in 1980. He recorded infrequently throughout the remainder of the decade, releasing only two more albums, The Boy That Just Went Wrong and Indiana Road. However, Eaglesmith gradually became an underground favorite in his native Canada, thanks largely to a relentless touring schedule in tandem with bassist Ralph Schipper and mandolinist Willie P. Bennett.

Darrick Hahn and Sinisa Grgic - Cross-Canada Cyclists, Deconstructing Dinner Cross-Canada Trike Tour (Monkton, ON / London, ON) - Cyclists Sinisa Grgic and Darrick Hahn are old high-school friends based in Southwestern Ontario and are the proprietors of Fresh Entertainment. Darrick grew up on a farm in Monkton, Ontario and Sinisa, who is originally from Croatia, moved to Canada 17 years ago.

Other Audio

People and the Land - Deep Dish TV (New York, NY) - The ongoing "farm crisis" has had a devastating impact not only on the lives of individual farm families, but also on the towns they live in and the land now taken over by the corporate farms. Shortsighted exploitation has eroded the healthfulness of the land and the food it produces. From pastors in Wisconsin to Native Americans in Utah, people around the country agree that the way out of the crisis lies in changing people's attitudes. The land and people must be seen not as resources to be consumed, but as part of a spiritual whole. Produced by Wade Britzius and Marilyn Klinkner (Whitehall, WI).

In November 2006, Princeton University hosted the conference "Food, Ethics and the Environment". The sessions were made up of some of the most well-known names in the world of food activism. A number of the speakers were critical of the dominant food system including author Eric Schlosser who raised the topic of personal versus corporate responsibility to address the damage our global food system has had on our health and the planet.

On the following day of the conference, an executive from McDonald's Corporation presented his company's approach to corporate responsibility, and this broadcast will further explore the issues raised by these two speakers.

Speakers

  Eric Schlosser, Author, "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" (California) - Schlosser started his career as a journalist with the The Atlantic Monthly in Boston, Massachusetts. He quickly gained recognition for his investigative journalism at the magazine earning two awards within two years of joining; he won the National Magazine Award for reporting for this two part series "Reefer Madness" and "Marijuana and the Law", and he won the Sidney Hillman Foundation award for his article, "In the Strawberry Fields". Aside from the Atlantic Monthly, Schlosser's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The Nation and The New Yorker

  Bob Langert, Vice-President Corporate Social Responsibility, McDonald's Corporation (Oak Brook, IL) - On January 19, Langert, posted the first entry on the company blog "Open for Discussion." Langert wrote, "The purpose of this blog" is "to open our doors to corporate social responsibility (CSR) at McDonald's - to share what we're doing and learn what you think." His second post highlights McDonald's long-standing "partnership with Conservation International."

The Livestock Lost series examines the farming and business of meat, dairy and egg production. It explores the known and unknown dangers of meat production and what people can do to source alternatives to what many would refer to as a cultural staple of the North American diet.

Part III - Local Meat? "Not in My Backyard? II"
In this third installment of the series, we continue with our examination of how one community is responding to more restrictive slaughterhouse regulations in the face of increasing demand for safe and humanely-produced local meat.

As of now, it is illegal to purchase locally raised and slaughtered meat within many regions of British Columbia. Our focus on the response in the West Kootenay region of the province provides a great example of how such a project may be received if proposed in other North American communities.

While the critical questioning of any proposed development in a community is indeed a healthy process to undertake collectively, it became clear on Part II that much of the opposition to the abattoir were emotional responses of fear that led to condemning instead of questioning.

Part III presents an even greater focus on one of the most important concerns for any community - water. It was this very concern over water that acted as one of the major setbacks to the slaughterhouse proposed in the Slocan Valley.

Guests/Voices

Kenyon McGee, Spokesperson, Slocan Valley Abattoir Co-operative (Winlaw, BC) - Kenyon is a lawyer with Kenyon McGee Law Corporation and has been involved with the abattoir co-operative since it was first formed in 2007. He has lived in the area for 30 years and has had experience raising and butchering livestock.

Marilyn Burgoon, Director, "Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance" (Winlaw, BC) - The Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance is a non-profit society formed in 1982. The SVWA is a coalition of local watershed groups from the communities of Hills to South Slocan. Since its formation, the Alliance has worked to protect water quality, quantity and timing of flow. The Alliance opposed the proposed abattoir in the Slocan Valley.

Bruce Davidson, Vice-Chair, Concerned Walkerton Citizens (Walkerton, ON) - Since 2000, Bruce has been publicly speaking on the Walkerton water contamintaion tragedy that took the lives of seven community residents and made 2,500 ill. The contamination was the result of complex series of events that began with e.coli entering into the public drinking water supply from a cattle farm. Bruce sits on the board of the Canadian Environmental Law Association and is involved in his local source protection board.

Audio Clips

"Tar Sands & Water" - Produced by Macdonald Stainsby, Dru Oja Jay and Maya Rolbin-Ghanie

Voices
Celina Harpe, Elder, Fort MacKay First Nation (Fort MacKay, AB)
Morris McDonald, Fort MacKay First Nation (Fort MacKay, AB)
George Poitras, Misikew Cree First Nation (Fort Chipewyan, AB)
David Schindler, Professor Biological Sciences, University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB)

Part II - Local Meat? "Not in My Backyard?"
In this second installment of the series, we examine how one community is responding to more restrictive slaughterhouse regulations in the face of increasing demand for safe and humanely-produced local meat.

The narrow Slocan Valley, situated in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, is home to many small-scale farmers raising livestock. The region is one of many in the province without a licensed slaughterhouse -- and any sale of local meat in the area is now deemed criminal, according to regulations put in place in October 2007.

In response, a co-operative abattoir (slaughterhouse) group was formed to ensure that meat can continue to be processed legally in the region. However, the group is now facing opposition from nearby meat-eaters and vegetarians who don't want an abattoir in their neighborhoods.

Guests/Voices

Kenyon McGee, Spokesperson, Slocan Valley Abattoir Co-operative (Winlaw, BC) - Kenyon is a lawyer with Kenyon McGee Law Corporation and has been involved with the abattoir co-operative since it was first formed in 2007. He has lived in the area for 30 years and has had experience raising and butchering livestock.

Corky Evans, MLA Nelson-Creston / NDP Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Lands, "New Democratic Party of British Columbia" (Winlaw, BC) - Corky Evans was elected as the MLA for Nelson Creston in 1991, and was re-elected in 1996. He was once again elected to represent his constituents on May 17, 2005. Corky has ten years experience as an MLA, during which time he served in many cabinet portfolios, including Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. He now serves as Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Lands.

Abra Brynne, MIES Help Desk, British Columbia Food Processors Association (BCFPA) (Nelson, BC) - Abra has been hired part-time to work with the BCFPA's Meat Industry Enhancement Strategy (MIES). Her role is to work with producers in the southern part of the Province and assist them in the transition to the new inspection regulations put in place in October 2007.

This series places corporations in a critical light, hoping to provide a more balanced image to the advertising and PR campaigns launched by some of the most influential food corporations on the planet.

  In this fourth episode of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, we take a look at one of the largest consumer products companies in the world - Unilever.

With such a significant influence on agriculture, food and health here in Canada and abroad, this focus on the company will be spread out over a two-part series.

Part II

On Part II of the Unilever series we explore the historical and current health impacts of margarine and how Unilever has responded to such health concerns.

Unilever has a long history of impacting life in the oceans. Most recently, they have been accused of having a significant contribution on the depletion of cod stocks in the Baltic Sea - stocks that are on the brink of collapse.

Unilever also controls roughly 25% of the Canadian ice cream market. This broadcast will look into some similar tactics the company has used in the world of margarine that are quietly being applied to many of the company's ice cream products. The question is raised - are Unilever's ice creams really ice cream? We will learn of a misleading web site the company maintains that seemingly violates Canadian laws, and we will learn of a controversial ingredient entering into Unilever's ice cream products around the world, an ingredient that replicates the DNA found in a fish, and one that is created through genetic modification!

Guests

Oliver Knowles - Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace (London, UK) - The over-exploitation and mismanagement of fisheries has already led to some spectacular fisheries collapses. The cod fishery off Newfoundland, Canada collapsed in 1992, leading to the loss of some 40,000 jobs in the industry. The cod stocks in the North Sea and Baltic Sea are now heading the same way and are close to complete collapse. Greenpeace has been at the forefront of addressing this serious concern.

Geoff Ross-Smith - Owner, Kootenay Kreamery (Nelson, BC) - Geoff began selling Unilever's Breyers ice cream at a stand in Ainsworth, BC until the quality of the product declined rapidly. Geoff chose to then launch a small independent ice cream company - now selling his products to 10 stores in the area.

Therese Beaulieu - Assistant Director, Communication and Policy, Dairy Farmers of Canada (Ottawa, ON) - A national policy, lobbying and promotional organization representing Canadaïs 16,000 dairy farms. DFC strives to create favourable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry, today and in the future. It works to maintain policies that foster the viability of Canadian dairy producers and promote dairy products and their health benefits.

Joe Cummins - Professor Emeritus of Genetics, University of Western Ontario (London, ON) - Joe is one of the earliest critics of genetic engineering. He obtained BS Horticulture, Washington State University 1955 and PhD Cellular Biology, University of Wisconsin 1962. Taught genetics at Rutgers and the University of Washington, Seattle before joining the University of Western Ontario in 1972. Joe sits on the board of the UK-based Independent Science Panel and is involved with The Institute of Science in Society.

It's been a topic of discussion throughtout many broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner: While there is clearly a widespread interest in supporting more localized food systems, the bigger picture of how such systems can be physically, economically and politically sustained is a far more complicated and serious matter.

So long as our food and farming continues to be built upon the same market-based systems of economics that govern all else, the preservation and access to farmland in close proximity to urban centres will only become increasingly harder to maintain. In most parts of the country agricultural land has become next to worthless for the production of food and we now watch cities sprawl into the fertile soil.

So what's the solution?

One solution is a project currently being expanded upon by The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC) and Vancouver-based FarmFolk/CityFolk. The program is called The Community Farms Program; first mentioned on Deconstructing Dinner on April 19, 2007.

While specific to British Columbia, ths is a model that could be applied anywhere in North America.

'Community farms' represent a more holistic model of food production than the more conventional approaches. They produce additional outputs to food and fibre, such as: ecological services, bioenergy, landscape preservation, employment, cultural heritage, food quality and safety, and animal welfare.

A farm that becomes a part of the Community Farms Program is collectively owned in public trust, long-term leases are assigned for local food production, and farmers are housed on the land. Agricultural activities are small-scale and intensive, and are carried out by a group of people working collaboratively or cooperatively.

This segment uses recordings compiled by Deconstructing Dinner at the 2008 conference of the Certified Organic Associations of BC (COABC) held in Saanich.

Cross-Canada Trike Tour III
On May 7, 2008, Darrick Hahn and Sinisa Grgic departed Victoria from the 0-Mile mark of the Trans-Canada Highway and embarked on a cross-Canada journey to raise awareness of Deconstructing Dinner. The pair are travelling by recumbent tricycles (or trikes).

This third installment of the Cross-Canada Trike tour begins at the Manitoba border and takes us through their time in Ontario.

Guests/Voices

Ramona Scott - Manager, Agricultural Programs The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC) (Victoria, BC) - In 2006, Ramona established two farm co-ops. The land was purchased and co-operatively managed by their respective communities. These operations are the first of its kind in Canada and provide models for future projects.

Heather Pritchard - Executive Director FarmFolk/CityFolk (Vancouver, BC) - Heather has over 40 years experience assisting non-profits, co-operatives and small businesses with financial planning, organizational development and personnel management. She is a member of Glorious Organics Cooperative, a certified organic farm business operating from Fraser Common Farm Cooperative in the Fraser Valley.

Darrick Hahn and Sinisa Grgic - Cross-Canada Cyclists Deconstructing Dinner Cross-Canada Trike Tour (Monkton, ON / London, ON) - Cyclists Sinisa Grgic and Darrick Hahn are old high-school friends based in Southwestern Ontario and are the proprietors of Fresh Entertainment. Darrick grew up on a farm in Monkton, Ontario and Sinisa, who is originally from Croatia, moved to Canada 17 years ago.

Part I - Slaughterhouses and the Culture of Meat
On this Part I of the series we hear from Toronto author Susan Bourette. After going undercover at the Maple Leaf Foods slaughterhouse and processing plant in Brandon, Manitoba, Susan became deeply disturbed at the state in which meat and animals have been degraded. It was this experience that led her to embark on a journey to learn if meat still maintained any cultural significance in North America other than as an industrial commodity. She titled the product of her journey "Carnivore Chic", because as Susan discovered, meat eating does continue to be a cultural experience in some areas of the continent while in others, meat is once again becoming "cool".

Whether it be food safety, animal welfare, human health and environmental concerns, Canadians are no doubt being presented with every reason to rethink where our meat is coming from. There's just one problem: The availability of meat that one may feel safer purchasing (meat that is healthier, that is more humanely produced and has less of an environmental impact) is not so easy to source. This is especially the case in British Columbia.

In May of 2006, Deconstructing Dinner was the first media outlet to cover the controversial new meat inspection regulations. The topic was revisited in 2007 and will be covered once again as a part of the Livestock Lost series. Prior to October 2007, it was legal for a British Columbian to show up at a farm and purchase meat from a farmer. That choice is no longer afforded to anyone because all meat sold in the province must now be processed at a federally or provincially licensed facility. Many areas of the province are without such a facility and as a result, farmers across the province have been closing up shop and/or considering an occupation change.

Meanwhile, the Province of British Columbia continues to promote local food!

Guests/Voices

Susan Bourette, Author, Carnivore Chic (Toronto, ON) - Susan is an award-winning writer with a reputation for investigative journalism. Formerly a reporter for The Globe and Mail, she is now a freelance writer.

Corky Evans, MLA Nelson-Creston / NDP Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Lands, "New Democratic Party of British Columbia" (Winlaw, BC) - Corky Evans was elected as the MLA for Nelson Creston in 1991, and was re-elected in 1996. He was once again elected to represent his constituents on May 17, 2005. Corky has ten years experience as an MLA, during which time he served in many cabinet portfolios, including Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. He now serves as Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Lands.

Jenny MacLeod, Secretary, District 'A' Farmers' Institutes (Gabriola Island, BC) - The District 'A' Farmers' Institutes represents all farmers' institutes on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Powell River.

Tony Toth, Former CEO, BC Food Processors Association (BCFPA) (Vancouver, BC) - The BCFPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to represent all segments of the food, beverage and nutraceutical processing industry, and to coordinate common industry activities and resources under one umbrella. The organization was asked by the province to manage the implementation of the meat inspection regulation changes announced in 2004. In August 2007, Tony Toth was interviewed by Connie Watson on the CBC's The Current. Segments from this interview are featured

Audio Clips

"Meats With Approval" (1946) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

As practical and environmentally responsible as growing food within a city can be, the art of gardening has seemingly disappeared in many urban settings. As current farming practices are proving to be unsustainable in the long-term, urban agriculture is looked upon by many as being a critical shift that needs to take place if we are to ensure a level of food security in the near and distant future.

Since March 2008, The Farming in the City series has been incorporating a focus on urban backyard chickens.

Raising poultry within an urban setting provides eggs, fertilizer, garden help and meat with a minimal environmental footprint. Having suffered decades of disconnection from our food, bringing the farm into the city (and in this case animals), can provide a much needed dose of agriculture and food awareness. It's this very disconnection that has allowed for the appalling conditions now found in factory egg and chicken barns.

Lending their voice yet again to the series is Bucky Buckaw and his Backyard Chicken Broadcast. Produced in Boise, Idaho at Radio Boise, Bucky hosts weekly segments on backyard chickening. His experience and knowledge can help guide any urbanite wishing to set up backyard chickens.

Episode II
On this second episode of the series, we listen in on five Bucky Buckaw episodes: Breeds, Cleanliness, Poop, Pre-Manufactured Chicken Coops and the Economics of Commercial Backyard Chickening..

Guests/Voices

Bucky Buckaw - Host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (Boise, ID) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens, as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers. He shares fascinating chicken lore from the millennia that will fascinate even those with no interest in birds.

Since January 2006, Deconstructing Dinner has been reaching listeners around the world through dozens of radio stations and via the show's web site and weekly podcast.

Now at its 100th episode, this broadcast marks the fourth in a series that has been capturing highlights of past broadcasts alongside musical accompaniments.

Through a careful handpicking of highlights, this 100th episode acts as a collage of broadcasts aired between early May 2007 and late August 2007. The segments have been mixed alongside a soundtrack of music from Nelson, British Columbia's Adham Shaikh and his Dreamtree Project; Germany's Hendrik Weber and his Pantha du Prince project and England's Mark Hillier and his ishq project.

The guest host for this broadcast is Kootenay Co-op Radio's Bob Olsen.

A special thank you to all of the volunteers and staff at Kootenay Co-op Radio CJLY for having laid the foundation for Deconstructing Dinner to reach this important milestone.

On May 15 we aired a segment featuring their departure from Victoria alongside a phone interview while they stopped over in Grand Forks, BC.

This second installment of the Cross-Canada Trike tour begins in the home of Deconstructing Dinner - Nelson, BC. Hahn and Grgic were well taken care of in Nelson, receiving complementary meals from local restaurants and support from the local co-operative grocery store.

Host Jon Steinman pulled them into the studios of Kootenay Co-op Radio and probed further into why the two were so motivated to use their cross-Canada trip to raise awareness of an independent radio show. Of greatest interest to this episode is the story of Darrick Hahn himself as he embodies many of the issues that are discussed here on the show each week.

Hahn grew up on a a conventional dairy farm in the community of Monkton, Ontario; just north of the city of Stratford. Like many young Canadians growing up on farms, Hahn left his rural community as a teenager and migrated into the city. Having most recently lived in Vancouver for the past two years, he came to recognize that the city life was far too removed from the earth and his trip across the country is symbolic of his eventual decision to move back to the farm.

His story is an important window into the lives of Canada's young rural populations.

Guests/Voices

Darrick Hahn and Sinisa Grgic - Cross-Canada Cyclists Deconstructing Dinner Cross-Canada Trike Tour (Monkton, ON / London, ON) - Cyclists Sinisa Grgic and Darrick Hahn are old high-school friends based in Southwestern Ontario and are the proprietors of Fresh Entertainment. Darrick grew up on a farm in Monkton, Ontario and Sinisa, who is originally from Croatia, moved to Canada 17 years ago.

The ingredients entering into the staples of our diet rarely, if ever, originate from the company that produced the final product. Behind the Krafts, Nestles, Coca-Colas and Pizza Huts of the world, are the large corporations that deal with the most important person in the process; the farmer.

The Cargill ExposÃ
It is fitting to launch this series by exploring the most influential and powerful agri-business in the world; Cargill. As one of the largest private companies in the world, Cargill's $75.2 billion in sales employs 149,000 people in 63 countries. But the Minnesota-based company utilizes a strategy that situates much of their presence behind the scenes, and upon addressing the scope of this company's influence, their operations and products make their sales figures and employment statistics close to meaningless. Cargill sets the stage for agriculture and food around the world, and a better understanding of this company, is a better understanding of our dinners.

On this Part II of the Cargill ExposÃ, we tackle topics of child slave labour in the West African cocoa industry, we raise questions over how Cargill's High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has played a role in the global obesity and diabetes epidemics, and we discover how the company was able to arrive in Canada in 1989, and now assume 50% control of Canada's beef.

Guests for Part II of the 2-part Cargill ExposÃ

Cam Ostercamp, President, Beef Initiative Group Canada (B.I.G.) (Blackie, AB) - The organization was formed in 2004 to be a voice for primary producers of beef in Canada. As Cargill is the most influential company in the Canadian beef industry, Cam's experience as both a farmer and President of B.I.G., provides him with a comprehensive background on the influence exercised by the company.

Brian Campbell, Staff Attorney, International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) (Washington, D.C.) - ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. The organization is currently targeting the child labour practices in the West African cocoa industry that company's like Cargill are said to support. Brian Campbell began working with the ILRF as a law clerk in 2001 and was hired as a full time attorney upon graduation from law school in 2004.

Brewster Kneen, Author/Publisher, The Ram's Horn (Ottawa, ON) - Brewster was born in Ohio and studied economics and theology in the U.S. and the U.K. before moving to Toronto in 1965. There he produced public affairs programs for CBC Radio, and worked as a consultant to the churches on issues of social and economic justice. In 1971, with his wife Cathleen and their children Jamie and Rebecca, he moved to Nova Scotia, where they farmed until 1986, starting with a cow-calf operation and then developing a large commercial sheep farm. When he stopped farming, he developed a devoted interest to learn more about Cargill than perhaps anyone has ever attempted. The second edition of his book "Invisible Giant" (2002), provides the most current and comprehensive source for any eater interested in learning more about the origins of our food.

Next to petroleum, coffee is the second most valuable traded commodity in the world and the most valuable agricultural commodity.

As coffee has historically been an integral piece in helping shape empires, economies and cultures, deconstructing coffee comes close to deconstructing humanity itself.

Coffee is constantly scrutinized for its human and social impacts around the world, but rarely do we examine the environmental consequences of a Tim Horton's Double Double, a Starbuck's Cappucino, or even an organic/fair trade espresso.

This broadcast will examine how the removal of human labour from the coffee industry has led to poverty, hunger, environmental destruction and climate change.

Guests

Adam Tomasek - Priority Leader for Borneo-Sumatra, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) (Washington, D.C.) - In January 2007, WWF released a report titled "Gone in an Instant". The report finds coffee lovers the world over are unknowingly drinking coffee illegaly grown inside one of the world's most important national parks for tigers, elephants and rhinos -- Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Indonesia. Illegally grown coffee is mixed with legally grown coffee beans and sold to such companies as Kraft Foods and Nestle among other. This coffee is threatening the future survival of 3 animal species.

Daniel Fourwinds - Capulin Coffee (Nayarit, Mexico) - Capulin is a hand crafted, traditionally sun-dried, 100% jungle shade grown natural coffee. Capulin claims to provide the sweetest, least bitter and most stimulating 100% Arabica Tipica coffee available anywhere, and provides more money per pound directly to local villagers than any other coffee company on the planet. This coffee illustrates the destructive forces ALL water-processed (washed) coffees are having on people and the planet.

Benji Hansen - Clean Bean Cafà (Nelson, BC) - The Clean Bean Cafà exclusively sells Capulin Coffee. Located alongside the main highway running through the city, the coffee is sold out of the back of a trailer and is essentially a drive-thru coffee shop. But while Capulin Coffee presents a real opportunnity for social and environmental change, Benji Hansen is encouraging yet another level of change by NOT offering ANY take-out cups. Instead, Hansen maintains a 'mug orphanage' whereby customers are free to take their ceramic mug with them! Hey fast food chains and coffee shops..........take some notes!

Canadians have long been demanding that foods containing genetically-engineered ingredients be labelled. Over 40 countries around the world have successfully implemented such requirements.

On April 3, 2008, C-517 was debated in the House by members of all parties. Deconstructing Dinner recorded the debate and followed up with Conservative MP Bruce Stanton who opposed the Bill.

The bill was debated yet again on May 5, and on May 7 was defeated by a vote of 156-101.

However, there's one problem; some MPs opposing the bill and joining in the debate on May 5, clearly had very little idea what genetically engineered foods are. Some information in particular, which was shared with the expressed purpose of assuring other MPs and Canadians that GE-foods are safe, was quite simply, untrue.

Because of this misinformation, granting Canadians the freedom to choose between genetically-engineered foods and non-engineered foods, has been negated due to misinformation used to influence the vote.

Of course as per usual, only one other media source has covered this bill, and that was the country's largest agricultural publication - The Western Producer. Unfortunately, even they did not pick up on the misinformed MPs speaking on the bill

Voices/Guests

Rob Merrifield, MP Yellowhead, Conservative Party of Canada (Whitecourt, AB) - Rob represents the Yellowhead riding in Alberta; making up the area west of Edmonton towards the B.C. border. Rob is a farmer in Whitecourt and has been growing genetically engineered crops for many years. He was first elected to the House in 2000 and was re-elected in 2004 and 2006. He has Chaired the Health Committee and has been involved in the Health Portfolio since he was first elected as a Member of Parliament.

Wayne Easter, MP Malpeque, Liberal Party of Canada (North Wilitshire, PEI) - Wayne is the Liberal Party's critic on Agriculture and Agri-Food. He represents the riding of Malpeque which is the central part of Prince Edward Island. Easter was raised on a farm and attended the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. He was first elected as the MP in 1993 and has been relected ever since. Wayne has been very involved in Canadian agricultural issues and has long supported the principles of globalization and free trade with respect to food.

Josh Brandon, Agriculture Campaigner, Greenpeace Canada (Vancouver, BC) - Josh is an agriculture campaigner with Greenpeace and has worked on many projects across the country to raise awareness of issues of genetic engineering. He is a member of the steering committee for the Society for a GE Free BC and is an agriculture representative on the National Council of the Canadian Environmental Network.

President Bush on Food Security
On May 1, 2008, President Bush addressed the latest global food crisis in a press conference from the White House. We'll listen in on this speech and the US foreign policy definition of 'food security'. While global efforts to respond to the food crisis may indeed be providing much-needed aid, it is this very aid and its accompanying policies that is suggested will only further push this food crisis to even more damaging proportions. In the end, the food aid effort is the very same one that has persisted for decades, and let's face it, it hasn't worked.

Lending their voice to help critically examine Bush's speech, will be Anuradha Mittal of the Oakland Institute.

Cross-Canada Trike Tour I
On May 7, 2008, Darrick Hahn and Sinisa Grgic departed Victoria from the 0-Mile mark of the Trans-Canada Highway and embarked on a cross-Canada journey to raise awareness of Deconstructing Dinner. The pair will be travelling by recumbent tricycles (or trikes).

In the summer of 2007, Hahn stumbled across Producer/Host Jon Steinman and it didn't take long for Hahn to become a fan of the show. "After listening to Deconstructing Dinner more and more, I felt compelled to spread the word about the show," says Hahn. "So as we cross the country, we will encourage everyone to listen to the show and learn more about the state of our food system."

Hahn and Grgic believe that many of our current health problems are directly, or indirectly a result of an unsustainable food system that is built primarily upon profit. The trip will be focused on raising awareness and not money. "You keep your money, and with more awareness, you can choose what to do with it," says Grgic. "We hope you use it to buy healthier food from local farms in your community, or support Deconstructing Dinner, a voice that is not yet well-represented in the mainstream media today.

En route, the two cyclists will stop in at farms and markets and explore Canada's food and farming culture. "We hope to eat as locally as possible along the way, and wild plants are not off-limits," says Hahn!

Hahn and Grgic will be periodically updating a blog with photos and a journal and weekly updates through phone interviews will be airing on Deconstructing Dinner each week.

On this episode, we hear from correspondent Andrea Langlois interviewing the cyclists as they departed Victoria, and we listen in on segments of a phone interview between Host Jon Steinman and cyclist Darrick Hahn. Hahn spoke to Jon from inside the cheese-making facility of Jerseyland Organics in Grand Forks, BC.

Guests/Voices

Darrick Hahn and Sinisa Grgic - Cross-Canada Cyclists Deconstructing Dinner Cross-Canada Trike Tour (Monkton, ON / London, ON) - Cyclists Sinisa Grgic and Darrick Hahn are old high-school friends based in Southwestern Ontario and are the proprietors of Fresh Entertainment. Darrick grew up on a farm in Monkton, Ontario and Sinisa, who is originally from Croatia, moved to Canada 17 years ago.

Anuradha Mittal - Executive Director Oakland Institute (Oakland, CA) - Anuradha Mittal, a native of India, is an internationally renowned expert on trade, development, human rights and agriculture issues. After working as the codirector of Food First/ Institute for Food and Development Policy, Mittal established the Oakland Institute, a progressive policy think tank, in 2004.

George W. Bush - President United States of America (Washington, D.C.)

Duane Clarridge - ex CIA (1955-1987) (USA)

John Pilger - Journalist (London, UK)

Conscientious Cooks is a periodic series that explores the foodservice industry and those who are making unique efforts to create more sustainable interactions between the field and the table.

On part three of this series, we visit with a unique concept that allows for a deconstructing of restaurants themselves. Whether it be cafes, diners, or five star restaurants, all are based on a very similar model that is rarely, if ever, examined critically. Maria Solakofski's Guerrilla Gourmet consists of upwards to 10 complete strangers coming together within her home, where she prepares 3-course meals or brunches and provides an educational experience that could certainly not be received at any other restaurant. Her passion for providing this is clear upon observing the source of her ingredients - her backyard garden and local farmers and producers she knows personally.

The intimate and human interactions integral to the Guerrilla Gourmet experience, helps suggest that the traditional restaurant experience does little to capture relationships with food and our surroundings. As one of her guests so succintly put it, "the Guerrilla Gourmet helps disengage minds conditioned by patterns of passive consumption"

The first half of the broadcast takes listeners on a tour of Toronto's Dufferin Grove Farmers' Market - an organic-only market having operated year-round for close to 5 years. Solakofski sources most of her ingredients from Toronto-area markets, and host Jon Steinman visited with Maria both at the market and in her home to learn more about her unique approach to "eating out". Guerrilla Gourmet is 'slow food' at its best!

Guests

Maria Solakofski - Guerrilla Gourmet (Toronto, ON) - In addition to her role as a Shiatsu therapist, Maria has her hands in many food awareness projects in the urban metropolis of Toronto. As part of the Real Food for Real Kids program, Maria leads children on tours of Toronto-area farmers' markets, educating them on the origins of their food. Maria is also very involved in the Kensington Market community of the city where she hosts Guerrilla Gourmet - the feature of this broadcast.

This series will explore what risks accompany the loss of such diversity and will expose the many farmers and organizations who are preserving Canada's heritage varieties of food and protecting our food supply from the exclusive control of multinational interests.

Part II - Gardens of Destiny
  On Part II, we meet with heritage seed saver Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds. Jason is exalted as a Canadian food security hero and icon in Gardens of Destiny - the recently released film by Vancouver filmmaker Jocelyn Demers.

Gardens of Destiny investigates many important issues related to pollution and health. These include genetic engineering, Terminator seeds and the pitfalls of industrial agriculture. Additionally, it examines how organic food has proven to be protective against cancer. The film weaves the viewer through Jason's seed sanctuary on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, and sprinkled throughout the film are interviews with well-known food security and organic advocates. This episode features a selection of audio segments from the film.

To help introduce the importance of Jason's work, Host Jon Steinman provides commentary on the role of the media in covering the recent global food crisis.

Guests/Voices

Jocelyn Demers - Producer/Director, Gardens of Destiny, (Vancouver, BC) - Jocelyn is a radio journalist-turned-filmmaker who, after becoming exhausted with the lack of interest by his employer to accomodate critical environmental pieces, embarked on a journey into independent filmmaking.

Dan Jason, Seed Saver, Salt Spring Seeds (Salt Spring Island, BC) - Dan is an organic gardener with a fantastic selection of seeds, vegetables, grains, medicinal plants and flowers. He is also the head of the grassroots organization the Seed and Plant Sanctuary for Canada, a network of Canadian gardeners who are preserving as much plant diversity as is possible. Dan has been a long time critic of the non-organic food system in North America.

Herb Barbolet - Associate, Simon Fraser University's Centre for Sustainable Community Development (CSCD) (Vancouver, BC) - The CSCD is a teaching and research unit of Simon Fraser University, established in 1989. The Centre uses the resources and talents of the University to teach and encourage accountable and sustainable community development. As Associate since 2003, Herb has co-authored food assessment studies for provincial health authorities and a guide to food assessments for the provincial health services authority. Herb farmed organically for ten years and was co-founder of FarmFolk/CityFolk, a nonprofit that works to create local, sustainable foor systems. He appears frequently on radio, in print, and on television. He remains an active food consultant.

Guy Dauncey - Speaker/Author/Organizer, Earth Future (Victoria, BC) Guy Dauncey is a speaker, author, and organizer who works to develop a positive vision of a sustainable future, and to translate that vision into action. He is author of the award-winning book Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change; Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic, and 9 other titles. He is President of the BC Sustainable Energy Association, Co-chair of Prevent Cancer Now; Executive Director of The Solutions Project; and Publisher of EcoNews, a monthly newsletter that promotes the vision of a sustainable Vancouver Island.

Omega-3s are indeed a hot topic, although it appears that all we North Americans really know, is that Omega-3 eggs, fish and fish oils, and flax products, are all good sources. Consuming these products as we've been told, reduces the risk of heart disease.

Of course the responsible thing to do is to remain skeptical and question any new diet craze that hits our culinarily confused culture. As for Omega-3s, it appears some critical information has evaded the radar of North American media and hence the eating public.

In a fascinating book by Author Susan Allport, the history, science and hype surrounding Omega-3s is laid out for all to see. Titled "The Queen of Fats - Why Omega-3s Were Removed From the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them", Allport reveals that our collective understanding of these vital fatty acids is way off.

According to Allport, lacking in exposure has been Omega-6s, another family of essential fatty acids that compete with Omega-3s. And so if both are in competition, why is it we never hear about the 6s?

In October 2007, CBC's The National aired a segment on the increasing confusion surrounding Omega-3s and questioned how much fish new and expecting mothers should be consuming. After a read through The Queen of Fats, it appears that not only has the CBC deepened this collective confusion, it has equally encouraged the further pillaging of our already vulnerable oceans.

Unlike most media coverage on diet and nutrition, this episode will not so much suggest what you should or should not be eating, but will instead look to capture how our lifestyles and the industrialization of our food has had devastating impacts on our health.

We also hear segments from a September 2007 interview between Host Jon Steinman and Cargill Canada President, Len Penner.

Guests/Voices

Susan Allport, Author, The Queen of Fats (Katonah, NY) - An award-winning writer for publications such as the New York Times and Gastronomica, Susan Allport has spent the past decade exploring how food shapes behavior and health. In 2006, University of Calfornia Press published her book The Queen of Fats: Why Omega-3s Were Removed from the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them.

JoAnne Buth - President, Canola Council of Canada (Winnipeg, MB) - A national trade association representing producers, input suppliers, processors and marketers of canola and its products.

Len Penner - President, Cargill Canada (Winnipeg, MB) - One of Canada's largest agricultural merchandisers and processors with interests in meat, egg, malt and oilseed processing, livestock feed, salt manufacturing, as well as crop input products, grain handling and merchandizing. The company is a subsidiary of Cargill Limited based in the United States. In February 2007, Deconstructing Dinner ran a 2-part series on the operations of the company.

We also listen in on a workshop hosted at the COABC conference by Biodynamic farmer and egg producer Karl Hann. Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that treats the farm as a unified and individual organism, emphasizing balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants and animals as a closed, self-nourishing system. Hann's presentation was titled "The Good, The Bad and The Balance". He explored the importance of microorganisms in the soil and uses the biodynamic farming philosophy to convincingly illustrate how disruptive and destructive most dominant farming practices are today.

Voices/Guests

Rebecca Kneen, Craft Brewer / Farmer, CrannÃg Ales (Sorrento, BC) - Crannograve;g Ales is Canada's only Certified Organic farmhouse microbrewery, one of only a handful of such breweries in the world. They brew unfiltered, unpasteurized ales using only organic ingredients, some of which come right from their own farm - Left Fields. Located on the farm is a hopyard, which is home to over seven varieties of hops. The hopyard forms the basis for ongoing research into organic small-scale hop production.

Karl Hann, Farmer, Biota Farm (Abbotsford, BC) - Karl is a biodynamic farmer and egg producer. He was a Green Party candidate for the Abbotsford riding during the 2004 federal election. Karl was born and raised in Romania and has been living and farming in Canada for over 20 years.

While GE-crops remain a heated concern on the prairies, the debate over their presence in Canada's food supply took an important step in Ottawa on April 3, 2008. Canadians have long been demanding that foods containing genetically-engineered ingredients be labelled. Since 1993, over six Bills have now been introduced by Members of Parliament, with the most recent being Bill C-517. First introduced into the House of Commons on February 2008 by the Bloc QuÃbÃcois's Gilles-A. Perron, the Bill is calling for the mandatory labelling of foods containing genetically-engineered ingredients. On April 3, 2008, C-517 was debated in the House by members of all parties. Deconstructing Dinner recorded the debate and followed up with Conservative MP Bruce Stanton who opposes the Bill.

Voices/Guests

Gilles-A. Perron, MP RiviÃre-des-Mille-Ãles, Bloc QuÃbÃcois (Saint-Eustache, QC) - Gilles-A. was first elected as Member of Parliament in 1997 and was re-elected in 2000, 2004 and 2006. He currently serves as the Critic on Veterans Affairs.

Bruce Stanton, MP Simcoe North, Conservative Party of Canada (Orillia, ON) - Bruce was first elected to the House Of Commons in January 2006.

Robert Thibault, MP West Nova, Liberal Party of Canada (Yarmouth, NS) - Robert Thibault was first elected to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for West Nova in November 2000 and was re-elected in 2004 and again in 2006. In July 2004, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health. He currently serves as the Health Critic.

Nathan Cullen, MP Skeena-Bulkley Valley, New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) (Smithers, BC) - Nathan Cullen was elected to his first term as Member of Parliament for SkeenaïBulkley Valley at the age of 31, on June 28, 2004. He was soon named the New Democratic Partyïs national critic for three key portfolios: Environment, National Parks and Youth.

Marcel Lussier, MP Brossard-La-Prairie, Bloc QuÃbÃcois (Brossard, QC) - Lussier ran for office as a member of the Bloc Quïbïcois in the 2004 election, but was defeated by Jacques Saada. In the 2006 he ran again, defeating Saada by approximately 2% of the vote. Lussier has been appointed as the environment critic by Bloc's leader, Gilles Duceppe.

While the content of his presentation was focused on BC, his message is important to all Provinces and States throughout North America, as the scenario that has played out in BC, can be seen as an extreme version of what is playing out across the continent.

We round off the show with a recording from the March 2008 conference of the Certified Organic Associations of BC hosted in Sidney. Presented at the conference were the winners of the COABC's Fresh Voices contest. The contest solicited submissions from anyone wishing to share their vision of how "sustainable organic production and marketing systems could improve profitability, stewardship of the land and water, and quality of life for farmers, ranchers and their communities". The winner of that contest was Jordan Marr who has been embarking on a path towards becoming a farmer. He presented his winning essay to those in attendance at the conference.

Voices

Corky Evans, MLA Nelson-Creston / NDP Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Lands, "New Democratic Party of British Columbia" (Winlaw, BC) - Corky Evans was elected as the MLA for Nelson Creston in 1991, and was re-elected in 1996. He was once again elected to represent his constituents on May 17, 2005. Corky has ten years experience as an MLA, during which time he served in many cabinet portfolios, including Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. He now serves as Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Lands.

Jordan Marr - Wanna-Be-Farmer (Sooke, BC) - Jordan is a 26-year-old self-titled "wanna-be farmer" who has been visiting farms throughout BC hoping to learn more about the practical and political aspects of farming. In the span of five years, Jordan has, as he says, gone from being a suburban kid completely clueless about food to a smug university student convinced he knew everything about food, to a humbled farm apprentice who realized he knew very little about it. In 2006 Jordan graduated from a bachelor program in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia, and then apprenticed for seven months on an organic farm in Nova Scotia. Today, Jordan is considering farming as a career.

As practical and environmentally responsible as growing food within a city can be, the art of gardening has seemingly disappeared in many urban settings. As current farming practices are proving to be unsustainable in the long-term, urban agriculture is looked upon by many as being a critical shift that needs to take place if we are to ensure a level of food security in the near and distant future.

The Farming in the City series will now be incorporating a new focus on urban backyard chickens. Raising poultry within an urban setting provides eggs, fertilizer, garden help and meat with a minimal environmental footprint. Having suffered decades of disconnection from our food, bringing the farm into the city, and in this case animals, can provide a much needed dose of agricultural and food awareness. It's this very disconnection that has allowed for the appalling conditions now found in factory egg and chicken barns.

Helping guide this series will be Bucky Buckaw and his Backyard Chicken Broadcast. Produced in Boise, Idaho at Radio Boise, Bucky hosts weekly segments on backyard chickening. His experience and knowledge can help guide any urbanite wishing to set up some backyard chickens. On this broadcast, we listen in on four Bucky Buckaw episodes: Intro, Shelter, Feed and Winter.

Backyard Chickens can present a controversial issue in many parts of North America. While many cities do indeed permit the raising of poultry within city limits, some cities do not. One of these "no chicken" cities is Nelson, BC. We will visit with one Nelsonite who has been working to reduce his ecological footprint, and in doing so, is defying the environmentally irresponsible City of Nelson bylaw.

Guests/Voices

Bucky Buckaw - Host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (Boise, ID) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens, as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers. He shares fascinating chicken lore from the millennia that will fascinate even those with no interest in birds.

Christoph Martens - Backyard Chicken Farmer (Nelson, BC) - Christoph has spent the last three years working towards greater self-sufficiency. He grows food year-round on his small city property and discovered that chickens are, among other benefits, an ideal pest management tool. He accomodates chickens, ducks and rabbits. Christoph believes the long-standing notion that city-life should be separated from farming has "run it's course" and it's time to move on from this "pseudo-royalty".

It is an honour to conicidentally feature two of Canada's finest on this broadcast. Both are recipients of The Right Livelihood Award (the "Alternative Nobel"). Water, The Blood of the Earth
Water has long been taken for granted throughout the Global North. We use it in seemingly ever-increasing ways without thinking much about where it comes from, where it goes, and how much water was used to produce the many products/services we use daily. The food system is just one of these significant users of water, and the current state of water around the world is of significant concern. The Council of Canadians' National Chairperson, Maude Barlow, believes water is the greatest ecological and human rights crisis of our time. In March 2008, Deconstructing Dinner recorded her speak in Castlegar, British Columbia. This segment will mark the beginning of a more concentrated focus on water issues on shows to come. Monsanto Pays Percy Schmeiser
Saskatchewan Farmer, Percy Schmeiser, spent between 1998 and 2004 standing up to one of the most influential agricultural companies in the world - Monsanto. While it was Monsanto that took Schmesier to court on that occasion, the roles were reversed on Wednesday March 19, 2008, when Monsanto found itself being taken to court by Schmeiser. It was the first case between Monsanto and Schmeiser that led to the 2004 Supreme Court of Canada Decision that ruled in favour of Monsanto. While the decision assured that regardless of contamination, a farmer cannot grow patented seeds, Schmeiser recognized that if the company is indeed the owner of the plant, then they should be liable for the damages that their property causes others. There is yet no legal precedent in Canada that has determined who maintains the liability for damages caused by patented plants. Monsanto does however accept moral responsiblity for what are known as "volunteers" (unwanted plants appearing on farmers fields). The company employs a program that offers to remove volunteer plants from farmers fields. In October 2005, Schmeiser's farm was visited yet again by Monsanto, and again, in the form of their RoundUp Ready Canola. Schmeiser took advantage of the company's removal program, but discovered that they would only remove the plants if he signed a release form that contained a confidentiality clause, which he disapproved of. What followed led to an out of court settlement on March 19, 2008, and Monsanto paid Schmeiser the $660 it cost him to have the plants removed. Tune in to this broadcast to hear an exclusive interview with Percy by CFCR Don Kossick - the only media standing outside the courthouse on that momentous day. Guests/Voices Percy Schmeiser, Farmer, www.percyschmeiser.com (Bruno, SK) Schmeiser is a 77-year old farmer who, along with his wife Louise, have received global recognition for their passion and devotion to standing up for the rights of farmers. In December 2007, the Schmeisers were awarded the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the "Alternative Nobel"). "I have always campaigned on the right of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed. This is what I have been doing for the last 50 years. I will continue to support any efforts to strengthen the rights of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed." Maude Barlow, National Chairperson, Council of Canadians (Ottawa, ON) - The Council of Canadians is Canadaâs largest public advocacy organization. Barlow is also the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project, which is working internationally for the right to water. She serves on the boards of the International Forum on Globalization and Food and Water Watch, as well as being a Councillor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council. Maude is the recipient of six honorary doctorates, the 2005/2006 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship Award, and the 2005 Right Livelihood Award (known as the âAlternative Nobelâ?) for her global water justice work. She is also the best-selling author or co-author of sixteen books, including Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop Corporate Theft of the Worldâs Water and the recently released Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water.

The Local Grain Revolution I
For most Canadians wishing to adopt a more local diet, the overwhelming rise in demand in just the past year has left a large question mark hovering over the heads of many; where is all this local food so many are demanding?

The state of farming and food production in North America has clearly evolved into such a poor state of affairs, little infrastructure and incentive remain to respond to this current demand for local product. While fruits and vegetables may be the most easily accessible local foods at farmers' markets and select grocery stores, grains are not often referred to when speaking of local food. When we start to envision what plant-based foods we're still missing out on in sufficient local quantities, we can list off wheat, oats, barley, rye, spelt, flax, hemp, corn, and leguminous plants such as beans and lentils.

On this exciting broadcast, we explore the creation of a project launched by two conservation groups wishing to experiment with the creation of a local grain market in the middle of the mountains of British Columbia. Matt Lowe of Nelson's West Kootenay EcoSociety and Brenda Bruns of the Creston branch of Wildsight have teamed up with a number of farmers, processors, bakers and eaters, to see if such an idea is indeed possible.

The project will see three Creston-area farmers commit to growing three types of grain in the coming 2008 season. Two-hundred member shares will be issued to residents of Nelson and Creston, and come harvest time, those two-hundred members, will hopefully, receive 100lbs of whole grains. If requested, a miller in Creston and Nelson will be on hand to turn those grains into flour or flakes. This will ensure members are only using the freshest, tastiest and most nutritious product available.

Deconstructing Dinner in Our Schools II
How do food and agricultural issues make their way into educational settings? On this episode of Deconstructing Dinner in Our Schools, we hear from 10-year old Kodiak Morasky who chose a very unique topic to present to his grade 4 classmates in Nelson, B.C. Kodiak was introduced to the world of factory animal farms through the on-line animated series of short films known as The Meatrix. The film had a profound impact on Kodiak, and we listen in on his in-class presentation. Upon learning of the horrific stories coming out of North America's factory farms, we hear one child ask, "can I sue the government"?

Guests/Voices (The Local Grain Revolution)

Matt Lowe, Climate Change Campaigner, West Kootenay EcoSociety (Nelson, BC) - The West Kootenay EcoSociety promotes ecologically and socially sound communities while protecting species and ecosystems in the Southern Columbia Mountains ecoregion. The organization hosted a highly successful Regional Climate Change conference in 2007.

Drew Gailius, Farmer, Full Circle Farm (Canyon, BC) - Drew and Joanne Gailius are new farmers. They sell most of their product at the farmgate. In the past two years they have successfully grown wheat and oats and are eager to find a local market to supply.

Other Voices: Keith Huscroft (Lister, BC), Brenda Bruns (Creston, BC), Jenny Truscott (Creston, BC), David Everest (Nelson, BC)

Guests/Voices (Deconstructing Dinner in Our Schools)

Kodiak Morasky, 10-Year Old Student, Blewett Elementary School (Nelson, BC) - Kodiak's 10 years of age shouldn't fool you. He is deeply concerned with the state of Canada's food supply. His concerns include factory animal farms, genetic engineering and chemical pesticides among others. He is passionate about sharing this information with his friends and classmates.

When taking a closer look at the demographics of the Canadian workforce and dividing it up among trades, farmers represent the oldest demographic in the country at a median age of 52 years. Within agriculturally dense provinces such as Saskatchewan, in 2007, the average farmer was 56 years of age and only 12.3% of all farmers there were under the age of 35.

As skills and knowledge are replaced by fossil fuel dependent systems and technologies, this aging demographic represents a significant threat to the future of Canada's food supply.

Where are Canada's future farmers, and how does anyone interested in farming get involved?

In March 2008, Host Jon Steinman travelled to Sidney, B.C. to attend the annual conference of the Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia (COABC). On this broadcast, we listen in on one workshop titled, "Starting Your Organic Farm".

Write to a Farmer Who Inspires You
As the age demographic among farmers continues to change, so too is the population distribution between Canada's urban and rural communities. As the population increasingly becomes concentrated within cities, Canada's urban populations have become far more removed from the source of their food than ever before. One symptom of this change in population distribution has been a seeming loss of appreciation for the all-important grower and producer of food - the farmer. This didn't sit well with Nelson, British Columbia resident Paul Edney who launched an event in collaboration with Nelson's Kootenay Country Store Co-operative. The event was titled "Write to a Farmer who Inspires You".

Guests/Voices

Robin Tunnicliffe, Farmer/Co-owner, Feisty Field Organic Farm / Saanich Organics (Victoria, BC) - Saanich Organics is a community of farmers from small, certified organic farms who work together: Three Oaks Farm, Northbrook Farm, and Robin's Feisty Field Organic Farm. Feisty Field grows a variety of fruits and vegetables near Prospect Lake within the city limits of Victoria. Robin is currently completing a Masters degree at the University of Victoria on the value of local agriculture.

Paul Edney, Author/Director, We Are What We Do (Nelson, BC) - Paul is the Canadian director of the International We Are What We Do movement. He authored the Canadian version of Change the World for Ten Bucks, which outlines fifty simple, everyday actions that everyone can do to make a difference, such as: take public transport, decline plastic bags where possible, plant a tree, and write to someone who inspires you. Change the World for Ten Bucks aims to create a global community of people who are what they do. It started in the UK, and has launched in Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Canada. Worldwide, over 400,000 copies are in print!

Our most recent Part I of the multi-part series "A Primer on Pesticide Propaganda" has assisted in inspiring the collection of individuals lending their voices to this show.

Of greatest relevance in tying the Pesticide series to today, is reintroducing the very ideology that drives the conventional food system of which we are all mostly a part, and that is one founded upon science. Farmer and Poet Wendell Berry has some important thoughts on this scientific relationship with nature and food.

Also lending their voice will be Michael Pollan as he presents his unique and provocative thoughts on an alternative approach to viewing nature and our food; from the plants' and insects' point of view!

Rounding off the show, we'll listen in on an episode of Peak Moment Television, a weekly broadcast produced in Nevada County, California. Judy Alexander has been experimenting with growing as much food as she possibly can around her Port Townshend home. This tour of her garden will present an on-the-ground example of how engaging in localized food production, one can begin to witness a very alternative ideology to how our food is produced. Instead of relying on science and its reductionist and limiting theories, the wisdom of natural systems are instead allowed to guide what seems to be a far more responsible approach to sourcing our sustenance.

Voices

Michael Pollan - Journalist/Author The Omnivore's Dillema (Berkeley, CA) - Most recently the author of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. His previous book, The Omnivoreâs Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006), was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by the New York Times and the Washington Post. It also won the California Book Award, the Northern California Book Award, the James Beard Award for best food writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is also the author of The Botany of Desire: A Plantâs-Eye View of the World (2001).

Wendell Berry - Farmer/Poet Lane's Landing Farm (Port Royal, KY) - An American academic, cultural and economic critic, and farmer. He is a prolific author of novels, short stories, poems, and essays. Berry writes and works the land on Lane's Landing Farm, five miles from his birthplace in northern Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Madison, Indiana.

Other Featured Audio

Peak Moment: Community Responses For a Changing Energy Future are weekly 28-minute programs featuring host Janaia Donaldson's conversations and on-site tours with guests. It highlights practical solutions and responses towards a lower-energy, more connected, sustainable life. How can we thrive, build stronger communities, and help one another in this time of transition? The show is cablecast on community-access TV stations throughout the USA. (Episode 87 with Judy Alexander)

 Judy Alexander - (Port Townshend, WA) - In summer 2006, Judy Alexander embarked on an experiment to see how much food she could grow, and how many neighbors could benefit, from the garden around her house. Check out her homegrown rainwater collection and irrigation system -- watering her 60+ edible crops. Meet the bees, the chickens and the worms. And catch her joy in producing so much food for so little effort.

This series has long been in the works since Host Jon Steinman attended the CropLife Canada conference back in September 2007.

Since the recent streak of municipal pesticide bans were put into place across Canada, the pesticide industry has been on the defense. Represented by trade association CropLife Canada, the public relations strategies being used by the industry were front and centre at the Saskatoon conference. But what about in the media?

On this multi-part series, Deconstructing Dinner explores the messages coming from industry and Canada's regulatory bodies; it will examine research on the pesticide and cancer connections; it will dig deep into the care that agricultural migrant workers receive when working within our borders; and it will challenge one of the most frequently used arguments - "Without pesticides, the world would go hungry!".

Part I
As part of his conference media package, Jon Steinman received a DVD produced by seed and pesticide manufacturer Syngenta Crop Protection Canada. Titled, "A Primer on Pesticides", this production will provide the basis for this Part I of a multi-part series A Primer on Pesticide Propaganda.

Using historical recordings on pesticides, Steinman explores the history of pesticide use throughout North America and makes the connections between war and agriculture. The underlying ideology of being at war against nature is placed into a critical light with Steinman's deconstructing of the many "enemy" weeds that are destroyed by chemicals every day. As is discovered, some of those pesky weeds are actually far more nutritious and resilient than most of what makes up the dominant food supply!

Voices

Donna Houghton - Toxicologist Syngenta Crop Protection Canada (Guelph, ON)

Robert Wright - Field Development Manager - Eastern Canada Syngenta Crop Protection Canada (Guelph, ON)

Marian Stypa - Regulatory and Biological Development Syngenta Crop Protection Canada (Guelph, ON)

Nancy Tout - Lead Scientist Dietary Safety Assessment Syngenta Crop Protection Canada (Guelph, ON)

Lorne Hepworth, President, CropLife Canada (Toronto, ON) - CropLife Canada is the trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of plant science innovations â pest control products and plant biotechnology â for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings.

Other Featured Audio

Death to Weeds (1947) - A short film produced by Dow Chemical to promote the use of their pesticide 2,4-D.

How do food issues make their way into our public schools? As Deconstructing Dinner's Jon Steinman recalls, "I remember graduating from high school not knowing the first thing about growing food and having very little idea how the food I consumed impacted the planet on which we live." With schools being the building blocks of our society and culture, how does our publicly-funded education system incorporate into curriculums this all important subject - food.

Part I
Host Jon Steinman takes a ride with Nelson-based Earth Matters as they introduce their Food-to-Table program in local public schools. As a component of the countrywide One-Tonne Challenge, the program involved in-class presentations on how our food choices influence climate change, and saw students visit local grocery stores where food was discussed in-depth.

Guests

Colleen Matte and Su Donovaro - Earth Matters (Nelson, BC) - Colleen and Su were the coordinators of the One-Tonne Challenge Food-to-Table program. Earth Matters is a youth-driven environmental organization focusing on the development and implementation of innovative experiential education and community development programs.

Karl Machado - Teacher, L.V. Rogers Secondary School (Nelson, BC) - Karl teaches a unique environmental science class for Grade 12 students. His class particpated in the Food-to-Table program.

Marilyn Lawrence - Teacher, A.I. Collinson Elementary School (Nelson, BC) - Marilyn is the grade 4/5 teacher. Her class participated in the Food-to-Table program.

Sarah Miles and Amber Johnson - Students, L.V. Rogers Secondary School (Nelson, BC)

Grade 4/5 Students - A.I. Collinson Elementary School (Nelson, BC)

Future of Food III
In November 2007, Deconstructing Dinner attended one of the first regional food security conferences ever held in Canada. With a population of less than 10,000 people, the City of Nelson, British Columbia, hosted over 250 people for the first evening of keynote speakers. With an equally impressive 170 in attendance on the second day of keynote speakers and workshops, the conference acts as an example for other Canadian communities wishing to begin organizing themselves to take greater control over the food available to them.

Deconstructing Dinner hopes the raw recordings, shows, and resources presented on the Conference Page will aid groups across the country looking to ensure a socially and environmentally responsible local food system that benefits local economies.

Part III
On Part III we listen in on segments from two of the four conference workshops: Technical Aspects of Farming and Community Development. This episode highlights the dialogue that such a conference can help inspire, and emphasizes the wealth of knowledge and talent that may be hidden in the recesses of North American communities.

Conscientious Cooks V
In September 2007, Host Jon Steinman travelled to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. During his time there, he sat down to a tasty meal at Weczeria - a small restaurant where chef Daniel Walker ensures ingredients are uniquely Saskatchewan. While some restaurants display their coveted awards, Walker instead adorns his walls with photographs of his suppliers.

Voices

Merv Sloss, Local Flavours Products and Services Co-operative (Creston, BC) - LFPSC is a food co-operative that looks to directly link producers, processors, distributors and retailers with consumers.

Herb Barbolet, Associate - Simon Fraser University's Centre for Sustainable Community Development (CSCD) (Burnaby, BC) - The CSCD is a teaching and research unit of Simon Fraser University, established in 1989. The Centre uses the resources and talents of the University to teach and encourage accountable and sustainable community development. Herb farmed organically for ten years and was co-founder of FarmFolk/CityFolk, a nonprofit that works to create local, sustainable foor systems.

Jeremy Lack, Farmer - Mad Dog Farm (Tarrys, BC)

Wayne Harris, Farmer - Mountain Valley Dairy (Lister, BC)

And more from workshop delegates, panelists and facilitators...

Guests

Dan Walker, Owner/Chef - Weczeria: Food & Wine (Saskatoon, SK) - The word "Weczeria" is an homage to Daniel and Nicole Walker's roots. Daniel is of Ukrainian ancestry and Nicole is of Polish ancestry; together they chose Weczeria, the Ukrainian word for âevening meal.â? Although the restaurant's cuisine is not Ukrainian, the coupleâs heritage influences their preference for local ingredients and their desire to feed people the way they were fed growing up, how good Ukrainians feed people: with heart and hospitality.

In October 2007, Host Jon Steinman paid a visit to the community of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. With a population of 80,000, it came as a surprise to discover that the city does not maintain a functioning farmers' market where food is the focus. Recognizing how the absence of one threatened the already vulnerable state of Vancouver Island agriculture, the Food Sustainability Sub-Committee of the Mid-Island Co-op organized a one-day Farmers' Showcase. The event acted as a trial farmers' market to determine the feasibility of such an event on a weekly basis.

With over 3,000 people swarming upon the farmers and producers, the success of the market was a clear sign of the healthy potential for an increase in local food production on Vancouver Island.

Guests

Dirk Becker, Farmer/Activist, Compassion Farms (Lantzville, BC) - Dirk farms organically on 2.5 acres. He uses farming as a means to inspire others to reconnect with the land of which we are a part. Dirk is a member of the Food Sustainability Sub-Committee of the Mid-Island Co-op. He hosts a weekly radio program on CHLY Nanaimo - Heart and Mind, Tuesday, 1-2pm.

Arata Tanaka, Baker, Flour, Water, Salt Breads (Mill Bay, BC) - In 2006, Arata was permitted to build a wood-fired brick oven on the property of Merridale Estate Cidery. He sells his bread at Vancouver Island markets.

Betty Benson, Farmer, Cedar Valley Poultry (Nanaimo, BC) - The Benson family has been supporting agriculture in the Nanaimo area since 1948. Betty now raises organic Chickens and Turkeys and recently launched an adopt-a-turkey program.

Bob Handel, Farmer, Happy Beef (Nanaimo, BC) - Maintaining a small herd of cattle, according to their customers, Bob and Gerry Handel sell some of the finest tasting beef on Vancouver Island.

Maureen Drew, Partner, Artisan Edibles Fine Food Company (Parksville, BC) - Artisan Edibles condiments and preserves blend the best flavours of Vancouver Island and the world. Their mission is to develop flavourful condiments using Vancouver Island's natural bounty.

Stan Reist, Co-Owner, Flying Dutchman (Nanaimo, BC) - Supplies bees, bee-keeping supplies and honey sales from the Mountains and Valleys of Vancouver Island.

Craig Evans, Landscape & Garden Coordinator, Providence Farm (Duncan, BC) - A working organic farm dedicated to restoring the spirit and skills of those with physical, mental, and emotional challenges.

Sharon Vansickle, Sharon's Kitchen Crafts (Nanaimo, BC) - Sharon produces a wide-range of condiments and preserves and offers canning workshops to area-residents.

Lorelai Andrew, Food Sustainability Sub-Committee, Mid-Island Co-op (Nanaimo, BC)

We're hammered, we're slammed, we're out of control. Happiness is on the decline in some of the most affluent countries in the world and North Americans are troubled by the destructiveness of a lifestyle devoted to money and status. Yet no-one seems to have a clue how to exit from the Fast Lane....

Published in 2006 by British Columbia's New Society Publishers, Slow is Beautiful analyzes the subtle consumer, political and corporate forces stamping the joy from our existence and provides a vision of a more fulfilling life through the rediscovery of caring community, unhurried leisure, and life affirming joie de vivre.

Host Jon Steinman was recently in Seattle, Washington, where author Cecile Andrews calls home. Jon sat down with Cecile at her home in the Phinney neighbourhood of the city. Food, as Cecile Andrews suggests, is a metaphor for life, in that our relationship to food is also suggestive of our relationship to living and how we connect with the world around us, whether it be plants, animals, peopleâ. or ourselves. Cecile's book is similar to the way Deconstructing Dinner educates listeners about food, in that Slow is Beautiful deconstructs our consumer driven society in order to understand how we perceive happiness, what factors influence this perception, and how it affects our ability to feel alive.

Guests

Cecile Andrews, Author, "Slow is Beautiful, New Visions of Community, Leisure and Joie de Vivre" (Seattle, WA) - Is the author of The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life (HarperCollins 97). A former community college administrator, Cecile has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University and affiliated scholar at Seattle University. She is founder of the Phinney Ecovillage in Seattle. Her work has been featured in the PBS video "Escape from Affluenza" and the TBS video "Consumed by Consumption", CBSNews "Eye on America", New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, and various PBS and NPR programs. Cecile received her doctorate in Education at Stanford University and gives workshops and presentations; she has written a column for the Seattle Times; and she has co-hosted a local NPR program.

The patenting of our food supply through biotechnology could be suggested as one of the greatest systems of control ever devised. As the executive branches of North American governments alongside corporate interests push forward the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), it must be noted that reference to 'biotechnology' is littered throughout SPP literature. While Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) has taken on the legitimacy of the SPP as a major campaign, it became clear following last week's comments by MP Alex Atamanenko, that the ability to politically challenge this system of food control is running into more hurdles.

There are, however, community-led alternatives - GE-Free Zones. Last week's broadcast concluded with a sampling of audio clips from the first GE-Free Kootenays meeting that took place in Nelson, BC in November 2007 when 23 local residents and politicians gathered together to discuss the creation of such a zone. This broadcast continues in more depth and explores more of the dialogue that took place during that meeting, and in doing so, seeks to create better understanding of how communities can begin taking such concerns into their own hands.

We also spend time learning of similar efforts being forged in one of the last areas of North America still free of genetically engineered crops - The Yukon.

Guests

Tom Rudge - GE-Free Yukon (Whitehorse, YK) - Tom is a steering committee member of the Society for a GE Free BC. He is a Director of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), a Founding Member of the Fireweed Community Market, the leader of the Whitehorse Slow Food Convivium. Tom has been around since the beginning of the organic food movement in the Yukon, and is part of Growers of Organic Food Yukon - a chapter of the Canadian Organic Growers. He has a degree in Agriculture, and operates a certified organic farm "Aurora Mountain Farm".

Jessica Stevenson - Researcher, Greenpeace Canada (Vancouver, BC) - Greenpeace Canada has been running an ongoing campaign titled "Say No to Genetic Engineering". The organization has commissioned a number of polls, among them one that indicated British Columbians overwhelmingly demand labelling of foods that contain genetically-engineered ingredients. Greenpeace opposes the release of GE crops and animals into the environment based on the precautionary principle. They advocate interim measures including the labelling of GE foods and the segregation of GE crops and seeds from conventional and organic seeds. Greenpeace supports the 58 recommendations made in 2001 by the expert panel of the Royal Society of Canada. They also oppose all patents on plants, animals, humans and genes.

Voices

Angela Reid - Deputy Leader, Green Party of British Columbia (Kelowna, BC) - Angela has run as a Green Party candidate in four elections, two provincial and two federal, between 2001 and 2006. In the spring of 2006, Angela was appointed to the Federal Council of the Green Party of Canada (GPC), and soon after was elected as a Councillor at Large during the GPC's August Convention in Ottawa. Angela is also the CEO of the GPC's Kelowna Electoral District Association, and was recently appointed the Okanagan Regional Representative for the Green Party of British Columbia. She operates Tigress Ventures - providing consulting services for environmental and socially oriented businesses.

This broadcast explores the english print media coverage in Canada throughout 2007 on the controversies surrounding genetically engineered foods. Why has Canada become such a willing host to GE foods whereas throughout most of the world, bans, moratoriums and watchful eyes keep genetically modified organisms off grocery store shelves? Host Jon Steinman looks to provide one answer by deconstructing some of the confusing language that the Canadian public is receiving from some of the most vocal and published proponents of GE foods. The Kootenay region of BC for one has become a hotbed of media debates on the topic as it's NDP Agriculture Critic Alex Atamanenko who represents the riding in Ottawa. Atamanenko is at the forefront of politically challenging the presence of genetically engineered foods in Canada.

The broadcast also launches a segment on the creation of regions free of genetically-engineered crops. In November 2007, Deconstructing Dinner recorded the first meeting of residents and politicans who began strategizing around the launch of a campaign to create a GE-Free Kootenays. This segment continues into next week's broadcast.

Voices

Marc Loiselle, Communications and Research Director - Saskatchewan Organic Directorate's OAPF (Vonda, SK) - Marc farms on a century old family farm. The Loiselle Organic Family Farm grows cereal, oilseed, pulse, clover and hay crops. They raise chickens, goats and cattle. Marc has worked with certified organic and biodynamic practices for 22 years. Marc is one of a few farmers in Canada growing Red Fife Wheat.

Mischa Popoff, isitorganic.ca (Osoyoos, BC) - Mischa was an organic inspector until 2003. In an interview with The Western Producer, Popoff questioned the integrity of the organic sector, following which, he had trouble finding work in the industry. Popoff was a nominee in the 2007 fedreal Conservative Party candidacy for the BC Southern Interior riding.

Alex Atamanenko, MP BC Southern Interior / NDP Agriculture Critic, "New Democratic Party of Canada" (Ottawa, ON / Castlegar, BC) - Elected the Member of Parliament for British Columbia Southern Interior in 2006. Alex is the critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Canadian Wheat Board. Atamanenko was born in New Westminster, and was educated at the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto.

Lorne Hepworth, President, CropLife Canada (Toronto, ON) - CropLife Canada is the trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of plant science innovations â pest control products and plant biotechnology â for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings.

and... Partcipants at the November 10, 2007 GE-Free Kootenays meeting held in Nelson, BC

Monsanto has long been at the forefront of controversy around genetically engineered plants, and most notably, when their hired hands began trespassing onto farmers properties, taking samples, and then accusing farmers of stealing their technologies. One farmer who has now become world-renowned for his defiance of such actions, was Percy Schmeiser, whose field of non-genetically engineered canola became the unwilling host to Monsanto's patented GE variety known as Roundup Ready Canola. It was this case, that eventually set the precedent that a company can indeed own the lifeforms (the plants) that inadvertently make their way onto a farmers field. But if a company maintains ownership of the seed and hence the plant, then should that company maintain responsibility for the damages that their property causes?

The Saskatchewan Organic Directorate has since 2002 been seeking compensation for the damages caused by the property owned by the American-based Monsanto and Germany's Bayer. A class action lawsuit was chosen, as the issues raised by the two plaintiffs are no different than those faced by any organic farmer operating in Canada. In May 2005, the lower court in Saskatchewan denied the group such class action status, and subsequent appeals were also denied in May 2007 and then again in December 2007 by the Supreme Court of Canada. This exhausted all legal avenues for such a case. But while the denial of acquiring such status is a blow to the farmers, it's far from being the end to their fight.

Guests

Sean Gardner, Vice President & General Manager - Monsanto Canada Inc. (Winnipeg, MB) - Monsanto's Canadian operations are part of the larger, global Monsanto company headquartered in St. Louis, MO. The company produces canola, corn and soybean seed products, and a range of herbicides most often found under the brand name - Roundup. Sean has been with the Canadian operation since 2005 and in his current position since August 2006. He previously worked as Monsanto's country lead for the Mediterranean area comprised of Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Sean joined Monsanto in 1998 when the company acquired PBI Cambridge. Prior to joining Monsanto, Sean worked at Unilever.

Arnold Taylor, President - Saskatchewan Organic Directorate (SOD) (Kenaston, SK) - Since 1991, SOD has acted as an umbrella organization for organic producers, certifiers and processors. They are the SK chapter of the Canadian Organic Growers. The organization maintains a membership of 600-700. Arnold operates Taylor Organic Farms with his son. The 3,000 acre farm has been certified organic since 1992. Arnold is the President of the Canadian Organic Growers and the Chair of the Organic Federation of Canada. He is also the chair of SOD's Organic Agriculture Protection Fund Committee.

Marc Loiselle, Communications and Research Director - Saskatchewan Organic Directorate's OAPF (Vonda, SK) - Marc farms on a century old family farm. The Loiselle Organic Family Farm grows cereal, oilseed, pulse, clover and hay crops. They raise chickens, goats and cattle. Marc has worked with certified organic and biodynamic practices for 22 years. Marc is one of a few farmers in Canada growing Red Fife Wheat.

Other Voices

Denise Dewar, ex Executive Vice-President Plant Biotechnology - CropLife Canada (Toronto, ON) - CropLife Canada is the trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of plant science innovations â pest control products and plant biotechnology â for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings. Denise is now in the same position for CropLife International.

Mischa Popoff, isitorganic.ca (Osoyoos, BC) - Mischa was an organic inspector until 2003. In an interview with The Western Producer, Popoff questioned the integrity of the organic sector, following which, he had trouble finding work in the industry. Popoff was a nominee in the 2007 fedreal Conservative Party candidacy for the BC Southern Interior riding.

In November 2007, Deconstructing Dinner attended one of the first regional food security conferences ever held in Canada. With a population of less than 10,000 people, the City of Nelson, British Columbia, hosted over 250 people for the first evening of keynote speakers. With an equally impressive 170 in attendance on the second day of keynote speakers and workshops, the conference acts as an example for other Canadian communities wishing to begin organizing themselves to take greater control over the food available to them.

Deconstructing Dinner hopes the raw recordings, shows, and resources presented on the Conference Page will aid groups across the country looking to ensure a socially and environmentally responsible local food system that benefits local economies.

Part II
On Part II we hear from two more keynote speakers who address how the region can begin going about rebuilding its local food system.

Guests

Abra Brynne, Board President - Kootenay Country Store Co-operative (Salmo, BC) - Abra is known in the region as a Foodshed Animator - inspiring and working with groups who are in the process of preserving or building a more sustainable local food system. She acts as the Secretary for the Kootenay Organic Growers Society, co-founder of the BC Food Systems Network and is working with the Meat Industry Enhancement Strategy of the BCFPA. Abra has lent her voice to Deconstructing Dinner on both the launch of our "Co-operatives: Alternatives to Industrial Food Series" and during our inaugural broadcast in January 2006.

Don Low, Agricultural Economist, Industry Competitiveness Branch, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (Creston, BC) - Don is based at the Ministry's Creston office. Prior to his role as an Agricultural Economist, Don was the District Agrologist, a profession that has disappeared in many parts of the country, and those positions that do remain have changed significantly from their more traditional role of advising and supporting farmers on the operations of their farms. Don also operates a large cherry orchard - Quiet Valley Farms.
PPT Presentation

Marilyn James, Spokesperson, Sinixt Nation (Winlaw, BC) - The land on which Nelson resides is the traditional territory of the Sinixt Nation also known as the Arrow Lakes People. The Canadian government has officially declared the Sinixt extinct, yet, many descendants do still reside in the region, so much so, that right here at Kootenay Co-op Radio we host the weekly program Sinixt Radio hosted by Marilyn James herself. As with any discussion taking place in this country when the issue of land use and resources are the focal point, support and approval from the original inhabitants of the territory is of critical importance. Marilyn welcomed conference delegates.

Nadine Steele and Andre Piver, Organizers, Future of Food Conference Collaborative (Bealby Point, BC) - As members of the Nelson-Creston Green Party of BC, Nadine and Andre are two of a handful of organizers who helped bring the Future of Food in the Kootenays Conference into being.

In November 2007, Deconstructing Dinner attended one of the first regional food security conferences ever held in Canada. With a population of less than 10,000 people, the City of Nelson, British Columbia, hosted over 250 people for the first evening of keynote speakers. With an equally impressive 170 in attendance on the second day of keynote speakers and workshops, the conference acts as an example for other Canadian communities wishing to begin organizing themselves to take greater control over the food available to them.

Deconstructing Dinner hopes the raw recordings, shows, and resources presented on the Conference Page of our site will aid groups across the country looking to ensure a socially and environmentally responsible local food system that benefits local economies.

Part I
On Part I we hear from two keynote speakers who spoke on the threats facing regional food systems with a focus on energy resources. We hear predictions as to how communities will need to redesign and redefine themselves in light of such threats. And we hear from the two elected officials representing the region both provincially and federally.

Guests

Justin Roller, Fuel Cell Engineer, Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation, National Research Council Canada (Vancouver, BC) - Justin's presentation was titled "Canada and the Coming Energy Transition". Justin introduced the conference by outlining the current balance between global energy supplies and demand. He is currently a Masters candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia.
PDF Presentation

Richard Balfour, Architect / Director, Metro Vancouver Planning Commission (Vancouver, BC) - Richard is a Vancouver-based architect who also acts as a director with both the Metro Vancouver Planning Coalition and the New City Institute. He recently published the book "Strategic Sustainable Planning, A Civil Defense Manual for Cultural Survival". Richard recognizes the many threats facing our current way of life, and as part of his research accessed a report that the provincial government had witheld from releasing to the public. Through a freedom of information request, Richard was responsible for the release of the report titled, " BC's Food Self Reliance: Can BC farmers feed our growing population." The report was funded by the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands. The final conclusion of the report was that BC currently produces only 48% of the food consumed within the province.
PDF Presentation

Alex Atamanenko, MP BC Southern Interior / NDP Agriculture Critic, "New Democratic Party of Canada" (Ottawa, ON / Castlegar, BC) - Elected the Member of Parliament for British Columbia Southern Interior in 2006. Alex is the critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Canadian Wheat Board. Atamanenko was born in New Westminster, and was educated at the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto.

Corky Evans, MLA Nelson-Creston / NDP Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Lands, "New Democratic Party of British Columbia" (Victoria, BC / Winlaw, BC) - Corky Evans was elected as the MLA for Nelson Creston in 1991, and was re-elected in 1996. He was once again elected to represent his constituents on May 17, 2005. Corky has served as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.

On this Part III of the "Co-operatives: Alternatives to Industrial Food" series, we look at the Islands Good Food Initiative and the Heritage Foodservice Co-operative. The co-operative is looking to reclaim greater control over the regional food system on Vancouver Island. Once producing 85% of the food consumed on the Island, Vancouver Island now only produces less than 10% of the food consumed! The Island represents an important window into the future of food security in North American communities.

This new co-operative will challenge the common supply chain model whereby farmers most often receive the short end of the stick, and replace it with what is known as a value chain. Within a value chain, every link is ensured a fair price of that final food dollar. The Heritage Foodservice Co-operative will look to connect farmers with labour, with processing and packing facilities, with transportation/distribution and with institutional food purchasers (restaurants, colleges, public facilities, etc.). Is this a model for other communities to adopt?

Guests

Sandra Mark and Frank Moreland, Edible Strategies Enterprises (Fanny Bay, BC) - A small consulting group working with partners to develop approaches to relocalize the food system. They offer a variety of services to enterprising non-profit organizations and co-operatives. Edible Strategies has been integral in the creation of the business plan for the Heritage Foodservice Co-operative.

Karin Lengger, General Manager - Vancouver Island, SPUD (Small Potatoes Urban Delivery) (Victoria, BC) - In business since 1998, SPUD is Canada's largest organic grocery home delivery service. The business serves over 6000 customers in the Lower Mainland, Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island, Calgary and Seattle. SPUD is committed to protecting the environment by buying local, organic, minimally packaged, and eco-friendly products.

Bill Code, President, Island Farmers Alliance (Duncan, BC) - The IFA is an alliance of farmers on Vancouver Island and surrounding islands who work to ensure the sustainability and growth of Island agriculture by promoting local foods and farmers.

Graham Morry, Executive Director, Nanaimo Associaiton for Community Living (NACL) (Nanaimo, BC) - NACL supports and advocates for citizens with developmental disabilities and the people that care for them by promoting inclusion through various residential and community opportunities, activities, and services. They currently operate seven residences and a day program in the Nanaimo area. They also provide respite care and community respite by referral.

Marjorie Stewart, Chair, Nanaimo Foodshare (Nanaimo, BC) - Whether they're developing small-scale businesses, teaching a canning workshop, or distributing locally grown produce through the Good Food Box program, Foodshare helps people develop the skills they need to increase food security, build community, and be self-sufficient. Through programs, workshops, and community networks, their aim is to educate and empower by sharing not just food -- but also information, resources, workloads, and new opportunities.

James Street, President, North Vancouver Island Chefs Association (Courtenay, BC) - Founded in 1979 to represent chefs and cooks from Bowser to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, the Associaiton is a branch of the Canadian Culinary Federation. Their goals are to promote culinary excellence, aid the growth and development of the industry, and provide a network for membership.

The diversity in the varieties of crops being grown in Canada has dwindled significantly. Virtually all of the fruits, vegetables, grains, livestock and pretty much every ingredient found on grocery store shelves, is of a variety that has purely been bred for profit. At no time has the importance of maintaining diversity or flavour ever been a concern for the powerful industrial food system that has taken hold of the North American diet.

This series will explore what risks accompany the loss of such diversity while on the other hand, expose the many farmers and organizations preserving Canada's heritage varieties of food and protecting our food supply from the control of multinational interests.

Part I
On Part I, we resurrect Red Fife Wheat, perhaps the most important wheat variety to Canadians. Red Fife fed Canadians for 40 years, yet disappeared as more export-oriented varieties and hybrids took its place. But Red Fife is making a comeback, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency doesn't like it. Is this a chance for the people of Canada to reclaim control over our cultural heritage and challenge the industrial food system? Sharon Rempel thinks so.

We also learn more about heirloom (heritage) vegetables. Growing heirlooms is an exciting way to try new and unusual tastes, shapes and colours. But more than that it is an effort to maintain the genetic diversity of our food crops. Many varieties have disappeared forever and there is interest in keeping these older varieties in circulation. Heirlooms, unlike some hybrids, are not grown for their ability to withstand shipping and chemicals or their uniform look at market. They are grown for taste.

Guests

Sharon Rempel - Agronomist, Grassroot Solutions, (Victoria, BC) - Sharon's expertise lies in organic production, seed conservation, 'on farm' wheat breeding and heritage crops. Sharon was the founder of "Seedy Saturdays" - community seed exchanges held each year across the country. Sharon is the Director of the Heritage Wheat Project. Her most recent project was Canada's first ever Bread and Wheat Festival, held in Victoria on October 27, 2007.

Linda Crago, Farmer, Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm (Wellandport, ON) - At Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm, Linda's specialty and passion is Heirloom vegetables. Linda offers a tremendous selection of heirloom tomato transplants (over 200 varieties), heirloom pepper and eggplant transplants and more. She operates a CSA program, supplies restaurants, and offers mail order across Canada. Linda grows more than 1000 varieties of veggies on an intensively planted piece of land, and does so organically.

Music

Phil Vernon - Musician, Ãthm Music (Salt Spring Island, BC) - The broadcast marks the radio debut of "Red Fife Wheat" - a new song recorded just days before this broadcast first aired. The creator of the song is Phil Vernon, a musician based on Salt Spring Island, BC. Phil has lent his musical farming talents to the program on a number of previous occasions.

On January 26, 2006, we aired our fourth episode. As the content of the broadcast remains an important set of ideas to carry through the many shocking and revealing stories covered on the program, we have chosen to redo the broadcast with a fresher sound. Using the same audio from the original interviews, Host Jon Steinman re-presents the show. This broadcasts looks to address how the attention we pay to the specific moment of eating, affects the attention we pay to what food we purchase and why? By reconnecting ourselves to the act of eating, can we reconnect ourselves to food itself?

Guests Victoria Stanton - Artist, ESSEN, (Montreal, QC) - Montreal-based performance artist producing solo and collaborative creative work since 1992. Her project entitled ESSEN, takes a look at our relationship with eating by hosting meals where participants feed each other instead of themselves. These events help expose our relationship with food by disrupting the daily routine of feeding.

Carl HonorÃ, Author, In Praise of Slow (London, UK) - Author of "IN PRAISE OF SLOW - How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed" (Vintage Canada). Carl is a Canadian journalist based in London, England. He has written for The Economist, The Globe and Mail, Houston Chronicle, Miami Herald, and the National Post.

Paul Rozin - Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, (Philadelphia, PA). Earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and masters and doctoral degrees from Harvard University. He has been a member of the department of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania since 1963. Former editor of the journal Appetite. Research - Cultural Psychology. Acquisition of likes and dislikes for foods, nature and development of the magical belief in contagion, cultural evolution of disgust, ambivalence to animal foods, lay conception of risk of infection and toxic effects of foods, interaction of moral and health factors in concerns about risks, relation between people's desires to have desires and their actual desires (including the problem of internalization), acquisition of culture, nature of cuisine, cultural evolution. Research carried out in USA, France, Japan and India.

A two-part series that will critically analyze what is being suggested as the worst public policy mistake in a generation. A prominent UN representative calls it a "crime against humanity", and this "crime" may shock even the most environmentally conscious of individuals, because it is in reference to biofuels, a technology that is in the early stages of an unprecedented boom around the world. The green image being painted by industry and world leaders is doing little to convince skeptics that using agricultural land to grow fuel is as environmentally friendly as it is reported to be. Compounding the environmental debate, biofuels are being referred to by some of the world's most influential international organizations as contributing to increases in global hunger at staggering rates. The money being thrown around the world and being invested into these biofuel technologies is incredible. In July 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised 1.5 billion dollars in incentives to get the Canadian biofuel industry up and running. British Petroleum has controversily invested half a billion dollars into biofuel research at the University of California at Berkeley.

The seriousness of this issue has prompted a careful approach to addressing this topic, and this two-part series has been designed to hopefully be the most critical 2-hours of radio produced to date on this rapid emergence of biofuels around the world.

Part II
On Part II, we examine the accusation that biofuels are a crime against humanity and how the biofuel boom will affect food prices around the world. We deconstruct the suggestion that biofuels will help Canadian farmers and rural communities, and we explore the controversy on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley where on February 1, 2007, a biofuel research deal worth half a billion dollars was announced between BP (British Petroleum) and the University.

Guests

Darrin Qualman - Director of Research, National Farmers' Union (NFU) (Saskatoon, SK) - NFU members believe that the problems facing farmers are common problems, and that farmers producing diverse products must work together to advance effective solutions. The NFU works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada.

Eric Holt-Gimenez - Executive Director, Food First (Oakland, CA) - Also known as the Institute for Food and Development Policy, the purpose of Food First is to eliminate the injustices that cause hunger, a purpose they've been operating with for over 32 years. The institute was launched by Joseph Collins and Francis Moore Lappe. Lappe is most well known for her book published around that time - Diet for a Small Planet.

Robin Speer - Director of Public Affairs, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (Toronto, ON) - Founded in 1994, the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) mission is to promote the use of renewable fuels for transportation through consumer awareness and government liaison activities. The CRFA membership is comprised of representatives from all levels of the ethanol and biodiesel industry, including: grain and cellulose ethanol producers, biodiesel producers, fuel technology providers, and agricultural associations.

Other Voices

Len Penner - President, Cargill Canada (Winnipeg, MB) - One of Canada's largest agricultural merchandisers and processors with interests in meat, egg, malt and oilseed processing, livestock feed, salt manufacturing, as well as crop input products, grain handling and merchandizing. The company is a subsidiary of Cargill Limited based in the United States. In February 2007, Deconstructing Dinner ran a 2-part series on the operations of the company. Len was interviewed and recorded speaking by Host Jon Steinman in September 2007 at the CropLife Canada conference in Saskatoon. Ignacio Chapela - Associate Professor, College of Natural Resources, University of California - Berkeley (Berkeley, CA) - Working in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, the Chapela Lab focuses its research on the Ecology of Transgenes and Fungal Ecology. Chapela became the centre of controversy in 2000 while examining the native maize population in Oaxaca. One of Chapelaâs graduate students, David Quist, made a shocking discovery. Despite a ban imposed by the Mexican government upon genetically-engineered(GE) corn in the birth place of modern maize domestication, there was clear evidence of genetic contamination. Chapela has long been a vocal opponent of genetic modification, which will be one focus of the BP/Berkeley Biofuels research. Miguel Altieri - Professor, College of Natural Resources, University of California - Berkeley (Berkeley, CA) - Working in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, Miguel's research group uses the concepts of agroecology to obtain a deep understanding of the nature of agroecosystems and the principles by which they function. Throughout their research and writings they have aided in the emergence of agroecology as the discipline that provides the basic ecological principles for how to study, design, and manage sustainable agroecosystems that are both productive and natural resource conserving, and that are also culturally-sensitive, socially-just and economically viable. Ali Tonak - PhD Student, College of Natural Resources, University of California - Berkeley (Berkeley, CA) - Ali is a student of Igancio Chapela and one of the organizers of the Stop BP-Berkeley Campaign. Ali was arrested on March 1, 2007 during a theatrical protest on the campus. JoAnne Buth - President, Canola Council of Canada (Winnipeg, MB) - A national trade association representing producers, input suppliers, processors and marketers of canola and its products. JoAnne was interviewed and recorded speaking by Host Jon Steinman in September 2007 at the CropLife Canada conference in Saskatoon. Jean Ziegler - Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, United Nations (Geneva, Switzerland) - In September 2000, Jean Ziegler was nominated by the UN Commission on Human Rights to be the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Ziegler is a senior Professor at the University of Geneva and the University of Sorbonne, Paris. At the University of Geneva, he established the Laboratory of sociology for the study of the societies of the Third World, and most of his work has focused on developing countries. Arnold Schwarzeneggar - Governor, California (Sacramento, CA) Robert Birgeneau - Chancellor, University of California - Berkeley (Berkeley, CA) Robert Malone - Chairman and CEO, BP America (Houston, TX)

A two-part series that will critically analyze what is being suggested as the worst public policy mistake in a generation. A prominent UN representative calls it a "crime against humanity", and this "crime" may shock even the most environmentally conscious of individuals, because it is in reference to biofuels, a technology that is in the early stages of an unprecedented boom around the world. The green image being painted by industry and world leaders is doing little to convince skeptics that using agricultural land to grow fuel is as environmentally friendly as it is reported to be. Compounding the environmental debate, biofuels are being referred to by some of the world's most influential international organizations as contributing to increases in global hunger at staggering rates. The money being thrown around the world and being invested into these biofuel technologies is incredible. In July 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised 1.5 billion dollars in incentives to get the Canadian biofuel industry up and running. British Petroleum has controversily invested half a billion dollars into biofuel research at the University of California at Berkeley.

The seriousness of this issue has prompted a careful approach to addressing this topic, and this two-part series has been designed to hopefully be the most critical 2-hours of radio produced to date on this rapid emergence of biofuels around the world.

Part I
On this Part I, we explore the key term being used by industry and government to promote the conversion of agricultural crops into fuel, and that term is "renewable". The word presents an image of green and clean fuel, so much so, that the main biofuel industry association here in Canada is not only called the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association but has secured the web site address greenfuels.org. Quite an eco-friendly image being painted by the industry. The Canadian government has even placed biofuel initiatives under their new "EcoAction" programs. But are Canadians being duped into thinking that biofuels are the answer to climate change?

Guests

Darrin Qualman - Director of Research, National Farmers' Union (NFU) (Saskatoon, SK) - NFU members believe that the problems facing farmers are common problems, and that farmers producing diverse products must work together to advance effective solutions. The NFU works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada.

Eric Holt-Gimenez - Executive Director, Food First (Oakland, CA) - Also known as the Institute for Food and Development Policy, the purpose of Food First is to eliminate the injustices that cause hunger, a purpose they've been operating with for over 32 years. The institute was launched by Joseph Collins and Francis Moore Lappe. Lappe is most well known for her book published around that time - Diet for a Small Planet.

Robin Speer - Director of Public Affairs, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (Toronto, ON) - Founded in 1994, the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) mission is to promote the use of renewable fuels for transportation through consumer awareness and government liaison activities. The CRFA membership is comprised of representatives from all levels of the ethanol and biodiesel industry, including: grain and cellulose ethanol producers, biodiesel producers, fuel technology providers, and agricultural associations.

Other Voices

JoAnne Buth - President, Canola Council of Canada (Winnipeg, MB) - A national trade association representing producers, input suppliers, processors and marketers of canola and its products. JoAnne was interviewed and recorded speaking by Host Jon Steinman in September 2007 at the CropLife Canada conference in Saskatoon.

Jean Ziegler - Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, United Nations (Geneva, Switzerland) - In September 2000, Jean Ziegler was nominated by the UN Commission on Human Rights to be the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Ziegler is a senior Professor at the University of Geneva and the University of Sorbonne, Paris. At the University of Geneva, he established the Laboratory of sociology for the study of the societies of the Third World, and most of his work has focused on developing countries.

George W. Bush - President, United States of America (Washington, DC)

Stephen Harper - Prime Minister, Canada (Ottawa, ON)

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - President, Brazil (Brasilia, Brazil)

Host Jon Steinman recently travelled to Vancouver Island to document two new and innovative projects being undertaken there. Both are looking to ensure the sustainability of local farming on an Island that sees 90% of its food being imported from the mainland.

On this broadcast, we listen in on segments from a presentation by British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture's Brent Warner. Brent was invited to speak at an event hosted by FoodLink Nanaimo.

How does the design of local food systems impact human health. As the economic health of local farmers also ensures the health of the population, today's broadcast is laying out some of the key concerns for British Columbians leading up to the year 2017. A document that has begun to reshape the province's focus on agriculture and food, is also one that has not received much media attention. According to a Treasury Board analysis, by 2017, the increasing pressure placed on the healthcare system will see the budget of the province of British Columbia needing to be solely devoted to funding of health care and education at a minimal rateâ nothing else! This scenario is not much different across the country. While many groups argue that the predictions are false and ignore actual past trends, this study has nevertheless acted as a wake up call to all provinces and presents a strong argument among others, that real change needs to begin taking place within Canada's food system.

Speaker

Brent Warner - Industry Specialist, Agritourism/Direct Marketing, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture & Lands (Victoria, BC) - Brent is a horticulturalist who has worked with the Ministry since 1980. Brent is the Secretary of the North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association. He authored "Marketing on the Edge" - a guide for farmers/producers to assist in diversification and marketing of their products directly to the public.

Updates
A significant update is provided to our September 26 complaint filed with Advertising Standards Canada re: issues raised during our September 13 Packaged Foods Exposed - Unilever II episode. Information also provided on upcoming CBC Television and CBC Radio segments featuring participation from Deconstructing Dinner.

Deceivable Dairy II
Clean, white, wholesome milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt and ice cream - very common ingredients within the diet of Canadians.

On part II of the Deceivable Dairy series, we look deeper into the dairy industry and explore the politics of production, trade and animal welfare.

The welfare of dairy cattle was explored during part I of the series, but the framework for regulating and monitoring the welfare of animals in this country may shock you.

Canada's dairy industry is one of three industries that operate under a supply management system. The system is one of the last remaining protections for Canadian farmers to the threats posed by cheap imports. We have seen how the heavily subsidized agricultural sectors in the United States and Europe have already threatend farmers here in Canada, and many are now worried that supply management is at risk of being undermined.

But supply management has its critics, and they're not just the big industrial processors. In an age where local production is essential to combat climate change, the current structure of supply management has created a barrier for farmers to produce milk for their own communities.

Guests

Shelagh MacDonald - Program Director, Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) (Ottawa, ON) - The CFHS is the national voice of humane societies and SPCAs. They bring together those who work with, and care for animals to promote respect and humane treatment toward all animals. The CFHS plays a crucial role in farm animal welfare in Canada. The CFHS is a founding member of the newly-formed National Farm Animal Care Council.

Jan Slomp - Farmer / Alberta Coordinator, National Farmers' Union (NFU) (Rimbey, AB) - Born and raised in the Netherlands, landed as immigrants in Canada with his wife Marian and three children in the spring of 1989. They bought a small dairyfarm in Rimbey, central Alberta where their herd of 70-80 cattle are raised on grass. Jan is the Alberta coordinator of the NFU - a national organization that works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada.

As has become an innovative way to experience the joy and difficulties of eating local food, many communities are challenging their people to eat more locally or better yet, entirely local for a specified period of time. In September 2007, the city of Vancouver proclaimed the month as eat local month, the city of Hamilton Ontario has launched an eat local project, and here in the city of Nelson, our own eat local challenge took place in the month of August. 150 Nelson-area residents pledged to commit to eating more locally, and many local businesses took it upon themselves to provide their customers with more local options.

On this broadcast we hear segments from a conversation facilitated with seven of those who pledged to take the challenge in Nelson. We hear how they managed such an undertaking, what they learned from the experience, and whether or not they gave up! We also listen in on a few short segments from a recent visit to Nelson by authors Alisa Smith and James Mackinnon of the bestselling title, "The 100-Mile Diet".

Guests/Speakers

Anne Marchildon, Becky Quirk, Nancy Roulston, Lorraine Carlstrom, Mackenzie Carlstrom, Tara Stark, Matt Lowe - Nelson Eat Local Challengers (Nelson, BC) - Community Food Matters is a collective of individuals, organizations, institutions, health authorities and businesses who are concerned with Nelson's food security. CFM launched the Eat Local Challenge during the month of August.

Alisa Smith - 100-Mile Diet Society (Vancouver, BC) - is a freelance writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her articles have been printed in U.S. and Canadian publications from Reader's Digest to Utne. The books Liberalized (New Star, 2005) and Way Out There (Greystone, 2006) also feature her work. Smith has a Master's degree in history and has taught magazine writing. She has been a member of the Cypress Community Garden for five years, and hopes someday to successfully grow an eggplant.

James (J.B.) MacKinnon - 100-Mile Diet Society (Vancouver, BC) - is the author of Dead Man in Paradise (Douglas & McIntyre), which won the 2006 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-fiction. His work as a journalist has earned two national magazine awards, and he is a senior contributing editor to Explore Magazine. A past editor of Adbusters, MacKinnon speaks regularly on writing and the politics of consumerism. After a year on the 100-Mile Diet, he will never again eat store-bought sauerkraut.

In September 2007, Host Jon Steinman travelled to Saskatoon to attend the 55th annual CropLife Canada Conference. CropLife Canada is the trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of plant science innovations â pest control products and plant biotechnology â for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings.

The conference was titled "The Power of Partnerships - The New Bio-Economy: Accelerating Change/Achieving Prosperity". Attending the conference were executives and members of the most influential agricultural corporations in Canada, including among others; Agricore, Viterra, Cargill, Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, E.I. du Pont, Nufarm, and Syngenta. A large contingent of bureaucrats from Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada were in attendance, including two Conservative Members of Parliament (David Anderson, Carol Skelton).

Deconstructing Dinner will be featuring a number of recordings and interviews compiled at the conference, and will bring on panels of guests to respond to the messages coming out of Canada's conventional agriculture sector.

On this broadcast, we listen in on segments from the Keynote Speaker Juan Enriquez. Juan's presentation was titled "As the Future Catches You: How Genomics & Other Forces are Changing your Life, Work, Health & Wealth". Joining the program to comment and challenge remarks made during this presentation will be Terry Pugh (National Farmers Union), and Jeffrey Smith (Institute for Responsible Technology).

Guests

Juan Enriquez - Chairman/CEO, Biotechonomy (Boston, MA) - Author, businessman, and academic, is recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on the economic and political impacts of life sciences. Biotechonomy LLC is a life sciences research and investment firm. He was the Founding Director of the Harvard Business School Life Sciences Project, and author of "As the Future Catches You: How Genomics & Other Forces are Changing Your Life, Work, Health & Wealth".

Terry Pugh - Executive Secretary, National Farmers Union (NFU) (Saskatoon, SK) - The NFU works on the non-partisan development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the basic food-producing unit in Canada. To help realize this goal, the NFU and its members work to create, expand, and safeguard orderly marketing and supply-management systems. NFU members believe that individual farmers must work collectively to assert their interests in an agricultural industry increasingly dominated by multi-billion-dollar corporations.

Jeffrey Smith - Executive Director, Institute for Responsible Technology (Fairfield, IA) - The IRT was founded in 2003 by Jeffrey Smith to promote the responsible use of technology and stop GM foods and crops through both grassroots and national strategies. Jeffrey is the author of "Seeds of Deception", and the recently-released "Genetic Roulette - The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods".

Soil Matters CSA
One of the greatest threats facing farmers today and hence facing our own food supply is the financial rewards found in the field of farming, rewards that are seemingly more often then not, in the negative digits. Many argue that food and agriculture should be removed from global trade regimes. One of the reasons for such an idea comes from a belief that farmers themselves should not have to bear the financial risks associated with such a volatile industry, and all people should equally share such risks as food is a need and not a desire. One alternative to the dominant food system is the model of Community Supported Agriculture, whereby a set number of people within a city or town become a member of a farm, and in doing so pay the farmers at the beginning of the season when farmers need the money most. Members who join are then guaranteed what is most often a weekly box of fresh produce. As many farmers know all too well how easily an entire crop can be lost due to weather, pests or unforseen circumstances, members of a CSA share this risk with the farmer and on the other side can also share in the abundance. Just outside of Nelson, British Columbia, two intrepid farmers who only began farming a few years ago, have launched a CSA this year. Host Jon Steinman chose to become a member and document the process of creating a CSA and the potential for such a model to reconnect people with their food and provide farmers with a more secure source of income.

Part II
On September 8, Soil Matters hosted a members potluck and discussion. Deconstructing Dinner\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Jon Steinman facilitated the discussion where members shared their experiences of becoming part of a CSA. How has joining a farm changed eating patterns? How has working on the farm reshaped our connection to food? What changes should be made to the administration and functioning of the CSA for next year? Marion Nestle - "The Ethics of Food Marketing" Marion Nestle is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, in the department that she chaired from 1988 through 2003. She also holds appointments as Professor of Sociology in NYU\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s College of Arts and Sciences and as a Visiting Professor of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture at Cornell University. Her degrees include a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition, both from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on the politics of food with an emphasis on the role of food marketing as a determinant of dietary choice. She is the author of "Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health" (University of California Press, 2002) and "Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism" (University of California Press, 2003), and is co-editor of "Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Food and Nutrition" (McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2004). Her new book, "What to Eat," was published in May, 2006. In November 2006, Princeton University hosted a 5-part conference, exploring the broad and compelling issues and ethical dilemmas surrounding food production in the U.S. and the choices individuals make regarding the food they eat. Marion Nestle was invited to speak on "The Ethics of Food Marketing". We hear segments from her presentation.

Clean, white, wholesome milk, cream, cheeses, butter, yogurt and ice cream - very common ingredients within the diet of Canadians.

Dairy was recently the centre of attention throughout the Canadian media, following a raid on a farm in Ontario where raw milk was being produced and sold. As the sale of raw milk is prohibited throughout Canada, this exposure reintroduces the controversy surrounding the standard pasteurization of milk products.

 Dairy products are a staple of the Canadian diet, but how much information are Canadians missing out on? As one of the most aggressive marketers within the agriculture/food industry, dairy receives a pretty positive image. But behind the production of milk are issues surounding animal welfare, environmental impacts and consumer health.

As this topic is so unexplored by the media, this will mark the first of a 2-part series on Dairy production in Canada. Join us as we explore the surprisingly unchartered territory of dairy: raw milk vs. pasteurized, grass-fed vs. grain-fed, environmental impacts of dairy systems, organic dairy, animal welfare, and how the veal industry is a byproduct of your stick of butter.

Guests

Sally Fallon - President and Treasurer, Weston A. Price Foundation (Washington D.C.) - A nonprofit charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets. The Campaign for Real Milk is a project of the Foundation, and promotes the production and consumption of pasture-raised raw milk products. Sally is a journalist, chef, nutrition researcher, homemaker, and community activist. She is the author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats (NewTrends).

Dr. Alan Fredeen - Professor, Plant and Animal Science, Nova Scotia Agricultural College (Truro, NS) - Comprising NSAC's Department of Plant and Animal Sciences is the Atlantic Pasture Research Group. The APRG is an informal association of scientists in the Atlantic region with an interest in research on grazing animals and pastures. Among Dr. Fredeen's areas of interest, is the environmental comparisons of pasture-raised dairy versus the more conventional confined systems.

Ric Llewellyn - Jerseyland Organics (Grand Forks, BC) - A family owned and operated dairy. Ric & Vickie Llewellyn settled there in 1985 with their herd of pure bred Jersey cattle that now number 95(+) head. In 1994 Jerseyland Cheese began commercial production after completing its transition to "Certified Organic" status. Thus making Jerseyland B.C.'s & Western Canada's 1st "organic" dairy and Western Canada's 1st producer of organic cheeses and yogurts.

The Packaged Foods Exposed series takes a look at the largest food manufacturers in the world. What products fall under their banners; how has their influence shaped economic policy, society and culture; how have they affected the environments they operate in; and what relationships do they foster within the countries they are located?

This series places corporations in a critical light, hoping to provide a more balanced image to the advertising and PR campaigns launched by some of the most influential food corporations on the planet.

In this fourth episode of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, we take a look at one of the largest consumer products companies in the world - Unilever.

With such a significant influence on agriculture, food and health here in Canada and abroad, this focus on the company will be spread out over a two-part series.

Part II

On Part II of the Unilever series we will explore the historical and current health impacts of margarine, and how Unilever has responded to such health concerns. Unilever has both historically and recently had a heavy influence on life in the oceans. Such an influence extended up until their most recent impact on the depletion of cod stocks in the Baltic Sea - stocks that are on the brink of collapse. Unilever also controls roughly 25% of the Canadian ice cream market, and this broadcast will look into some similar tactics the company has used in the world of margarine that are quietly being applied to many of the company's ice cream products. The question is raised - are Unilever's ice creams really ice cream? We will learn of a misleading web site the company maintains that seemingly violates Canadian laws, and we will learn of a controversial ingredient entering into Unilever's ice cream products around the world, an ingredient that replicates the DNA found in a fish, and one that is created through genetic modification!

Guests

Oliver Knowles - Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace (London, UK) - The over-exploitation and mismanagement of fisheries has already led to some spectacular fisheries collapses. The cod fishery off Newfoundland, Canada collapsed in 1992, leading to the loss of some 40,000 jobs in the industry. The cod stocks in the North Sea and Baltic Sea are now heading the same way and are close to complete collapse. Greenpeace has been at the forefront of addressing this serious concern.

Geoff Ross-Smith - Owner, Kootenay Kreamery (Nelson, BC) - Geoff began selling Unilever's Breyers ice cream at a stand in Ainsworth, BC until the quality of the product decline rapidly. Geoff chose to then launch a small independent ice cream company - now selling his products to 10 stores in the area.

Therese Beaulieu - Assistant Director, Communication and Policy, Dairy Farmers of Canada (Ottawa, ON) - A national policy, lobbying and promotional organization representing Canadaâs 16,000 dairy farms. DFC strives to create favourable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry, today and in the future. It works to maintain policies that foster the viability of Canadian dairy producers and promote dairy products and their health benefits.

Joe Cummins - Professor Emeritus of Genetics, University of Western Ontario (London, ON) - Joe is one of the earliest critics of genetic engineering. He obtained BS Horticulture, Washington State University 1955 and PhD Cellular Biology, University of Wisconsin 1962. Taught genetics at Rutgers and the University of Washington, Seattle before joining the University of Western Ontario in 1972. Joe sits on the board of the UK-based Independent Science Panel and is involved with The Institute of Science in Society.

The Packaged Foods Exposed series takes a look at the largest food manufacturers in the world. What products fall under their banners; how has their influence shaped economic policy, society and culture; how have they affected the environments they operate in; and what relationships do they foster within the countries they are located?

This series places corporations in a critical light, hoping to provide a more balanced image to the advertising and PR campaigns launched by some of the most influential food corporations on the planet.

In this fourth episode of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, we take a look at one of the largest consumer products companies in the world - Unilever.

With such a significant influence on agriculture, food and health here in Canada and around the world, this focus on the company will be spread out over a two-part series.

Part I

On Part I of the Unilever series, we explore one product that the company maintains considerable control over in Canada - margarine, in particular their Becel, Imperial, Blue Bonnet and I Can't Believe it's not Butter brands.

Margarine may very well, by the end of the year, spark the first ever interprovincial retaliatory trade war since the Agreement on Internal Trade was first signed by the provinces in 1994. How could a tub of margarine be so powerful you may ask? The province of Quebec is the last place in the world that maintains a margarine colouration ban, that is a ban that prohibits margarine to be coloured yellow like butter. Such a ban infuriates a company like Unilever who now must produce two different products, one for Quebec and one for the rest of Canada.

But margarine isn't new to conflict in Canada and the United States. In fact the history of margarine is probably one of the most fascinating windows into the evolution of our food system over the past 100 years...

"The evolution of this problem is closely related to historical shifts from agriculture to industrial order" - Richard Ball / Robert Lilly

"[Margarine is] another sign of the artificiality of modern life." - Mark Twain

With such significant statements, margarine does indeed seem like a product worth deconstructing given how accepted margarine has become as part of the Canadian diet.

Also on the broadcast will be an update on our complaint filed with Advertising Standards Canada following the April 12, 2007 broadcast on Kraft Foods.

Guests

Sean McPhee - President, Vegetable Oil Industry of Canada (VOIC) (Toronto, ON) - An industry group representing 75,000 oilseed growers across Canada, oilseed processors and suppliers of fats and oils to the food industry, and makers of oilseed-based food products, such as margarine, cooking oil, salad dressing, mayonnaise and dessert toppings. Members include the Canadian Canola Growers Association, the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, Archer Daniel Midland Agri-Industries Ltd., Bunge Canada, Canbra Foods, Cargill Limited, AarhusKarlshamn US and Canada, Loders Croklaan, Unilever Canada and Rich Products Corporation.

Therese Beaulieu - Assistant Director, Communication and Policy, Dairy Farmers of Canada (Ottawa, ON) - A national policy, lobbying and promotional organization representing Canadaâs 16,000 dairy farms. DFC strives to create favourable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry, today and in the future. It works to maintain policies that foster the viability of Canadian dairy producers and promote dairy products and their health benefits.

Audio Clips

"Housewives Save With Margarine" - CBC News Roundup (1948) - Broadcast on December 14, 1948 shortly following the legalization of margarine in Canada. Host: Bill Reid. Reporters: Warren Baldwin, Dave Price. Interviewer: Bill Beatty. Guest: Erle Kitchen.

In a recent issue of the highly-respected Alternatives Journal, the subject of food, filled the pages within. Titled "Thought for Food", the edition connected a new generation of food activists to a classic member of Canadaâs food heritage. It honours the Peopleâs Food Commission that, in the late 1970s, traveled across the country to hear the views of fellow citizens and then assembled the trend-setting report: The Land of Milk and Money.

On this broadcast of Deconstructing Dinner, we hear from 3 of the issue's authors and a subject-specific guest, for what will provide a potluck of topics and ideas to explore.

Guests

Darrin Qualman - Director of Research, National Farmers' Union (NFU) (Saskatoon, SK) - "The Cupboard Is Bare" - Transnational interference grinds down world grain supplies. What you should know about grain prices. NFU members believe that the problems facing farmers are common problems, and that farmers producing diverse products must work together to advance effective solutions. The NFU works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada. Darrin is also the Water Issues Coordinator of the Saskatchewan Environmental Society.

Rachelle Sauvà - Freegan, Food Not Bombs (Peterborough, ON) - "Dumpster Dining" - Freegans consume waste food to protest consumer waste. While this article was authored by Ferne Edwards, Rachelle Sauvà is very much the subject matter herself. She eats as a vegan and does her best to defy the cycle of capitalist production and consumption by finding the majority of all things that she consumes from resources that are set to be waste or have been discarded as waste. Rachelle believes strongly "that in an economic system that exploits and subjugates the majority of people, those who need food, shelter, clothing, etc... have the right to and should reclaim the waste products of an over consumptive society to provide for their basic needs."

Marc Xuereb - Public Health Planner, Region of Waterloo Public Health (Kitchener, ON) - "And Miles to Go Before I Eat - Home-Grown Hurrah" - Marc recently authored the study, "Food Miles - Environmental Implications of Food Imports to Waterloo Region". The report documents the average distances travelled by imports of selected food items to Waterloo Region as well as the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their transport.

Peter Andreà - Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Carleton University (Ottawa, ON) - "And Miles to Go Before I Eat - Local Limitations" - Peter's contribution to the "Thought for Food" issue, provided a critical response to Marc Xuereb's "Home Grown Hurrah". Peter identifies that supporting local, is not necessarily the most environmentally friendly choice. Specializing in Politics and the Environment, Peter's primary interest lies in food issues. He is the author of the forthcoming "Genetically Modified Diplomacy" (UBC Press). His academic research most recently took him to Australia's Monash University.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a group acting as an energy policy advisor to 26 member countries. This is the most important body at the forefront of researching global energy supplies and predicting and suggesting how resources should be allocated. In July 2007, the IEA, for the first time ever, changed their tune from what had long been an ongoing state of optimism in terms of global supplies of oil. In a publication titled "Medium-Term Oil Market Report", the IEA addresses the possibility of Peak Oil, a state in which the global supplies reach their peak and then proceed to decline. Peak Oil has long been denied by major oil producers, so needless to say, such a report can be seen as monumental.

In light of this report, we are going to revisit with a voice last heard here on the program in October of 2006, and that is Julian Darley of the Sebastapol, California-based Post Carbon Institute. Julian recently visited Nelson following an invitation by The West Kootenay Eco Society. Julian spoke to an audience on the current global supplies of oil, and he shared a number of very innovative projects the Post Carbon Institue is working on including what he refers to as a Local Energy Garden. Deconstructing Dinner was on hand to record his presentation.

Launching the broadcast we explore segments from two films dating from 1950 and 1960 respectively. These films were created to educate the public on the benefits of oil and how this non-renewable resource became the foundation for agriculture and food - a food system we now embrace today.

Speakers

Julian Darley, President, Post Carbon Institute (Sebastapol, CA) - Julian Darley is founder and director of Post Carbon Institute and Global Public Media. He is the author of High Noon for Natural Gas: the New Energy Crisis (2004). Julian has an MSc in Environment and Social Research from University of Surrey in the UK, an MA in Journalism and Communications from the University of Texas at Austin, and a BA in Music & Russian. Julian recently moved from Vancouver, BC and now lives in Sebastopol, California, USA.

Audio

"Twenty-Four Hours of Progress" (1950), Oil Industry Information Committee (USA) - How the oil industry is central to the American Economy

"Miracles From Agriculture" (1960), U.S. Department of Agriculture - Presents the supermarkets of 1960 as the showplaces of agriculture; discusses methods of improvement in the growing, handling, processing, and shipping of food products.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi

Organic Daycare
With many parents having difficulty even finding spaces for their children in local daycares or preschools, there are a number of parents out there who are also finding it difficult to seek out services that adhere to their values of healthy eating and their desire to see their children receive an education on food.

One of the major barriers preventing more mindful food choices is habit. There is certainly no denying that the older we get, the harder it is to break out of our routines, many of which, are becoming quite clearly unsustainable and detrimental to our planet and ourselves. Exposing children to more environmentally and socially responsible food at an early age is perhaps one of the most effective tools to promote positive change.

On this broadcast of Deconstructing Dinner we take a look at three innovative programs currently in operation across the country. One is a model for operating organic daycares by linking up with local farms. Another is daycare that incorproates organic gardening and food preparation. And yet another is a company serving up organic meals to daycares and schools throughout the city of Toronto.

These three speakers were recorded in Toronto at the April 2007 Growing Up Organic Conference hosted by Canadian Organic Growers.

Conscientious Cooks IV
Our Conscientious Cooks series exposes restaurants and chefs who are going above and beyond the more traditional methods of sourcing their food. The focus for this segment will be Vancouver's Pair Bistro, a small restaurant showcasing regional cuisine by utilizing regional ingredients. Host Jon Steinman sat down with owner Todd Hodgins and chef Shaughn Halls during a recent visit to the city.

Guests / Speakers

Nadine Bachand, Project Coordinator, Ecological Agriculture Program, Equiterre (Montreal, QC) - For over ten years, a profound concern for the protection of the environment has brought Nadine to work with various environmental organizations. She is particularily dedicated to working on issues related to the current food system. In the context of her Master's research in Environmental Sciences, Nadine focused on the use of pesticides in urban contexts. Nadine has been with Equiterre since March 2003 and is has been working to develop relationships between local organic farms and social institutions, including their Organic Daycare program.

Linda Bonnefoy, Alligator Pie Preschool (Whitehorse, YK) - Linda has a background in mental health counseling and curriculum development. She created and runs a mentorship program at Alligator Pie Preschool in the Yukon based on hands-on organic gardening. With the help of experts and farmers from the community and territory, children learn how vegetables are grown and the real value of food.

Kim Crosby, Office Manager, Real Food for Real Kids (Toronto, ON) - David Farnell and his wife, Lulu Cohen-Farnell, started Real Food For Real Kids hoping their son would have access to healthy food in day care. They founded a catering company that is now distributing organic all-natural meals to over 2,000 children in 46 day cares and two schools.

Todd Hodgins, Owner, Pair Bistro (Vancouver, BC) - Calling their offerings "Food with Terroire", Pair Bistro focuses on regional and seasonal foods. They call themselves "ethical food production, community and sustainability". Owners Janis and Todd Hodgins alongside Chef Shaughn Halls source the majority of their ingredients from the Granville Island Public Market and from farmers who show up at the restaurant's back door. Pair Bistro represents a model through which more environmentally and socially responsible food can find its way into Canadian restaurants.
also lending their voice... Shaughn Halls, Chef

This broadcast will address the question of responsibility: Should it be you and I who feel personally responsible for finding it very difficult to eat a socially and environmentally responsible diet, or, on the other hand, should those who have created our dominant food system be responsible themselves - that is a food system which is incredibly taxing on the planet, on communities around the world and on our health.

In November 2006, Princeton University hosted the conference "Food, Ethics and the Environment", made up of some of the most well-known names in the world of food activism. A number of the speakers were critical of the dominant food system, and author Eric Schlosser raised the topic of personal versus corporate responsibility to address the damage this food system has had and continues to have on our health and the planet.

On the following day of the conference, an executive from McDonald's Corporation presented his company's approach to corporate responsibility, and this broadcast will further explore the issues raised by these two speakers.

Guests

Eric Schlosser, Author, "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" (California) - Schlosser started his career as a journalist with the The Atlantic Monthly in Boston, Massachusetts. He quickly gained recognition for his investigative journalism at the magazine earning two awards within two years of joining; he won the National Magazine Award for reporting for this two part series "Reefer Madness" and "Marijuana and the Law", and he won the Sidney Hillman Foundation award for his article, "In the Strawberry Fields". Aside from the Atlantic Monthly, Schlosser's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The Nation and The New Yorker

Bob Langert, Vice-President Corporate Social Responsibility, McDonald's Corporation (Oak Brook, IL) - On January 19, Langert, posted the first entry on the company blog "Open for Discussion." Langert wrote, "The purpose of this blog" is "to open our doors to corporate social responsibility (CSR) at McDonald's - to share what we're doing and learn what you think." His second post highlights McDonald's long-standing "partnership with Conservation International."

We're hammered, we're slammed, we're out of control. Happiness is on the decline in some of the most affluent countries in the world and North Americans are troubled by the destructiveness of a lifestyle devoted to money and status. Yet no-one seems to have a clue how to exit from the Fast Lane....

Published in 2006 by British Columbia's New Society Publishers, Slow is Beautiful analyzes the subtle consumer, political and corporate forces stamping the joy from our existence and provides a vision of a more fulfilling life through the rediscovery of caring community, unhurried leisure, and life affirming joie de vivre.

Host Jon Steinman was recently in Seattle, Washington, where author Cecile Andrews calls home. Jon sat down with Cecile at her home in the Phinney neighbourhood of the city. Food, as Cecile Andrews suggests, is a metaphor for life, in that our relationship to food is also suggestive of our relationship to living and how we connect with the world around us, whether it be plants, animals, peopleâ. or ourselves. Cecile's book is similar to the way Deconstructing Dinner educates listeners about food, in that Slow is Beautiful deconstructs our consumer driven society in order to understand how we perceive happiness, what factors influence this perception, and how it affects our ability to feel alive.

Guests

Cecile Andrews, Author, "Slow is Beautiful, New Visions of Community, Leisure and Joie de Vivre" (Seattle, WA) - Is the author of The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life (HarperCollins 97). A former community college administrator, Cecile has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University and affiliated scholar at Seattle University. She is founder of the Phinney Ecovillage in Seattle. Her work has been featured in the PBS video "Escape from Affluenza" and the TBS video "Consumed by Consumption", CBSNews "Eye on America", New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, and various PBS and NPR programs. Cecile received her doctorate in Education at Stanford University and gives workshops and presentations; she has written a column for the Seattle Times; and she has co-hosted a local NPR program.

When the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically travelled at least 1,500 miles. On the first day of spring, 2005, Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon chose to confront this unsettling statistic with a simple experiment. For one year, they would buy or gather their food and drink from within 100 miles of their apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Since then, James and Alisa have gotten up-close-and-personal with issues ranging from the family-farm crisis to the environmental value of organic pears shipped across the globe. They've reconsidered vegetarianism and sunk their hands into community gardening.

Their 100-Mile Diet struck a deeper chord than anyone could have predicted. Within weeks, reprints of their blog at thetyee.ca had appeared on sites across the internet. Then came the media, from BBC Worldwide to Utne magazine. Dozens of individuals and grassroots groups have since launched their own 100-Mile Diet adventures.

In October 2006, Deconstructing Dinner recorded exclusive sessions of the Bridging Borders Toward Food Security Conference held in Vancouver. The conference was organized by the California-based Community Food Security Coalition and Food Secure Canada. Both James and Alisa shared their thoughts about their 100-Mile experience to an audience of Food Security practitioners. This broadcast features their presentation.

Additional clips for this broadcast were compiled in September 2006 at the Sorrento Gathering of the BC Food Systems Network.

Speakers

Alisa Smith - 100-Mile Diet Society (Vancouver, BC) - is a freelance writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her articles have been printed in U.S. and Canadian publications from Reader's Digest to Utne. The books Liberalized (New Star, 2005) and Way Out There (Greystone, 2006) also feature her work. Smith has a Master's degree in history and has taught magazine writing. She has been a member of the Cypress Community Garden for five years, and hopes someday to successfully grow an eggplant.

James (J.B.) MacKinnon - 100-Mile Diet Society (Vancouver, BC) - is the author of Dead Man in Paradise (Douglas & McIntyre), which won the 2006 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-fiction. His work as a journalist has earned two national magazine awards, and he is a senior contributing editor to Explore Magazine. A past editor of Adbusters, MacKinnon speaks regularly on writing and the politics of consumerism. After a year on the 100-Mile Diet, he will never again eat store-bought sauerkraut.

Brent Warner - Industry Specialist, Agritourism/Direct Marketing, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture & Lands (Victoria, BC) - Brent is a horticulturalist who has worked with the Ministry since 1980. Brent is the Secretary of the North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association. He authored "Marketing on the Edge" - a guide for farmers/producers to assist in diversification and marketing of their products directly to the public.

Heather Pritchard - Executive Director, FarmFolk/CityFolk (Vancouver, BC) - An organic farmer for 21 years and a member of the Glorious Organics Cooperative. Sits on the Vancouver Food Policy Council, the GVRD Agricultural Advisory Committee, Colony Parks Association and BC Food Systems Network. FFCF's mission is: farm and city working together to cultivate a local, sustainable food system. FFCF has recently engaged into a collaborative endeavour to create CFCA (Collective Farm Community Alliance); created to support the creation and sustaining of collectively owned farms.

Kathleen Gibson - Principal, GBH Consulting Group Ltd (Victoria, BC) - a food systems specialist and policy analyst. Kathleen also works as a Help Desk Coordinator for the Meat Industry Enhancement Strategy of the BCFPA (BC Food Processors Association). (Kathleen was unable to make this recorded session of the conference, and Brent Warner acted as the voice for her presentation!)

Fermenting Revolution
How many people out there would love to hear that drinking beer could save the world. One might ask, to save the world from what, and author Christopher O'Brien would suggest from climate change, from pollution, from corporate control of our lives, from declining levels of happiness, from increasing levels of stress, from gender inequality, and from communities that have lost their sense of community. Fermenting Revolution" is the title of the book released just last year by British Columbia's New Society Publishers. As we often critically examine individual foods or agricultural commodities here on Deconstructing Dinner, beer is of course no different from any other food. It's principle ingredients consist of water, barley (or another grain), hops and yeast, all of which are extracted and produced in ways that can either respect or disrespect the earth. We learn of beer and its role in leading a revolution in small breweries around the world.

Soil Matters CSA I
One of the greatest threats facing farmers today and hence facing our own food supply is the financial rewards found in the field of farming, rewards that are seemingly more often then not, in the negative digits. Many argue that food and agriculture should be removed from global trade regimes. One of the reasons for such an idea comes from a belief that farmers themselves should not have to bear the financial risks associated with such a volatile industry, and all people should equally share such risks as food is a need and not a desire. One alternative to the dominant food system is the model of Community Supported Agriculture, whereby a set number of people within a city or town become a member of a farm, and in doing so pay the farmers at the beginning of the season when farmers need the money most. Members who join are then guaranteed what is most often a weekly box of fresh produce. As many farmers know all too well how easily an entire crop can be lost due to weather, pests or unforseen circumstances, members of a CSA share this risk with the farmer and on the other side can also share in the abundance. Just outside of Nelson, British Columbia, two intrepid farmers who only began farming a few years ago, have launched a CSA this year. Host Jon Steinman chose to become a member and document the process of creating a CSA and the potential for such a model to reconnect people with their food and provide farmers with a more secure source of income.

This marks the first of a periodic series that will document the creation and evolution of a CSA.

Guests

Christopher O'Brien - Author, Fermenting Revolution (Washintgon D.C.) - When not writing books, Author Christopher O'Brien works at the Center for a New American Dream as Director of the Responsible Purchasing Network. There he helps institutions of all kinds, identify and purchase products that are more socially and environmentally responsible. Chris is also part-owner of the Seven Bridges Co-operative - which is an exclusive supplier of organic-only beer making supplies.

Craig Smith and Laura Sacks - Farmers, Soil Matters (Castlegar, BC) - Located between Nelson and Castlegar, British Columbia, Soil Matters is a certified organic farm. They maintain 7-8000 sq. feet of greenhouse space, and a few outdoor plots which between all of this space allows for growing between early spring and late fall. This year Soil Matters launched a Community Supported Agriculture program that currently maintains 17 member shares.

From its inception in January 2006, Deconstructing Dinner has been accompanied by the recognizable theme music created by Nelson-area resident Adham Shaikh. Titled "Infusion", this piece is found on Adham's 2004 release "Fusion". In 2006, Fusion was nominated for a Juno award in the World Music category. On this broadcast, Producer Jon Steinman teamed up with Adham Shaikh to create a production that highlights all shows aired between January and May 2007. Upon compiling segments that capture the essence of these broadcasts, Jon passed the work off to Adham who then mastered a soundtrack of predominantly unreleased material. Adham Shaikh is a composer, producer and sound designer currently living near Nelson, BC. He has been producing music for the past 18 years and has released 4 solo albums, 2 collaborative full-length albums and numerous individual compositions over the course of his career. As a performer, Adham has played across Canada and internationally at festivals, film events and clubs - both solo and together with a wide variety of accompanying world musicians. Operating from his Sonicturtle Music Studio, he is currently at work on a number of multimedia projects while actively recording and composing his next albums. Acting as the Narrator for this broadcast is Kootenay Co-op Radio's K.Linda Kivi, co-host of the weekly program "The EcoCentric".

Conscientious Cooks is a periodic series that explores the foodservice industry and those who are making unique efforts to create more sustainable interactions between the field and the table.

On part three of this series, we visit with a unique concept that allows for a deconstructing of restaurants themselves. Whether it be cafes, diners, or five star restaurants, all are based on a very similar model that is rarely, if ever, examined critically. Maria Solakofski's Guerrilla Gourmet consists of upwards to 10 complete strangers coming together within her home, where she prepares 3-course meals or brunches and provides an educational experience that could certainly not be received at any other restaurant. Her passion for providing this is clear upon observing the source of her ingredients - her backyard garden and local farmers and producers she knows personally.

The intimate and human interactions integral to the Guerrilla Gourmet experience, helps suggest that the traditional restaurant experience does little to capture relationships with food and our surroundings. As one of her guests so succintly put it, "the Guerrilla Gourmet helps disengage minds conditioned by patterns of passive consumption"

The first half of the broadcast takes listeners on a tour of Toronto's Dufferin Grove Farmers' Market - an organic-only market having operated year-round for close to 5 years. Solakofski sources most of her ingredients from Toronto-area markets, and host Jon Steinman visited with Maria both at the market and in her home to learn more about her unique approach to "eating out". Guerrilla Gourmet is 'slow food' at its best!

Guests

Maria Solakofski - Guerrilla Gourmet (Toronto, ON) - In addition to her role as a Shiatsu therapist, Maria has her hands in many food awareness projects in the urban metropolis of Toronto. As part of the Real Food for Real Kids program, Maria leads children on tours of Toronto-area farmers' markets, educating them on the origins of their food. Maria is also very involved in the Kensington Market community of the city where she hosts Guerrilla Gourmet - the feature of this broadcast.

Howard Lyman (aka The Mad Cowboy) is a figure to pay attention to. If converting from a Montana cattle rancher to a strict vegan is not enough of a reason to raise an eyebrow, Lyman has since devoted his life to educating the public on the dangers of animal-based diets.

Lyman has been a fourth-generation family farmer in Montana for almost 40 years. Using personal experience, he denounces chemically based agricultural production methods, calling them unsustainable and ecologically disastrous. His experiences range from working in a large organic dairy to raising registered beef cattle to owning a large factory feedlot. He has farmed thousands of acres of grain and reproduced a herd of over one thousand commercial beef cows. Lyman has raised chickens, pigs, and turkeys, and grown crops such as wheat, barley, oats, corn, alfalfa, and grass.

Howard Lyman was farming at the time when it was either get big or get out. Educated on the modern industrial methods of agriculture, Lyman saw his organic soil go from a living, productive base to a sterile, chemically-saturated, mono-cultural ground.

In 1979, a tumor on his spinal cord caused him to be paralyzed from the waist down. Realizing that the farming methods he used were the problem, he decided to become a voice for the family farmer and the land. That led him to work for the Montana Farmers Union and from there to Washington, D.C. as a lobbyist for the National Farmers Union.

Lyman has made many trips to British Columbia, and this broadcast will feature his speech given at the Taste of Health event hosted by EarthSave Canada in 2002. The recording is courtesy of the Necessary Voices Society.

"The question we must ask ourselves as a culture is whether we want to embrace the change that must come, or resist it. Are we so attached to the dietary fallacies with which we were raised, so afraid to counter the arbitrary laws of eating taught to us in childhood by our misinformed parents, that we cannot alter the course they set us on, even if it leads to our own ruin? Does the prospect of standing apart or encounttering ridicule scare us even from saving ourselves?" - Howard Lyman

(first aired on July 20, 2006)

Sugar is close to becoming a cultural institution here in North America and is found in a countless number of foods that we consume daily. The media looks to sugar on a rather frequent basis to satisfy the "declining population health" segments of the nightly news. While these segments could arguably not be frequent enough, there is a whole side to sugar rarely touched on.

Like with many crops, fruits and vegetables, sugar production comes with hidden costs. Sugarcane represents the primary crop from which refined sugar originates, and its current methods of cultivation and production are taking a toll on the environment and on the human beings who are part of the process.

Join us as we look past the health concerns of our sugar-driven food system, and look to solutions and alternatives to a commodity that seems to present very little choice for the general public.

Guests

Dr. Jason Clay - Vice-President, Center for Conservation Innovation, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - Jason has spent more than 20 years working with human rights and environmental organizations. More recently, Jason has been engaged in detailed examinations of the social and environmental impacts of commodity production. Clay was founder and editor of the award-winning Cultural Survival Quarterly, the largest circulation anthropology and human rights publication in the world. Jason studied anthropology and Latin American studies at Harvard University, economics and geography at the London School of Economics, and anthropology and international agriculture at Cornell University where he received his Ph.D. in 1979. Jason sits on the Board of Protected Harvest and is the author of "World Agriculture and the Environment".

Adony Melathopoulos - Research Technician, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada - Working out of the Beaverlodge Research Farm in Beaverlodge, Alberta, Adony studies ways to manage pests and diseases on Honey Bee farms. Adony graduated from Burnaby's Simon Fraser University and sits on the Communications committee for the Canadian Assocation of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA). Adony recently compiled an article for the Canadian Honey Council's web site titled "Honey as Canada's Sustainable and Ethical Sweetener."

Reykia Fick - Public Education & Outreach, TransFair Canada - TransFair Canada is a national non-profit certification and public education organization promoting Fair Trade Certified to improve the livelihood of developing world farmers and workers.

David Richard - Publisher, Vital Health Publishing - Vital Health publishes authors who can expose health-related problems accurately and with integrity, clarify the issues, and provide workable solutions. David first authored the book "Stevia Rebaudiana: Nature's Sweet Secret" in 1996. David was featured in a New York Times headline story on the food disparagement laws (June 1, 1999), and he also made national news in 1998 when his Stevia book was nearly burned by the FDA in the warehouse of one of his Texas distributors.

Launching the second season of Deconstructing Dinner, this broadcast explores the highlights from all shows aired between June and November of 2006. Show segments have been orchestrated alongside a soundtrack courtesy of Six Degrees Records. Broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner can be listened to in their entirety, by browsing the "recent" section of the program's web site.

"TRADE AGREEMENTS OVER DINNER"

The impact of trade agreements on food systems and agriculture is probably brought up on almost every broadcast of Deconstructing Dinner, but never have we tackled this topic head on. On this broadcast we look into how trade agreements affect the fruits on our trees, the animals in our fields and the food on our plates. We will focus on two agreements and a "partnership" that have either had devastating effects on our food, and/or will have further impacts in the near and distant future.

A short segment will also be featured covering the recently tabled Bill C-448, calling for a ban on Terminator Seed Technology.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
For years, we have been told that globalization and free trade are inevitable, and that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would bring jobs and prosperity to Canadians. But in the aftermath of the softwood lumber decision, even former supporters of free trade are arguing that NAFTA isn't working for Canada. Critics suggest it undermines democracy, strips Canada of control over our energy resources, threatens to put water up for sale, and endangers health care and other public services.

Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)
In March 2005, Paul Martin, George W. Bush and Vicente Fox met in Waco, Texas to ratify the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). The SPP takes NAFTA's goal of continental economic integration much further by including security and foreign policy issues, and by speeding up the process of regulatory harmonization integral to the first Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Despite a lack of public awareness or input, all three North American governments are moving quickly toward a continental resource pact, North American security perimeter, and common agricultural and other polices related to our health and environment.

Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA)
On April 1, 2007, a new free trade pact (TILMA) came into effect between Alberta and B.C. Critics say it will have a devastating effect on local democracy, public health and the environment. While currently confined to Western Canada, provincial governments in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and the Maritimes have all shown an interest in signing on. TILMA was signed by the premiers of Alberta and B.C., without public consultation or legislative debate, in April 2006. The agreement allows corporations and individuals to sue provincial governments for any provincial or municipal government measure they feel "restricts or impairs" their investment (i.e. their profits). Under TILMA, critics suggest that even measures designed to protect the environment and public health are vulnerable to attack from corporate lawsuits.

Guests

Alex Atamanenko, MP BC Southern Interior / NDP Agriculture Critic, "New Democratic Party of Canada" (Ottawa, ON / Castlegar, BC) - Elected the Member of Parliament for British Columbia Southern Interior in 2006. Alex is the critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Canadian Wheat Board. Atamanenko was born in New Westminster, and was educated at the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto.

Corky Evans, MLA Nelson-Creston / NDP Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Lands, "New Democratic Party of British Columbia" (Victoria, BC / Winlaw, BC) - Corky Evans was elected as the MLA for Nelson Creston in 1991, and was re-elected in 1996. He was once again elected to represent his constituents on May 17, 2005. Corky has served as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.

Stuart Trew, Communications Administrator, "Council of Canadians" (Ottawa, ON) - Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada's largest citizens' organization, with members and chapters across the country. We work to protect Canadian independence by promoting progressive policies on fair trade, clean water, energy security, public health care, and other issues of social and economic concern to Canadians.

Perhaps nowhere within our food system is the source of our food so disconnected from our dinner plates than that food which originates from the sea. Only a fraction of the Canadian population lives by the ocean, and those who do, are only exposed to a glistening sheet of water stretching out to the horizon, oblivious of what lies beneath.

When Canadians think of food from our oceans, it is without doubt, our country's populations of wild salmon that pop into mind. On this broadcast we will learn of the management of Canada's wild salmon populations and the history of how such an important industry began heading in the same direction that eventually led to the collapse of the Atlantic Cod Fishery.

On the West Coast, few debates have been so passionate or long-running as the one over management of wild salmon stocks, yet few issues remain so confused in the public mind.

In his 2005 book "Salmon Wars", author Dennis Brown reviews the history of the West Coast salmon resource with such comprehensiveness and clarity that even those closest to the issue will find themselves viewing it with new understanding.

In 2005, Dennis was recorded speaking in Vancouver by the Necessary Voices Society.

Speakers

Dennis Brown, Author, "Salmon Wars: The Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery" (Burnaby, BC) - A member of a third generation fishing family, was born and raised in Vancouver. He was educated at the University of British Columbia. In 1980, he joined the staff of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union and worked as the union's Fraser Valley organizer, dealing primarily with the gillnet and troll fleets. In 1990 he was elected to the post of business agent of the UFAWU and three years later he became secretary-treasurer. In 1996 he was hired as Premier Glen Clark's special advisor on the Pacific Salmon Treaty.

This broadcast attempts to tie together some of the most pressing global issues and observe just how interconnected our food choices are to the world around us, and just how significant of an impact our food choices can have on the shape and future of this planet and its inhabitants.

The connections between the global pharmaceutical industry and global food may not be so apparent, but the most startling example is the push to begin growing genetically modified crops to provide ingredients to the pharmaceutical industry. But as such technology is not yet approved for commercial use, we travel to Africa, where the connection between Big Pharma and Food exists today. In brief, the connections appear as such; pharmaceutical companies profit off of an industrial food system that in turn contributes to poverty and food shortages, which in turn contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS, and then, the pharmaceutical companies profit from the drugs they produce to treat the virus.

Helping to make the connections, Deconstructing Dinner uses audio productions from InterWorld Radio (IWR), a part of the UK-based Panos Institute, an international media organization which produces news, features and analysis about the most critical global issues of today.

Featured Audio

"Malawi: Toxic Hunger" - Around one million people in Malawi live with HIV and AIDS. Many people who fall ill find it hard to farm, and struggle to get enough to eat. Antiretroviral drugs which help boost the immune system can help people regain their strength. But taking such potentially toxic treatment without food can be dangerous. Research by the UK's Overseas Development Institute argues food security is essential to break this vicious cycle. In Malawi, the charity Care International supports vulnerable households by running communal vegetable gardens. Hilary Mbobe visited Steria, who is living with HIV, in the village of Matapila. 01/02/2007

"The Food On Your Plate" - More and more countries are producing food they don't eat and eating food they don't produce but is this a good thing? Do the big supermarkets have too much power? Is the organic movement and local production and consumption a sensible way forward? Many commentators favour relocalisation rather than globalisation. And does more choice just mean. 15/10/2003

"Ghana: Foreign Flavours" - Rice and chicken is a signature dish in Ghana and there's plenty of demand for the raw ingredients. But only if the price is right. Ghana's farmers find they can't compete with cheap cuts of meat from the European Union or subsidised rice from the US, and it's fuelling hardship. Isaac Tetteh reports. 16/02/2006

"Zambia: Buying Your Way Out of Hunger" - Each year wealthy nations donate more than five million tonnes of food aid to poorer countries. But some aid professionals think giving food should be a last resort. They say many people facing food shortages would be better off with cash or vouchers to spend in local shops. Researchers who looked into a scheme in Zambia's western province in which aid workers gave out cash instead of food aid say the results are promising. Pamela Mnyantha reports. 01/02/2007

"Zambia: GM Under the Microscope" - Genetic modification or GM is one of the most hotly contested technologies of today. Embraced in the US and shunned in Europe it affects the food we eat, our environment and the livelihoods of farmers. Genetic modification involves altering the genes of plants and animals in an attempt to produce crops more efficiently. But questions over its safety and whether it is in fact superior to other farming methods have divided consumers and scientists.Zambia was catapulted into the heart of the controversy three years ago when it famously refused American food aid during a famine because it contained GM maize. The government still maintains its ban today - not least, some say, because it wants to hold onto its European market. But farmers in Zambia are divided about the issue. IWR reporter Pamela Mnyantha found out what's happening in Zambia now. 07/04/2005

Since the inception of Deconstructing Dinner in January 2006, a growing number of broadcasts have explored livestock as a topic for discussion. This broadcast will revisit with a number of guests who have previously appeared on the program. These topics are in much need of an update, and the three programs to revisit on this broadcast are "Eggs" (Jan.12/06), "Bacon and Marshmallows: The Story Behind Pork" (Mar.23/06) and "Slaughterhouses on the Butcher Block?" (May.4/06).

Topics of discussion.......1. An update on the elimination of battery cage egg production in Canada. 2. An update on the elimination of sow gestation stalls within Canada's pork industry. 3. The battles waged between communities and intensive livestock operations (ILOs). 4. An update on the new British Columbia meat inspection regulations that threaten the future of the province's small-scale livestock industry.

Guests

Bruce Passmore - Farm Animal Welfare Project Coordinator, Vancouver Humane Society (Vancouver, BC) - Bruce first appeared on the program on January 12, 2006 and launched our broadcast titled "Eggs". The VHS coordinates the Chicken Out campaign - working towards the elimination of battery cages within Canada's egg industry.

Vicki Burns - Executive Director, Winnipeg Humane Society (Winnipeg, MB) - Vicki first appeared on the program on March 23, 2006 and launched our broadcast titled Bacon and Marshmallows: The Story Behind Pork. The society had been coordinating the Quit Stalling campaign to see the elimination of sow gestation stalls from Canada's pork industry. In February 2007, Canada's largest pork producer Maple Leaf Foods, announced that they will phase out the use of these stalls over the next 10 years.

Elaine Hughes - Stop the Hogs Coalition (Archerwill, SK) - Elaine appeared on the program on March 23, 2006 during our broadcast titled "Bacon and Marshmallows: The Story Behind Pork". At a meeting held in Archerwill on April 9, 2003, it was learned that North East Hogs/Big Sky Farms Inc. was proposing to establish a 5000-sow mega hog operation somewhere in the Tisdale/Archerwill area. The coalition is a group of concerned ratepayers of the Rural Municipalities of Barrier Valley and Ponass Lake that are opposed to this proposal. We hear an update on this issue.

Cathy Holtslander - Beyond Factory Farming Coalition (Saskatoon, SK) - The BFF promotes livestock production for health and social justice. They promote livestock production that supports food sovereignty, ecological, human and animal health as well as local sustainability and community viability and informed citizen/consumer choice. They recently authored The Citizens' Guide to Confronting a Factory Farm.

Faye Street - General Manager, Kootenay Livestock Association, (Cranbrook, BC) - Faye first appeared on the program in May 2006 for our broadcast titled "Slaughterhouses on the Butcher Block?". The KLA is a registered society whose members are livestock producers in the East and West Kootenay region of BC. They promote the beef cattle industry in the Kootenays as a viable and valuable resource. The association has been working to respond to new provincial meat inspection regulations that threaten the future of the small-scale livestock industry. We hear an update on this issue.

Don Davidson - Project Manager, Meat Industry Enhancement Strategy, BC Food Processors Association (Vancouver, BC) - The BC Meat Industry Enhancement Strategy (MIES) was formed in 2004 to manage new provincial meat inspection regulations and the subsequent transition for processors across the province. It was developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries in conjunction with industry and the BCFPA.

Many forms of urban agriculture have existed for thousands of years. For city dwellers growing food in backyards or even on window sills, this is essentially, farming in the city.

As practical and environmentally friendly as growing food within a city can be, the art of gardening has seemingly disappeared in many urban settings. As current farming practices are proving to be unsustainable in the long-term, urban agriculture is looked upon by many as being a critical shift that needs to take place if we are to ensure a level of food security in the near and distant future.

This broadcast marks the second of an ongoing series that will explore urban agriculture in British Columbia, Canada, and around the world. Featured on the broadcast will be the launch of an on-line community of gardeners with the hope that every lawn in British Columbia will contain a food producing garden. We will learn of an innovative project that links up underutilized backyard garden space with those willing to urban farm it. When we think of urban agriculture, rarely do we think of growing mushrooms! The steps on how to go about becoming an urban mushroom grower will be shared on this broadcsat.

Guests

Steve Pedersen - Coordinator, Public Health Association of BC (PHABC) (Victoria, BC) - PHABC works towards preserving and promoting the public's health through disease and injury prevention, health promotion, health protection and healthy public policy. Their recently launched Every Lawn A Garden project is hoping to see every household in BC have a food garden (a 'local' food supply) and for every community in BC to increase the capacity of its local food supply through a system of community and local gardens.

Michael Levenston - Executive Director, City Farmer (Vancouver, BC) - Since 1978, City Farmer has taught Vancouver residents how to grow food, compost, and take care of their gardens in an environmentally friendly manner. Referring to themselves as Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture, City Farmer maintains one of the most comprehensive on-line resources of urban agriculture information. A recent addition to their web site is an on-line tool titled Sharing Backyards, allowing city dwellers with unused garden space to link up with those looking for a space to garden.

Peter Mcallister - Woodlot Director / Mushroom Grower, Lofstedt Farm (Kaslo, BC) - In 1991 Peter obtained a 1500-acre Government Woodlot, situated in the Farm's watershed. It is now being ecologically logged with Percheron horses, and he also needs the help of qualified forestry trainees, in a separate enterprise from the farm. For the past 8 years Peter has explored the world of mushroom growing, and is now offering workshops on how to grow edible mushrooms at home.

It's been a long time in the making here on Deconstructing Dinner to air a feature on coffee, the second most valuable traded commodity in the world, second only to petroleum.

And so if coffee is the most valuable agricultural commodity on the planet, then deconstructing coffee is possibly the closest we can come to deconstructing humanity itself.

Coffee is constantly scrutinized for its human and social impacts around the world, but rarely do we examine the environmental consequences of a Tim Horton's Double Double, a Starbuck's Cappucino, or even an Organic/Fair Trade Espresso.

This broadcast will examine how the removal of human labour from the coffee industry has led to poverty, hunger, environmental destruction and climate change.

Guests

Adam Tomasek - Priority Leader for Borneo-Sumatra, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) (Washington, D.C.) - In January 2007, WWF released a report titled "Gone in an Instant". The report finds coffee lovers the world over are unknowingly drinking coffee illegaly grown inside one of the world's most important national parks for tigers, elephants and rhinos -- Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Indonesia. Illegally grown coffee is mixed with legally grown coffee beans and sold to such companies as Kraft Foods and Nestle among other. This coffee is threatening the future survival of 3 animal species.

Daniel Fourwinds - Capulin Coffee (Nayarit, Mexico) - Capulin is a hand crafted, traditionally sun-dried, 100% jungle shade grown natural coffee. Capulin claims to provide the sweetest, least bitter and most stimulating 100% Arabica Tipica coffee available anywhere, and provides more money per pound directly to local villagers than any other coffee company on the planet. This coffee illustrates the destructive forces ALL water-processed (washed) coffees are having on people and the planet.

Benji Hansen - Clean Bean CafÃÂ (Nelson, BC) - The Clean Bean CafÃÂ exclusively sells Capulin Coffee. Located alongside the main highway running through the city, the coffee is sold out of the back of a trailer and is essentially a drive-thru coffee shop. But while Capulin Coffee presents a real opportunnity for social and environmental change, Benji Hansen is encouraging yet another level of change by NOT offering ANY take-out cups. Instead, Hansen maintains a 'mug orphanage' whereby customers are free to take their ceramic mug with them! Hey fast food chains and coffee shops..........take some notes!

In January 2006, Deconstructing Dinner was launched to fill a gap not nearly satisified by Canada's mainstream media. But the subject matter of Deconstructing Dinner is frequently covered by other independent radio stations across the country.

This broadcast will highlight four programs from campus and community radio stations that have explored how our food choices impact ourselves, our communities and the planet. In doing so, we hope to showcase the importance of independent media and the diversity of content that can be found within.

Featured Programs

"Redeye" - Vancouver Co-operative Radio CFRO, (Vancouver, BC) - Redeye is a 3-hour radio program broadcast live every Saturday morning on Vancouver Cooperative Radio, CFRO 102.7FM. It is produced by an independent media collective at the studios of Coop Radio in Vancouver's downtown eastside. The show has been on the air for over 30 years, providing high-quality public affairs and arts programming to listeners looking for a progressive take on current events.

Clip
Jason Mark - Farmer and author based in San Francisco California. Interviewd by Peter Royce. Urban farms in Havana supply all the fresh fruit and vegetables the city's residents need. Cuba made the transition to small-scale, local, organic production following the break-up of the Soviet Union. The crisis Cuba continues to respond to, is a glimpse into the very crisis that Canadians may very well face in the near or distant future. Aired: 04.14.07

"Alert!" - University of Manitoba CJUM - (Winnipeg, MB) - Broadcast every Friday at 11 AM on 101.5 UMFM in Winnipeg, Alert radio brings you all kinds of leading-edge information they think you want to hear. The show covers politics, economics, issues of social and environmental justice; features interviews, commentaries, profiles of people in the news; has features on music, media, the arts; as well as special shows dedicated to new ideas or significant events.

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Mustafa Koc - Former Chair of Food Secure Canada and Founding Coordinator of Ryerson University's Centre for Studies in Food Security (Toronto). Interviewd by Andre Clement. Health Canada's new Food Guide was recently released, Mustafa Koc speaks about the corporate influence on the creation of the guide. Aired: 03.02.07

"The Friday Morning After" - McGill University CKUT - (Montreal, QC) - CKUT 90.3 FM McGill Radio Inc. is a non-profit campus community radio station that provides alternative music, news and spoken word programming to the city of Montreal and surrounding areas. CKUT is made up of over 200 volunteers who work closely with a staff of coordinators. The Friday Morning After is a weekly public affairs program airing every Friday morning from 7-8am, and is produced by a collective of volunteers.

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Alka Chandna - Senior Researcher, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) - Norfolk, VA. Interviewed by Joe Broadhurst. This segment looks deeper into the massive Menu Foods pet food recall. While the mainstream media reports on only a few deaths as a result of the recall, thousands of pets are said to have died from the tainted food. Alka Chandna speaks about Menu Foods' past and an unregulated industry where everyone has blood on their hands. Did Menu Foods hold back the recall so two weeks of evidence could be thrown away by consumers? Aired: 03.30.07

"You Are What You Eat" - Queen's University CFRC - (Kingston, ON) - CFRC provides innovative and alternative radio programming that enriches and challenges the academic and cultural life of the University and Kingston community. Tune into You Are WhatvYou Eat when Sayyida Jaffer explores nutrition, culture and politics and how they relate to food.

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On March 22, 2007, Queen's University's Studies in National and International Development program hosted a panel of experts on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). The event was titled "The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program in Canada: Route to Mutual Development or Recipe for Migrant Exploitation?". with Ken Forth, Chairman of the Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Service (Lynden, ON). Stan Raper, United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) (Toronto, ON). Dr. Leigh Binford, Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Mexico. Aired: 03.29.07

Listen to a few broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner, and choosing food may suddenly become an intimidating adventure. It is of the utmost importance that we also bring our listeners examples of alternatives to the industrial food system that is spiralling out of the control of Canadians.

Enter the co-operative model of operating a business. Long an example in Canada of how people can assume control over our needs and resources, co-operatives as an alternative to the industrial food system will be the focus of this series. This is an exciting series, as we ourselves at Kootenay Co-op Radio are a co-operative too.

How does a co-operative differ from a traditional business? Most importantly, a co-operative is owned and democratically controlled by the people who use the services or by those working within the co-op. A co-op is operated for the benefit of members and members have a say in decisions affecting the co-op. In the case of food, such a premise directly challenges many of the pressing issues Deconstructing Dinner explores on a weekly basis.

On this Part II of the series, we look at how co-operatives can provide an alternative to agricultural land ownership and how farmers can receive a fair price by working together to market their product.

Guests

Rob Diether and Lorraine LeBourdais - Horse Lake Community Farm Co-operative (100-Mile House, BC) - An innovative plan to protect a unique piece of farmland in British Columbia is providing a model of how a community can take ownership of the land that feeds them, and guarantee access to locally grown food. Working with The Land Conservancy (TLC), a co-operative has been formed to purchase and preserve a 133-acre farm at the east end of Horse Lake. Joining the Co-op provides many benefits. These include community involvement in the farm's operation with preferred access to the farm's organic produce, educational and cultural activities and special programmes and events on the property.

Cathleen and Brewster Kneen - The Ram's Horn (Ottawa, ON) - In October 2006, Deconstructing Dinner recorded Cathleen and Brewster speak at the Bridging Borders Towards Food Security Conference held in Vancouver, BC. Their workshop told the story of the Northumberland Lamb Marketing Co-operative in Truro, Nova Scotia, which recently marked its 25th anniversary. Their workshop explored the factors that made Northumberlamb a voluntary supply management system, setting prices, controling quality, negotiating delivery times and volumes with farmers, and supplying the major supermarkets in the province with local lamb year round. Cathleen and Brewster publish The Ram's Horn - a monthly journal of food systems analysis.

Audio Clips

Grassroots Groceries - Produced and hosted by Wajid Jenkins for Sprouts - a weekly news magazine of the Pacifica Foundation. Wajid hosts The Compost Pile at WORT Madison, Wisconsin. Grassroots Groceries looks at the past, present and future prospects for grassroots groceries in Madison, Wisconsin. With a globalized food system that favors centralized, large-volume brokers, small-scale grocers face huge obstacles. One of the original food cooperatives in the United States, the Mifflin Street Community Cooperative in Madison, Wisconsin was forced to close its doors on Friday December 8, 2006. Established in January 1969, Mifflin Coop played a pivotal role in the progressive movement for food justice in the Midwest and beyond. With roots in the radical politics of the movement against the Vietnam War, Mifflin has remained true to its original values and mission. It is a collectively managed, member-owned small-scale grocery. Mifflin was central in the formation and support of other cooperative businesses in the Midwest, loaning money, inspiring discussion and forging new paths. It struggled with debt, changing neighborhood demographics and runaway globalization of the food system. Now, after 38 years, it has closed it's doors, leaving a small but obvious hole in the local food scene in Madison.

The Packaged Foods Exposed series takes a look at the largest food manufacturers in the world. What products fall under their banners; how has their influence shaped economic policy, society and culture; how have they affected the environments they operate in; and what relationships do they foster within the countries they are located?

This series places corporations in a critical light, hoping to provide a more balanced image to the advertising and PR campaigns launched by some of the most influential food corporations on the planet.

In this third episode of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, we take a look at the second largest food manufacturer in the world, and the largest in North America - Kraft Foods.

The first half of the broadcast will look at the company's previous ownership by tobacco giant Altria/Philip Morris, and fast track to today, because since March 30, 2007, Kraft is now an independent company. Many eaters around the world are still unaware that between 1988 and 2007, support for Kraft products was support for the tobacco industry.

Within the second half of the show, Kraft's marketing strategies will be placed under a critical light following our discovery of an advertisement that was rolling in lies. Other highly questionable marketing campaigns will also be explored.

Guests

Bryan Hirsch - Organizer, Corporate Accountability International (Boston, MA) - Formerly INFACT, Corporate Accountability International is a membership organization that protects people by waging campaigns that challenge irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions around the world. For 30 years, Corporate Accountability International and our members have scored major victories that protect people's lives by forcing corporations like NestlÃ, General Electric and Philip Morris/Altria to stop abusive practices. Kraft Foods has long been boycotted by the organization, but since its recent spin off from Philip Morris, the boycott has now been dropped.

Audio Clips

Making a Killing (2001) - Corporate Accountability International / AndersonGold Films - A powerful organizing tool in the fight for social justice and tobacco control. This documentary exposes Philip Morris/Altriaâs deadliest abuses. It reveals the burning truth about how the tobacco giant uses its political power, size and promotional expertise to spread tobacco addiction internationally, leaving in its wake a trail of death and destruction.

Finding the adequate nutritional balance within our food is often of paramount importance. When looking at the history of the current food system serving Canadians, it becomes apparent that only for a short time have we been experimenting with such a modern approach to eating. Processed foods and industrial farming are seen as convenient innovations, but how has such a model affected the nutritional composition of our food?

Two speakers addressed this concern at the 2007 Growing Up Organic Conference held in Toronto on February 17th. The conference was organized by the Canadian Organic Growers. This broadcast will examine how, since the innovations coming out of World War II, the nutritional content of the Canadian food supply has plummeted.

Through the assistance of CKLN in Toronto and Heather Douglas, Deconstructing Dinner was on hand to record the conference. This broadcast features the final session of the conference where panelists were posed the question, "Is Organic Worth the Price?".

Speakers

Thomas Pawlick, Author, The End of Food: How the Food Industry is Destroying Our Food Supply - And What We Can Do About It (Kingston, Ontario) - Pawlick's lecture was titled "Our ChildrenÃïïs Food, Our ChildrenÃïïs Survival". A veteran newspaper and magazine journalist with more than 30 years experience in Canada and abroad, Thomas has taught at both Canadian and foregin universities and colleges. The End of Food exposes the cause of the food crisis--an industrial system of food production geared not toward producing nourishing food, but maximum profit for corporations. Thomas is currently on leave from his position as Associate Professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Regina. Following the book achieving best-seller status, the University cut his salary, cut his research funding, removed him from email lists, and removed all copies of his book from the shelves of the campus book store. Thomas Pawlick is currently restoring a small scale organic farm north of Kingston, Ontario with his son.

Ellen Desjardins, Public Health Nutritionist - Region of Waterloo Public Health (Kitchener, ON) - Ellen's presentation is titled "Eat up! It's good for you! - what the scientific literature says about the health benefitis of organics". Ellen has worked in various programs throughout the province and at the federal level for the past 20 years. Ellen has co-authored numerous articles in the area of food security. She has also chaired workgroups and prepared position papers for the Ontario Public Health Association on food systems, public health concerns about food biotechnology, and mercury in fish. In 2005, Ellen was a founding member of the new national organization Food Secure Canada.

Audio Clip

"Food for Fighters" - Produced in 1943 by the United States Office of War Information, this short provides a glimpse into the origins of our current food system. The film was designed to promote the innovations that provided soldiers overseas with nutritionally adequate food. The audio version featured on this broadcast is available in its visual format from the Prelinger Archive at www.archive.org.

Listen to a few broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner, and choosing food may suddenly become an intimidating adventure. It is of the utmost importance that we also bring our listeners examples of alternatives to the industrial food system that is spiralling out of the control of Canadians.

Enter the co-operative model of operating a business. Long an example in Canada of how people can assume control over our needs and resources, co-operatives as an alternative to the industrial food system will be the focus of this series. This is an exciting series, as we ourselves at Kootenay Co-op Radio are a co-operative too.

How does a co-operative differ from a traditional business? Most importantly, a co-operative is owned and democratically controlled by the people who use the services or by those working within the co-op. A co-op is operated for the benefit of members and members have a say in decisions affecting the co-op. In the case of food, such a premise directly challenges many of the pressing issues Deconstructing Dinner explores on a weekly basis.

On this Part I of the series, we look at how co-operatives can provide an alternative to the retail and distribution sector of Canada's food system. The province of British Columbia has some of the most innovative cooperatives in the country, and the two co-operatives featured on today's broadcast are both located within the province: the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative in Nelson, and FoodRoots, a newly established distributors co-operative in Victoria.

Guests

Abra Brynne, Board President - Kootenay Country Store Co-operative (Nelson, BC) - The Kootenay Co-op is a large, member-owned cooperative offering natural, organic foods and products in Nelson. Since its inception in 1975, the Co-op has taken a leading role in promoting natural, organic foods and products, sustainable living and supporting local, organic farms and businesses and fair trade organizations. With over 7,000 members, the store is a leading example in Canada of an alternative to the conventional model of food retailing. Abra has been a member of the store since 1991, was a staff member until 2000, and is now the President of the Board. Abra was heard on the inaugural broadcast of Deconstructing Dinner in January 2006. A presentation she gave at a November 2006 community food forum has also been archived on our web site.

Jocelyn Carver, Human Resources Director - Kootenay Country Store Co-operative (Nelson, BC) - In March 2007, Jocelyn helped organize an event/meeting for the 55 staff members of the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative. The meeting explored food sovereignty and food security, and invited local farmers and suppliers to come and speak to the staff. Such a meeting would be unheard of within the conventional retail system, and Jocelyn was invited onto the show to share this experience.

Staff of the Kootenay Country Store Co-operative - Joy Farley, Anneke Rosch, Niels Petersen, Allana McConachy and Ben Morris

Lee Fuge and Susan Tychie, Co-Founders - FoodRoots (Victoria, BC) - Incorporated in October 2006 as a co-operative, FoodRoots has been formed to promote a local sustainable food system by creating the infrastructure link between the eaters/consumers and the growers and processors in the Victoria region. They promote sustainable food grown naturally as close to home as possible, and place a priority on Certified Organic. FoodRoots works hard to educate eaters/consumers about local agriculture and food security issues, and the co-operative challenges the conventional distribution systems controlling Canada's food system.

Demand for organic food in Canada has been growing steadily at 25 percent a year. With new federal regulations passed in December and a new ÃïïCanada OrganicÃïï logo backing organic claims, the Canadian organics sector can expect this growth to continue. Canadians are becoming more health conscious and concerned about the safety of our food system. Consumers need to be aware of new information about our food, especially as it relates to our and our childrenÃïïs health. ThatÃïïs why scientists, children's health experts and the general public discussed what it means to grow up organic at the one day conference "Growing Up Organic" in Toronto on February 17th , 2007. The conference was hosted by Canadian Organic Growers.

The organic standard bans the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, additives, genetically modified organisms and irradiation. The result is food that has fewer toxic residues and a healthier ecosystem that will sustain food production over the long term. With the growing popularity of organics, people are asking many questions. Some of the more common questions include: Are organic foods really healthier? Should I be buying organics for my children? Are organics worth the higher price? The body of knowledge around organics continues to emerge, as scientists and nutritional experts conduct studies to answer these kinds of questions.

Speakers

Ann Clark, Associate Professor in Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph (Guelph, ON) - Dr. Clark's research program encompasses pasture and grazing management and organic agriculture, as well as risk assessment of genetically modified crops. A native Californian, she studied at the University of California at Davis and at Iowa State University. Her academic career started at the University of Alberta, but she has been at Guelph since 1983. In a career spanning 26 years, she has authored 15 books or chapters in books, presented papers at more than 50 conferences and symposia, and published 25 refereed journal and 150 technical and extension articles. She currently teaches Crop Ecology, Crops in Land Reclamation, Managed Grasslands, and several courses in Organic Agriculture, and coordinates the new Major in Organic Agriculture.

Peter Macleod, Executive Director of Crop Protection Chemistry - CropLife Canada (Toronto, ON) - CropLife Canada is a trade association representing the developers, manufacturers and distributors of plant science innovations Ãïï pest control products and plant biotechnology Ãïï for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings. Peter MacLeod has spent his career in the field of scientific research and regulatory affairs. His research activity has mainly focused on the degradation of pesticides in soil and water but he has also managed environmental toxicology studies and food residue studies. Peter is an active participant on the Pesticide Management Advisory Committee to the Federal Minister of Health and has served on many panels on pesticides and risk management. Born in Yarmouth , Nova Scotia his fondness for Agriculture and Science led him to attend the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. He graduated in 1987 with a B.Sc. (Agr.) Hon., Dalhousie University.

Ellen Desjardins, Public Health Nutritionist - Region of Waterloo Public Health (Waterloo, ON) - Ellen has worked in various programs throughout the province and at the federal level for the past 20 years. Ellen has co-authored numerous articles in the area of food security. She has also chaired workgroups and prepared position papers for the Ontario Public Health Association on food systems, public health concerns about food biotechnology, and mercury in fish. In 2005, Ellen was a founding member of the new national organization Food Secure Canada.

Wayne Roberts, Coordinator, Toronto Food Policy Council (Toronto, ON) - Wayne moderated the session of the conference titled Is Organic Worth the Price?. The Toronto Food Policy Council partners with business and community groups to develop policies and programs promoting food security. Our aim is a food system that fosters equitable food access, nutrition, community development and environmental health.

In 2001, well-known food activist Vandana Shiva spoke to an audience in Vancouver at an event sponsored by the Basmati Action Group. It was during that time that the company RiceTec, had recently attempted to patent basmati rice, a staple of Indian and Pakistani livelihoods and diets. The Basmati Action Group was formed to launch a North American-wide boycott on all products produced by the company.

Vandana's lecture addresses the patenting of life and the genetic modification of food. She speaks of the crisis in India that continues today, where over 40,000 farmers have taken their lives as a result of what she refers to as genocide by the multinational pesticide and seed companies.

The broadcast explores the new Green Revolution being pushed onto the African continent by the Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations. We explore the company Bayer, and their role in the recent contamination of the global supply of rice with an unapproved variety that had been genetically modified.

The segments of Vandana Shiva's lecture were recorded by the Vancouver-based Necessary Voices Society.

Speakers

Vandana Shiva, Founder - Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology / Navdanya (New Delhi, India) - Vandana has been involved in the protection of ecosystems, farmers, and food security for well over 2 decades. Shiva studied philosophy at the University of Guelph in the late 70's and moved on to complete her Ph.D in Quantum Theory Physics at the University of Western Ontario. Using her background in physics and her love of nature, she began questioning how science technology has impacted the environment In 2001 she founded a program called Navdanya, formed to provide education and training on subjects such as biodiversity, food, biopiracy, sustainable agriculture, water and globalization. She is the author of dozens of books.

Clean, white, wholesome milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt and ice cream - very common ingredients within the diet of Canadians.

On part II of the Deceivable Dairy series, we look deeper into the dairy industry and explore the politics of production, trade and animal welfare.

The welfare of dairy cattle was explored during part I of the series, but the framework for regulating and monitoring the welfare of animals in this country may shock you.

Canada's dairy industry is one of three industries that operate under a supply management system. The system is one of the last remaining protections for Canadian farmers to the threats posed by cheap imports. We have seen how the heavily subsidized agricultural sectors in the United States and Europe have already threatend farmers here in Canada, and many are now worried that supply management is at risk of being undermined.

But supply management has its critics, and they're not just the big industrial processors. In an age where local production is essential to combat climate change, the current structure of supply management has created a barrier for farmers to produce milk for their own communities.

This broadcast will also take a look at some of the major dairy processors in Canada. As 70% of all Canadian dairy is processed by 3 companies, getting to know these companies is essential when getting to know your milk, cheese, butter and yogurt.

Guests

Shelagh MacDonald - Program Director, Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) (Ottawa, ON) - The CFHS is the national voice of humane societies and SPCAs. They bring together those who work with, and care for animals to promote respect and humane treatment toward all animals. The CFHS plays a crucial role in farm animal welfare in Canada. The CFHS is a founding member of the newly-formed National Farm Animal Care Council.

Jan Slomp - Farmer / Alberta Coordinator, National Farmers' Union (NFU) (Rimbey, AB) - Born and raised in the Netherlands, landed as immigrants in Canada with his wife Marian and three children in the spring of 1989. They bought a small dairyfarm in Rimbey, central Alberta where their herd of 70-80 cattle are raised on grass. Jan is the Alberta coordinator of the NFU - a national organization that works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada.

Food Sovereignty is the human right of all peoples and nations to grow food in ways that are culturally, ecologically and economically appropriate for them.

The idea of food sovereignty as it applies to Western cultures, is one best illustrated through the many recurring topics covered here on Deconstructing Dinner: control of resources, control of agricultural practices, control of production/distribution/retail, and the inability for Canadian communities to viably reclaim and create food systems that better serve the needs of the people within those communities.

Indigenous Food Sovereignty is a much different concept, and as broadcasts of Deconstructing Dinner often explore the food systems of the Western world, and how they impact health, environment and people, there is much to learn from the foodways of North America's indigenous people. The modern food system of today could not have been made possible without the destructive forces of colonialism, and its impact on the food supply of this continent's earliest inhabitants. This destruction continues today.

Through the eyes of indigenous food sovereignty, this broadcast will look to better understand the ways in which the modern food system has disengaged all peoples from our land.

Speakers

Nicole Manuel - Neskonlith Indian Reserve, Secwepemc Nation (Chase, BC) - Nicole spoke to an audience in October 2006 at the Bridging Borders Toward Food Security Conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Nicole was at the forefront of the demonstrations that took place in 2001 on the land that is now Sun Peaks Resort north of Kamloops, British Columbia. The land was an important location upon which the Secwepemc Nation gathered and hunted their traditional foods.

Paul Smith - Oneida Nation/Heifer International, Indian Nations Program (Wisconsin) - Although their original homelands were in the area of New York, the Oneida Nation is scattered today in several parts of North America (Wisconsin, New York, and Canada). The Oneida Indian Reservation in Wisconsin (a few miles north of Appleton and southwest of Green Bay) is where many members of the Oneida Nation reside. Paul spoke to an audience at the 2006 Bridging Borders Toward Food Security Conference in Vancouver.

Nancy Turner - Professor of Ethnobotany, School of Environmental Studies, Univeristy of Victoria (Victoria, BC) - While working on her thesis, Dr. Turner collaborated with Saanich First Nations elders to learn about the significance of plants to their culture. Her post-graduate work concentrated on plant classification systems among the Haida, Nuxalk (Bella Coola) and Stl`atl`imx (Lillooet) people. Her major research contributions have been in demonstrating the pivotal role of plant resources in past and contemporary aboriginal cultures and languages, as an integral component of traditional knowledge systems, and how traditional management of plant resources has shaped the landscapes and habitats of western Canada. Dr. Turner spoke to an audience in February 2007, as part of a lecutre series titled "Acceptable Genes? Religion, Culture and the Genetically Modified (GM) Foods Debate" Her lecture was titled "Why Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Beliefs Matter in the Debate on GM Foods".

Michael Ableman is the founder and executive director of the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens, a non profit organization based on one of the oldest and most diverse organic farms in southern California, where he farmed from 1981 to 2001. The farm has become an important community and education center and a national model for small scale and urban agriculture. Under Ableman's leadership the farm was saved from development and preserved under one of the earliest and most unique active agricultural conservation easements of its type in the country.

Michael lives in British Columbia on Salt Spring Island where he is developing a long-term master plan for Foxglove Farm. The farm will include mixed grain, livestock, and fruit and vegetable production. The 75 acres of forest will be managed using strict eco-forestry principles. Harvested trees will be milled and furniture products producedon-site.

His most recent book "Fields of Plenty" describes the growing community of farmers and food artisans, who are producing sustainable nourishment that is respectful to the land and rich in heritage, flavor and commitment.

Michael spoke to an audience in November, 2005. This event was produced by Necessary Voices Society and the Vancouver Public Library.

Following in the foodsteps of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, the Agri-Business Exposed series will explore the major agricultural companies whose names are rarely heard by the eating public.

The ingredients entering into the staples of our diet rarely, if ever, originate from the company that produced the final product. Behind the Krafts, Nestles, Coca-Colas and Pizza Huts of the world, are the large corporations that deal with the most important person in the process; the farmer.

The Cargill ExposÃÂ
It is fitting to launch this series by exploring the most influential and powerful agri-business in the world; Cargill. As one of the largest private companies in the world, Cargill's $75.2 billion in sales employs 149,000 people in 63 countries. But the Minnesota-based company utilizes a strategy that situates much of their presence behind the scenes, and upon addressing the scope of this company's influence, their operations and products make their sales figures and employment statistics close to meaningless. Cargill sets the stage for agriculture and food around the world, and a better understanding of this company, is a better understanding of our dinners.

On this Part II of the Cargill Expose, we tackle topics of child slave labour in the West African cocoa industry, we raise questions over how Cargill's High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has played a role in the global obesity and diabetes epidemics, and we discover how the company was able to arrive in Canada in 1989, and now assume 50% control of Canada's beef.

Guests for Part II of the 2-part Cargill Expose

Cam Ostercamp, President, Beef Initiative Group Canada (B.I.G.) (Blackie, AB) - The organization was formed in 2004 to be a voice for primary producers of beef in Canada. As Cargill is the most influential company in the Canadian beef industry, Cam's experience as both a farmer and President of B.I.G., provides him with a comprehensive background on the influence exercised by the company.

Brian Campbell, Staff Attorney, International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) (Washington, D.C.) - ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. The organization is currently targeting the child labour practices in the West African cocoa industry that company's like Cargill are said to support. Brian Campbell began working with the ILRF as a law clerk in 2001 and was hired as a full time attorney upon graduation from law school in 2004.

Brewster Kneen, Author/Publisher, The Ram's Horn (Ottawa, ON) - Brewster was born in Ohio and studied economics and theology in the U.S. and the U.K. before moving to Toronto in 1965. There he produced public affairs programs for CBC Radio, and worked as a consultant to the churches on issues of social and economic justice. In 1971, with his wife Cathleen and their children Jamie and Rebecca, he moved to Nova Scotia, where they farmed until 1986, starting with a cow-calf operation and then developing a large commercial sheep farm. When he stopped farming, he developed a devoted interest to learn more about Cargill than perhaps anyone has ever attempted. The second edition of his book "Invisible Giant" (2002), provides the most current and comprehensive source for any eater interested in learning more about the origins of our food.

Following in the foodsteps of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, the Agri-Business Exposed series will explore the major agricultural companies whose names are rarely heard by the eating public.

The ingredients entering into the staples of our diet rarely, if ever, originate from the company that produced the final product. Behind the Krafts, Nestles, Coca-Colas and Pizza Huts of the world, are the large corporations that deal with the most important person in the process; the farmer.

The Cargill Expose
It is fitting to launch this series by exploring the most influential and powerful agri-business in the world; Cargill. As one of the largest private companies in the world, Cargill's $75.2 billion in sales employs 149,000 people in 63 countries. But the Minnesota-based company utilizes a strategy that situates much of their presence behind the scenes, and upon addressing the scope of this company's influence, their operations and products make their sales figures and employment statistics close to meaningless. Cargill sets the stage for agriculture and food around the world, and a better understanding of this company, is a better understanding of our dinners.

Guests for Part I of the 2-part Cargill Expose

Brewster Kneen, Author/Publisher, The Ram's Horn (Ottawa, ON) - Brewster was born in Ohio and studied economics and theology in the U.S. and the U.K. before moving to Toronto in 1965. There he produced public affairs programs for CBC Radio, and worked as a consultant to the churches on issues of social and economic justice. In 1971, with his wife Cathleen and their children Jamie and Rebecca, he moved to Nova Scotia, where they farmed until 1986, starting with a cow-calf operation and then developing a large commercial sheep farm. When he stopped farming, he developed a devoted interest to learn more about Cargill than perhaps anyone has ever attempted. The second edition of his book "Invisible Giant" (2002), provides the most current and comprehensive source for any eater interested in learning more about the origins of our food.

John Sauven, Campaign Director, Greenpeace (London, UK) - Greenpeace has been very active in exposing the operations of Cargill in Brazil's Amazon. Their 2006 report titled "Eating Up The Amazon", illustrated the soya crisis through an analysis of both Cargill and the European operations of McDonald's. The report documents the path taken by soya from illegally cleared farms, to Cargill and its customers. With the hope of raising awareness about the company's activities abroad, Greenpeace has staged a number of protests that have succesfully disrupted Cargill's operations.