Simon Hon and Coral Moloney (the Landless Farmers Collective)
The Landless Farmers Collective is a group of three people who farm on a public land site rented from the city of Winnipeg at the corner of Grant and Cambridge. The produce grown is sold at the Osborne Village farmers’ market and is given to families who are a part of their vegetable community shared agriculture operation (CSA). Another important part of their work is outreach to students at neighbouring Grant Park High School where grade 7 students are taught about food justice and sustainable food production both on site and in classrooms. The Landless Farmers Collective strongly believes that people should be able to make a living on growing food, not collecting grants, but really living off what they’re doing, they want to be a self-sufficient business, not a non-profit organization.

Any questions or comments? Email thelandlessfarmers@gmail.com or pay them a visit at the Pan Am Forests at the corner of Grant Ave and Cambridge on the North side of the Pan Am pool.

Paolo Riva and Naomi Audio (Urban Eatin’ Gardeners Co-op)
Urban Eatin’ Gardeners Co-op is a landscaping business that focuses on designing, building, planting and maintaining edible urban gardens. Their mission is to help enable urban people and places to become more food secure through the development of sustainable, healthy, edible landscapes; to develop viable livelihoods for enthusiastic, landless, urban gardeners/farmers using a grassroots, cooperative business model; and to effect positive social change.

Visit their website at www.urbaneatin.com or email urbaneatin@gmail.com for more information.

Jim Beckta (IRCOM)
The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba or IRCOM is an organization that provides second stage housing for newly arrived newcomers to Manitoba. Families can live in the apartment located on McDermott and Ellen for up to three years. The current green living project run by Jim Beckta allows newcomers the opportunity to garden on IRCOM balconies and at a site within walking distance of the apartment. Residents can chose to either work individually or collectively to grow food for personal consumption.

Email jbeckta@mts.net for any further information and volunteer opportunities or drive by Dufferin School and have a look at their communal garden (across from Western Glove at Isabella and Logan).

Co-hosts Troy Stozek and Stef McLachlan talk to Fred Tait about his farm and involvement with the National Farmers Union and Beyond Factory Farming, and how agro-business and government policies threaten agriculture in Canada.

Fred Tait is a farmer and farm activist who has been farming for over 50 years in Rosendale Manitoba. In this episode, Fred talks about his concerns with the current agriculture system, and how it has moved away from revolving around the farm family and local community, to the export-oriented corporate model it is today.

Fred talks about the corporatization of agriculture, and how it takes away the focus from the betterment of the community to the betterment of the return of the investment on the corporate structure that’s occupying farm space. This new model takes money away from the community and the people of the community to the effect that they can no longer stay there resulting in abandoning farms, and forcing even more reliance on the high tech inputs that are putting our food system in jeopardy

In his eyes, when the corporate world came into the hog industry it was obvious that the small family farms, which had at one point thrived in the community he grew up in, would collapse under the new models. In many small communities, including his, hog farming simply does not exist any more. It is clear that the current model is not working by the amount of taxpayers dollars that are being pumped into these corporate operations. This money could have been spent in hundreds of different ways instead of simply fueling the current process that is obviously causing significant amounts of damage socially, environmentally and economically.

The potato industry in Manitoba was initially a very welcome industry, as it adapted to the landscape easily and fit in with the transition time when labour people were looking for small farm employment. But as the system itself became more high tech and irrigation and tile drainage became mandatory, as the Simplot and McCain processing plants moved into Manitoba the whole industry started to change. Fred Tait talks about how this once welcome industry has become feared among many farmers in Manitoba.

But despite all this Fred is still optimistic about the future of food in Manitoba. Listen to the rest of the podcast and check out these links to find out more:

The National Farmers Union:
http://www.nfu.ca/

Beyond Factory Farming:
http://beyondfactoryfarming.org/

This show includes two documentaries taped by Stefan during his travel to India and Bangladesh in the winter of 2010.  In the first, he visits villages in northern India.  The right to food is a major political issue, and one around which civil society has been mobilizing through organizations such as the Right to Food Network.  This documentary explores the realities of a particularly vulnerable group in Indian society, the Dalits, and the challenges they face including discrimination from government officials and an exploitative land holding system. It examines the work of EFICOR, a non-governmental organization that engages in food security work, including enabling Dalit communities to organize to lobby their own government officials for the services and programs that are rightfully theirs as Indian citizens, but which they are often denied.

The second story highlights an initiative in northern Bangladesh being run by Mennonite Central Committee that has provided cows, goats and sheep to residents in a famine-prone region.  The result has been a transformation of the community, a reduction of hunger, and new opportunities for many people.  You can read more about this story by reading this article.

These stories were taped as part of a Canadian Foodgrains Bank learning tour.

Troy Stozek also brings you updated news and music to round out this week’s episode of Shaking the Tree Radio.

Read more about Stefan’s trip:

The Right to Food in India
A Question of Land Reform
Cows and Hope
Upper Caste Canadians

In this episode Stef and Troy talk with Bernard von Schulman from Victoria and Mary Contrary from Calgary about their urban chickens and then go to visit a backyard chicken farm in urban Winnipeg!

Bernard von Schulman is a father of four who began chicken farming two years ago. He was inspired to start keeping chickens because of the way that he saw people becoming more and more disconnected with the places they are living, the seasons, and the way food is produced. He wanted his kids to be connected with the concept of where food comes from, what it takes to produce eggs, and generally understanding the production to consumption process. Bernard and his family currently have six chickens in their backyard coop in Urban Victoria.

Mary Contrary is a concerned mom and self-proclaimed environmental nut trying to practice ethical consumerism. She began raising chickens after making the decision to bring more food into her yard in a cruelty free fashion and currently has three outdoor and two indoor chickens that she keeps for eggs. Mary is a member of the Canadian Liberated Urban Chicken Klub (CLUCK) and played an instrumental role in starting the urban chicken pilot project in Calgary.

Our discussion with Mary and Bernard covers their own coop sizes, the monetary, environmental, ethical and personal worth of keeping chickens. Mary talks about her role in developing Calgary’s backyard chicken policy pilot project and her involvement with CLUCK Calgary and CLUCK Winnipeg. Bernard talks about some differences between Victoria and Calgary, the backyard chicken tours he has been a part of as well as his observations on class and political differences in people chicken farming in Victoria.

Interested in chicken farming in Winnipeg or elsewhere? Check out these resources:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/

http://www.mypetchicken.com/

CLUCK Winnipeg on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109413902416477&v=info&ref=search

Chickens for WinnipEGGers on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108338062531154&ref=ts

Sign Winnipeg’s online petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/wpgchicks/

In this show guest hosts Agnes Pawlowska and Rob Officer discuss the possibilities for ecotourism if the East Side is a UNSECO World Heritage Site.

Agnes is a first year Peace and Conflict studies PhD student at the University of Manitoba who completed her MA in Native studies on establishing a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Poplar River First Nation. Rob is a first year graduate student at the University of Manitoba in the faculty of Environment, who is interested in ecological economics and pragmatic and environmentally sustainable business models. Both Rob and Agnes are passionate about the environment, as you will undoubtedly hear in this weeks’ podcast.

The 20 million hectares that encompass the East Site planning area initiative on the East side of lake Winnipeg is the largest intact tract of boreal forest in the world and is for the most part in it’s virgin state. However, there are few areas within the site that are formally protected. The government of Manitoba has taken an initiative to pilot a broad area planning approach on the east side of lake Winnipeg as a result of their sustainable development implementation plans. The planning approach is attempting to base decisions on social, economic and environmental principles which is the opposite of the way government generally approaches the planning process. 16 First Nation groups retain land in the area that may benefit from ecotourism opportunities if the Heritage Site is established.

In this podcast Agnes and Rob interview Ernest Bruce, the political advisor to Poplar River Community as well as Jeff Provosi, the general manager of Eastside Aboriginal Sustainable Tourism. Discussion is based around the benefits of ecotourism, its benefit to surrounding communities, how projects will be financed, protection of traditional sites, and much more. Check out the links below as well as listening to the interviews in the podcast to learn more.

Eastside Aboriginal Sustainable Tourism website:
http://www.eastinc.ca/

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society:
http://www.cpawsmb.org/

Kayla was introduced to eating trash through friends and the organization Food Not Bombs in her early 20’s and has been eating from the dumpsters ever since. Initially she was going to school, didn’t have a full time job and couldn’t afford to buy all her groceries, but eating from the supermarket dumpsters easily sustained her. Kayla talks about how dumpster diving has taught her to be patient with when she gets what she wants, but that it usually always ends up being in a bin sooner or later.

Geoff’s first dumpster diving experience was in California where a number of his friends were into factory dumpstering. He has been eating trash for about four years, mostly as a substitute for what she does not grow himself, and as a way to spend more of his time volunteering in the community instead of at a full time job.

Danielle was interested by the free stuff that was to be found in dumpsters and started dumpstering in high schools behind big box stores.

Discussion in this podcast is based around the political, social, and environmental reasons for dumpstering, whether or not dumpster diving is an effective tool to create change and about the differences between the privileged who chose to eat trash and those who don’t have a choice. Tune in to this podcast to hear more about the life of dumpster divers and listen in to the dumpster field trip that Geoff, Danielle, and Kayla take hosts Troy and Stef on.

Find out more about eating from the trash at:
Food Not Bombs: http://www.foodnotbombs.net/
Freeganism: http://freegan.ca/ and http://freegan.info/

The fate of the East Side of Lake Winnipeg has been a hot political issue in Winnipeg for several years.  Lately, the Progressive Conservatives have been raising this as an issue again, attacking the NDP for its position on the issue.  This week, Stef McLachlan and Troy Stozek talk about one of the last remaining tracts of boreal forest in the world.  The guests include Susan Casey-Leftowitz from the Natural Resources Defense Council in the US, Ron Thiessen from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Suzanne McCrae from the Boreal Forest Network.

Susan Casey-Leftowitz from the Natural Resources Defense Council in the US:
NRDC is an environmental advocacy group in the US with over 1.2 million members and activists who really care about the last remaining wilderness areas in the world, one of these areas being the East side of lake Winnipeg.
Natural Defense Council Website: http://www.nrdc.org/

Ron Thiessen from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS):
CPAWS was founded in 1963 focusing on wilderness conservation with chapters in all provinces except for PEI and Nunavut. Work with government, communities, industry and the public to find solutions for protecting the great Canadian wetlands and waters. The sole purpose of CPAWS in Manitoba is boreal forest conservation specifically promoting the goal of preserving at least half of the boreal forest region from development.
CPAWS website: http://www.cpaws.org/

Suzanne McCrae from the Boreal Forest Network:
Founded in mid-nineties as a campaigning environmental and social justice based network in Winnipeg. The Boreal Forest Network has a mandate to support indigenous community led campaigns whenever possible, and have done so numerous times but specifically in helping First Nations Communities plan, manage, and control resource extraction on their traditional territories.
Boreal Forest Network website: http://borealforestnetwork.com/

Listen to the podcast to hear what Suzanne, Ron, and Susan have to say about the East Side UNESCO World Heritage site, it’s potential benefits to Aboriginal communities, North Americans, and the world as a whole as well as the controversy surrounding the implementation of this site.

Also included: Dean Talks to Pam and Clint Cavers of Harborside Farms: http://www.harborsidefarms.com/

Shaking the Tree Radio brings the local and the international together with this week’s focus on fair trade.  Special guests include Darryl Reid of the Green Bean Coffee Company, Jennifer Foreshaw of Ten Thousand Villages, and Zach Gross from the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation. Discussion is based around definitions of fair trade, the social justice issues surrounding fair trade purchases, community benefits and control surrounding fair trade as well as the growth and promise of this industry.

The Green Bean Coffee Company:
Darryl Reid is the owner of Manitoba’s only Fair Trade Certified coffee roaster. The Green Bean has been in business for about 3 years starting with Darryl’s love of coffee and turning into the owner of a fair trade, organic, coffee roaster. The majority of their coffee is sold in Winnipeg at Health stores such as VitaHealth, Organza, FoodFare, and Eat it, as well as in larger institutions like schools and businesses. The Green Bean sources their Fair Trade Coffees through a buyer in the US that has brings in the beans, but are currently on the cusp of having a direct trade with growers.
Check out http://www.greenbeancoffeeimports.com/ for more information.

Manitoba Council for International Cooperation:
Zach Gross discusses Fair Trade Manitoba, a program that promotes fair trade in Manitoba through public speaking engagements and web-based media.
MCIC’s website is http://mcic.ca/

Ten Thousand Villages:
Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit, volunteer based, fully fair trade store located on Plaza Drive in Winnipeg that provides an income to people in developing countries by selling their handmade goods here in North America. Assistant manager Jennifer Foreshaw speaks about fair trade on behalf of Ten Thousand Villages in this episode.
Check out their handcrafted goods and find out more at: http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca/

The film Food Inc. is a documentary produced by filmmaker Robert Kenner and first released in Canada in Fall 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film looks at the food industry and exposes the highly mechanized processes that have been hidden from consumers as well as showing how a handful of corporations have taken over the nation’s food supply. Food Inc. challenges viewers to reconsider what they know about their food system, and reminds us that we vote every day for the type of food system we want at the breakfast, lunch and supper table.

Panelists:
Ian Wishart from Keystone Agriculture, a democratic farm lobby representing farmers throughout Manitoba for 25 years. Ian talks about some of the differences between the American and Canadian food systems and why buying the high quality foods produced in Canada is important, but how product labeling is often misleading.
Keystone Agriculture: http://www.kap.mb.ca/

Waldy Klassen of Manitoba Chicken Producers owns a chicken operation just East of Steinbach Manitoba. Waldy talks about the differences in Canadian and American farms and how Canadian farmers have the freedom to buy chicks and feed from where they want and chose which processor the birds will go to. He also talks about the work he’s done with Manitoba Chicken producers trying to move the food system in the right direction.
Manitoba Chicken Producers: http://www.chicken.mb.ca/index.php

Dr. Richard Halley from the University of Manitoba Food Sciences department has been working with food safety and research for the past 30 years. Richard talks about the similarities between the food system and the automobile industry in North America and how daunting that idea is. He discusses ideas of food safety, feed contamination, and how consumers need to have the right to know whether or not the foods they eat are safe.

Ian Smith, a local pork producer owns a mixed farm in Argyle Manitoba. Ian discusses some of the quality and humane treatment of animal certification he has and mentions some of the sustainable farm practices he uses on his farm.
The natural Raised Pork website: http://www.naturalpork.ca/

Kreesta Doucette is the executive director of Food Matters Manitoba, an organization whose purpose is to engage, inspire, and empower people to build capacity around food safety and security. Kreesta focuses her conversation around the work Food Matters Manitoba has done throughout rural, urban, and Northern Manitoba as well as reminding listeners that they need to be willing to pay a fair price to the people who are producing high quality foods.
Food Matters Manitoba: http://food.cimnet.ca/cim/43.dhtm