Vert-à-Go

A doomsday email about proposed US food safety legislation (H.R. 875) has been making the rounds, scaring a lot of people and making a lot of unfounded and rather hysterical claims. Here’s the beginning of it, which will give you the gist:

House and Senate are about (in a week and a half) to vote on bill that will OUTLAW ORGANIC FARMING (bill HR 875). There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the next 2 weeks before people realize what is happening.

Main backer and lobbyist is Monsanto – chemical and genetic engineering giant corporation (and Cargill, ADM, and about 35 other related agri-giants). This bill will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated by the newly formed agency to “make sure there is no danger to the public food supply”. This will include backyard gardens that grow food only for a family and not for sales.

If this passes then NO more heirloom clean seeds but only Monsanto genetically altered seeds that are now showing up with unexpected diseases in humans.

…etc, etc

I have not read the bill myself, but there have been rebuttals to the email’s extreme claims from a number of well-respected sources. Here are a few:

Tom Philpott at environmental news blog Grist asks, “Would new food-safety legislation criminalize organic farming? No.”

Food and Water Watch has a background page to H.R. 875 that tells you exactly what the bill does and does not cover. And a blog post on the subject.

Professor and author Marion Nestle ‘debunks 6 viral myths about H.R 875′ at The Daily Green.

Factcheck.org also has a great post dealing with a differently-worded email, from a decidedly non-panicked backyard organic gardener.

To sum up: although it looks as if it could certainly do with an amendment to protect small organic farmers from the worst expense of new food safety compliance rules, H.R. 875 will NOT force organic farms or backyard gardeners to use specific fertilizers and sprays, nor will it outlaw heirloom seeds. If you receive this email, please reply to the sender with the above information to reduce unnecessary panic.

The very first meeting of the parliamentary sub-committee dealing with food safety in Canada has ground to a halt because of a Conservative filibuster.

The Conservatives on the committee objected to an NDP amendment, which proposed adding more meetings to the committee’s schedule and which would also limit it to examining last summer’s deadly listeriosis outbreak. Tory MP David Anderson then got up and spoke for over half of this Wednesday’s meeting, while Conservative committee chair Larry Miller denied repeated opposition requests for Anderson to sit down:

Anderson defended his tactic after the meeting: “We wanted to work with these folks. This is a very serious issue. It seems like they’re playing games with this, and we’re not prepared to do that.”

But New Democrat MP Malcolm Allen, who proposed the amendment, scoffed at that.

“If we wanted to do the work, Mr. Anderson wouldn’t have filibustered for the last hour and fifteen minutes,” Allen said.

Opposition MPs noted there are already 47 names on the proposed witness list, and they argued there isn’t enough time to hear them all unless more meetings are scheduled.

Miller said it’s doubtful Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz–who is expected to face tough questions over his handling of the outbreak–will appear as scheduled next Tuesday.

Miller added it’s not clear when Ritz’s schedule will next allow him to be there. (Canadian Press)

Canadians need to tell Stephen Harper to put a stop to the political game-playing and let the committee get on with the vital work of ensuring a safe food supply. Food Safety First (the action campaign started by Canada’s food inspectors) has a sample email that you can send:

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

Perhaps you don’t know that your MPs on the food safety committee hijacked the very first meeting and prevented the committee from getting anything done.

I hope you agree that playing politics with food safety – as your MPs have done – is despicable.  I urge you to order the Conservative MPs to allow the committee to do its work, and quickly.

Please get back to assure me that you do not condone the behaviour of the Conservative MPs that prevented the committee from getting on with the job of making our food system safer.  I’d also like to know what you have done to ensure the committee can get on with its work.

Yours sincerely,

YOUR NAME HERE

Let Prime Minister Harper know that you care about ensuring a safe food supply and the 21 people who died from eating contaminated meat last year.

Members of the Saskatoon Co-op are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting, which will be held Tuesday 21 April at 7pm.

The March newsletter addressed a number of environmental issues, outlining the Co-op’s green policies and initiatives. At the upcoming AGM, We Are Many Festival (WAM) organisers will be putting forth several environmentally-friendly resolutions. You will have the opportunity to vote  on LEED-standard building for all new Co-op edifices, independent energy audits of all existing buildings, and local food procurement (aka the perennial problem of pork, pickles, and potatoes).

If you’re a Co-op member (if you’re not, you can sign up at any Co-op store), come vote for these changes–they can have a dramatic impact on our city because the Co-op is one of our biggest companies.

When: Tuesday, 21 April, 6:30 registration, 7pm call to order

Where: Commonwealth Ballroom, Hilton Garden Inn, 90 22nd St E, Saskatoon (Google map)

For more information: Saskatoon Co-op web site, WAM Facebook group

This weekend is Gardenscape, Saskatoon’s annual horticulture trade show. As always, there will be a large number of booths (420 this year) dealing with all things green and growing, as well as nine feature gardens (including ones demonstrating water-conscious gardening and vertical gardening). The auction of all plants used in the show will be held at 6:30 on Sunday evening in the main theatre.

The feature speaker for 2009 is author, journalist and environmental activist Des Kennedy. He will be giving two talks daily, one on ‘Garden Artristry’ and another on ‘The Exquisite Artistry of Chinese Gardens’ (check the schedule for exact times). For those with a particular interest in food gardening, you may also want to check out the following talks and demonstrations:

Friday, 27 March (Speakers’ Theatre)

• 4pm Best Vegetables for Saskatchewan (Doug Waterer, U of S Plant Sciences)
• 6pm Fruits of Saskatchewan (Forrest Scharf, Provincial Fruit Specialist)
• 7pm Growing and Processing Herbs (Connie Kehler & Helga Halfinger/Helga’s Herbs, Herb Spice Association)

Saturday, March 28

Speakers’s Theatre

• 12 noon Drinking Your Garden: a primer on home wine making (Cedric Gillott, 2007 Gold Medalist, International Cider Competition)
  3pm Living Roof Tops (Goya Ngan, Saskatoon)
• 4pm The Buzz Around Bees Will Chalmers (Saskatoon Area Bee Club)
• 6pm Organic Gardening & Pesticide Alternatives (Patricia Hanbidge, Saskatoon School of Horticulture)

Demonstration Theatre (Hall D)

• 11am Growing and Using Edible Herbs (Fran Eldridge, Fran’s House of Herbs)
• 2pm Ask A Horticulture Expert (Spencer Early/Early’s Farm & Garden Centre, Rick Van Duyvendyk/Dutch Growers Garden Centre, Patricia Hanbidge/Saskatoon School of Horticulture. Vic Krahn, Lakeshore Garden Centre)

Sunday, March 29 (Speakers’ Theatre)

• 2pm Garden Insects: The Good, The Bad, and The (not necessarily) Ugly (Cedric Gillott, Professor Emeritus U of S Biology)

Get the full schedule here!

Gardenscape 2009

When: Friday 27 March (noon-10pm) , Saturday 28 March (10am-9pm), Sunday 29 March (11am-5pm)

Where: Prairieland Park Trade Centre, 503 Ruth Street West, Saskatoon  (Google map)

Cost: $8 ($12 for 2 days), Students 15 & under FREE, Butterflies & Blooms Exhibit $3

For more information: Gardenscape web site

The Saskatchewan Eco-Network will host the 4th Annual Saskatchewan Environmental Film Festival (”See the Change, Be the Change”) this weekend at the University of Saskatchewan.

How can we ensure a socially, environmentally, and financially-sustainable global economy? By creating sustainable local economies. That’s the thrust behind the conference kicking off tomorrow in Saskatoon, which aims to help Saskatchewan communities and businesses find a place in an economy that is rapidly becoming more focused on health and environmental sustainability.

“In Saskatchewan, as in much of the world, economic viability is increasingly sensitive to issues such as rising energy and transportation costs, distribution systems and concerns about climate change. As well, consumers are becoming ever more health and environmentally-conscious.

[This conference will be invaluable for] Saskatchewan producers, processors, vendors, business developers, community leaders, educators, and anyone interested in leading the charge to a healthy economy based on dynamic new ideas and business structures.” –conference program

Guest speakers include economist and community entrepeneur Michael Schuman (author of the blog Small-Mart), Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms, and Jim Green, the public voice of Kettle Chips, among others, who will discuss a wide variety of topics, including local food, sustainable practices, public spaces, value-added products, and marketing.  Their talks, special workshops, trade show, and networking opportunities can help you emplower your community, develop environmental stewardship, and ensure long-term economic viability in uncertain times.

Supporting the Growth of Local Living Economies in Saskatchewan conference
When: 24-25 March

Where: Saskatoon Inn, 2002 Airport Drive, Saskatoon, SK (Google map)

For more information: (306) 384-5817 or email seda@seda.sk.ca

Sponsored by the Saskatchewan Economic Development Corporation (SEDA) and the Saskatchewan Food Processors Association

Today, 22 March, is the United Nations’ World Water Day. This year’s theme deals with transboundary water–the lakes and rivers that cross political and geographical borders. This theme is a timely reminder that when it comes to water, we’re all in the same boat. We all need it every day, and we’re all vulnerable to the same problems that can affect our water supply: drought (as climate change reduces snowpack and rainfall) and contamination (by factories, transportation, agriculture, and individuals). We may live on a large and  (for now) seemingly abundant river here in Saskatoon, but that water has to travel a long way to get to us. What happens if and when something happens to the water supply upstream? Forget oil–it’s a water shortage that’s the real concern.

Most Canadians take clean and easily accessible drinking water for granted. But worldwide, 1 in 7 people do not have access to safe drinking water, and a child dies every 8 seconds from drinking contaminated water. It’s not just a problem in developing countries, however. No one is immune from the dangers of unclean water, as the deaths and illnesses in Walkerton and North Battleford tragically demonstrated. Last April there were nearly 1,900 “boil water” advisories in place in small communities across Canada. First Nations communities in particular are vulnerable to contaminated water supplies, due to environmental pollution and lack of proper treatment facilities.

Water supplies are also a giant concern. Although the earth is covered water, most of it is salty and only 1% of it is fit for drinking. Canada has a large share of the world’s fresh water, but we are also gluttons when it comes to water usage. The average Canadian uses an average of 329 litres of water per person per day, which is twice as much as Europeans. In Mozambique, the average person uses 1.3 litres of water per day–that’s less than one flush from a low-flow toilet. We seem to think that we can simply go on using as much as we like of it while dumping whatever we like into it (chemicals, fertilisers, animal waste, and other pollutants) and that it will just keep flowing, clean and pure, from the tap indefinitely. This is a profoundly deluded viewpoint, and it will come back to haunt future generations unless we smarten up and start treating water as the incredibly precious resource that it is.

Here are some links/petitions/events to help you learn more about the ‘hidden water’ you’re consuming, and which can also help you to reduce your water consumption:

• GOOD magazine’s illuminating table of typical daily water usage can show you exactly how you can cut your water footprint. Hint: pick chicken much more often than beef, and grains and vegetables much more often than meat.
• Waterfootprint.org can help you calculate your personal water footprint, and also features a product gallery showing how much water goes into what, complete with case studies.
• Inside The Bottle, a campaign against bottled water, is asking you to sign a petition today supporting public water systems in Canada and around the world. Pour yourself a glass and count yourself in as one of the many people who are choosing tap water over bottled, which is more expensive and uses far more energy and resources to produce.
• Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op sells rain barrels–catching rain water for your garden can make a really satisfying dent in your summer water bill.
• Rethink that trip to Las Vegas–Lake Mead could be within a few years of going dry, which could literally leave Las Vegas high and dry (and Los Angeles too).
• Oxfam Saskatoon is showing two films on Tuesday, 24 March in honour of World Water Day–Sisters of the Planet and Refugees of the Blue Planet. These films will be shown from 2-4pm at the Neatby-Timlin Theatre (Arts 241) at the University of Saskatchewan.

photo by gabrielsond

Victoria Park area residents are being invited to a workshop on Tuesday, 7 April to help shape the future of the City Gardener’s site in the northwest corner of the park (the intersection of Ave H S and 16th St W).

The City Gardener’s site currently includes a community garden as well as a 100-year-old gardening shed that has been the subject of some controversy over the past few years–should the city attempt to repair the badly deteriorated heritage building, or demolish it?

At this workshop, residents will have an opportunity to discuss how heritage artefacts and a community garden can be incorporated in the future design of the park space. The workshop will start with a presentation by city staff, followed by group discussion and small group input as appropriate. Questions and discussion will be strongly encouraged!

The design for the City Gardener’s site is the first stage in the development process for the Victoria Park Master Plan, which should be completed later this year.

Program workshop for the City Gardener’s site

When: Tuesday 7 April, 7-9:30pm

Where: Royal Canadian Legion, 606 Spadina Crescent West, Saskatoon, SK (Google map)

For more information: Call Dylan Czarencki on 975-3342, news release

Today, in honour of my 1/8th Irish heritage (and the very pleasant months I spent in Dublin), I made a pot of soup with some green inspiration. Not so much the colour, (although there is some green in there), but moreso its low ecological footprint (thanks to vegetarian/home-grown/local ingredients).

I chucked the following into water with some canned tomatoes (after sauteeing the vegetables in olive oil with a bit of garlic):

• green lentils (grown on my parents’ farm)
• chopped Swiss chard (frozen, from our garden last summer)
• potatoes and carrots (farmers’ market)
• onion (Alberta-grown)
• celery (US organic)

Once the lentils are tender, season with salt, pepper and a splash of basalmic vinegar. Serve with hearty bread.

Appropriately enough, there was also–finally!–a hint of the coming spring on this greenest of days. On our way past Homestead Ice Cream earlier today, the kids spotted that the OPEN sign was lit. As it is closed for a few months in the middle of winter, they were starting to miss it. So we walked over after dinner for some made-in-the-same-block ice cream–since they were out of Guinness (one of my personal favourite flavours!), I made mine mint chip, of course.

Happy St Patrick’s Day–hope your day turned out as lucky as ours!

The 10th annual Seedy Saturday seed exchange & eco-fair is today! Seedy Saturday is a fun and informative event promoting heirloom seed-saving, biodiversity, and sustainable living. Come along for lunch (soup, salad and bannock!), check out the many interesting information booths, and join in on the free presentations on several topics of interest. There will also be children’s activities running throughout the day.

See you there!

10th Annual Seedy Saturday

When: Saturday 14 March, 12-5pm

Where: Princess Alexandra School, 210 Ave H South, Saskatoon, SK (Google map)

Admission: $2. Lunch $2 or whatever you can pay

For more information: Seedy Saturday events (Seeds of Diversity), Dana (dana@chep.org or 655-5322)