Tuesday, November 18 Regina
VISIT SNAP's Booth at "How to Eat Well AND Save
Our Planet." Lecture by Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface organic
farm
7:30 pm, Education Auditorium, University of Regina
Lecture followed by book signing.
Tickets: $10 and available at Book and Briar Patch, Eat Healthy Foods, Willow on Wascana, U of R Bookstore, and Cafe Orange.Remaining tickets available at the door.
Joel Salatin is a world-renowned farmer and author (also featured in Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma"). You can find more information about his farm (http://www.polyfacefarms.com/ ) and about Joel ( http://www.polyfacefarms.com/schedule.aspx ) on the web.
A sought-after conference speaker, he addresses a wide range of issues, from "creating the farm your children will want" to "making a white collar salary from a pleasant life in the country." His humorous and conviction-based speeches are akin to theatrical performances, often receiving standing ovations. Here is a youtube video of Salatin talking about resilient, forgiving systems: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHOYn6RjCLY
Do you want to participate in the EcoLawn Project? The EcoLawn Project is a research project whose objective is to find an alternative to non-native lawn grass. We will work with participants to plant common yarrow, which is a native drought tolerant leafy plant suitable as a lawn alternative. The only thing you need to do to participate in the project is to provide an open area in your front or backyard (maximum size: 30sq ft) that is ready for planting. Participation in this project is free, but the participant need to prepare the area, i.e. remove any existing vegetation before the start of the project. Planting can be done in the fall of 2008 or the spring of 2009. For more information please contact: malin.hansen at uregina.ca
October 38, 2008 Dow Invokes NAFTA to Challenge Canadian Pesticide Bans
July 30, 2008 Canning in Craik, with Hilda Dale (and Bridget Haworth) can be foundon the front page of www.boilingfrog.ca or directly at this link http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2037215563207346844&q=canning+in+craik&ei=o92QSO-RH4rg-wHxwuWNCA
Boiling Frog's newset audio podcast starring Dr. Lynn Oliphant, "Deer don't have televisions"at http://www.rabble.ca/rpn/boi or download it directly at http://www.rabble.ca/rpn/files/boi/boi-2008-07-23.mp3
Go to http://www.saskorganic.com/oapf/ to listen to the interview.
Listen to this special Making the Links Radio program, "Seed Variety Control by Private Interests" on how
the Canadian Food Inspection Agency seed regulations will be changed to accommodate the interests of private concerns and the transnational corporations who are pursuing genetically engineered seed production.
Host Don Kossick talks with organic farmer and National Farmers Union leader, Terry Boehm, about what these changes in seed variety registration will mean for farm communities and the organic farm movement in Canada.
The SOD position paper states, "The availability of high quality seed free from contamination by GMO varieties and seed that is certified organic or eligible for use in certified organic seed propagation is fundamental requirement for organic grain faming in Canada. The proposed Seed Variety regulation threatens quality, access, public accountability, and the buyers right to unbiased information about seed."
Thanks to Don Kossick and Terry Boehm for making this information available to us.
You have until SEPTEMBER 12 2008 to comment on the proposed regulations by contacting:
Michael Scheffel
National Manager, Seed Section
Plant Production Division
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
59 Camelot Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0Y9
Telephone: 613-221-7541
Fax: 613-228-4552
Email: seedsemence@inspection.gc.ca
REGINA - Aerial spraying to control spruce budworm infestations in selected areas of the provincial forest has begun. The Ministry of Environment will treat approximately 10,000 hectares of northern Saskatchewan forest land in areas near Delaronde, Anglin, Smoothstone and Green Lakes. The biological pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk), a naturally occurring soil bacterium deadly to certain types of caterpillars, is being used.
Ongoing monitoring helps identify potential threats, assess the associated risks and assists in developing effective science-based plans to address them, as well as to determine the effectiveness of treatments. The spruce budworm management program, in operation since 1992, is well-established in Saskatchewan. For mountain pine beetle, the focus so far has been on prevention, with a ban on bringing pine wood with bark into the province since 2002. The mountain pine beetle has not yet arrived in Saskatchewan's northern forests. (SEN Info Bulletin, June 19. 2008)
A June 16, 2008 Greenpeace report, "The Dirty Portfolios of the Pesticides Industry," concludes that pesticides made by German chemical multinational Bayer "pose the biggest threat to human health and the environment." Syngenta (Switzerland), Monsanto (USA), BASF (Germany) and Dow Chemical (USA) followed Bayer in the Greenpeace rating. Monsanto, with the highest proportion of extremely toxic pesticides (60 percent), ended up in the middle of the ranking "due to its small share of the market." The study marks the first attempt to rank agrochemical companies based on the health and environmental hazards of their pesticide products. These multinationals account for 75 percent of the world market and 243 (or 46 percent) of their 512 pesticide products were judged to be particularly hazardous. With the European Union's agriculture ministers set to meet on June 23 to reach a common position on the authorization of pesticides, Greenpeace chemicals expert Manfred Krautter urged politicians to "tighten up EU pesticide laws. Pesticides that can cause cancer, alter genes, and damage the reproductive, endocrine or nervous system must no longer be authorized." (PanUps June 19, 2008)
http://www.panna.org/files/GreenpeaceRanksPesticideCos20081606.pdf
report at www.greenpeace.eu
Spring 2008 Be a gnome buddy, then you'll really be a somebody
David Suzuki wants Canada (and the world!) to be free of toxic chemical pesticides. He just can’t be everywhere at once. So we had to have him replicated.
Gnome Suzuki is on a mission to get our lawns and gardens off drugs. This summer he will be crossing Canada in his magical Gnomemobile, popping up in pesticide-free vegetable patches, balcony flora and indigenous green spaces. It’s easy to earn a chance for a visit. First, enter David Suzuki Digs My Garden. More...
SK Residents support pesticide bylaws. ‘Nearly 7 out of 10 Saskatchewan residents (69%) believe that pesticides pose a threat totheir health and would support a law phasing out pesticides used to
beautify lawns and gardens.’ says a Canadian Cancer Society-SK (CCS-SK) sponsored Ipsos Reid poll.
CCS-Sk report on environmental carcinogens in Saskatchewan deals specifically with tobacco, second hand smoke, cosmetic use of pesticides and community right to know and product labeling.
Pesticide Free? Oui! analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of Quebec’s Pesticides Management Code, the first provincial ban in Canada on the use and sale of certain cosmetic pesticides. The report makes recommendations for developing province-wide bans on cosmetic pesticides in other provinces, based on the Quebec experience, and for strengthening existing policy in Quebec.
Click for the full report: Pesticide Free? Oui! – An Analysis of Quebec’s Pesticides Management Code
Report available to download in English and French. Paper copies can be ordered for $10.00.
September 26, 2007 Saskatchewan Organic Agriculture Report by Regional Economic and Co-operative Development Minister Lon Borgerson made recommendations to Premier Calvert on how to develop the province's organic agriculture industry after extensive consultations.
Borgerson's recommendations include: Establishing an Organic Industry Advisory Board that will provide ongoing advice to the Minister of Agriculture and Food on organic issues; Expanded organic research capacity; Increased support and training opportunities for organic producers and processors; International marketing support for small and medium organic businesses; Measures to attract young people and immigrants to the industry; and the promotion of Saskatchewan-grown organic food. Full report here.
Craik now has a Health Committee, sub group of CSLP (www.craikecovillage.ca) and one of the priorities is pesticide reduction. Contact Kelly at boilingfrog@boilingfrog.ca for more details
June 2007. Pesticide Issues in Saskatchewan: A Primer by Paule Hjertaas,
This article gives an overview of pesticide health effects and the pesticide situation in Saskatchewan and Canada.
Northern Exposure Acute Pesticide Poisonings in Canada by the David Suzuki Foundation.
322 Sask residents are acutely poisoned every year.
Globe and Mail article: Pesticides poison 6000 Cdns per year
Group wants to weed out pesticide use in Sask.- Regina Leader Post